Photo of a laptop on a table (b) Incremental Break-Even Unit Volume for Fixed Cost Actions (IBEV)

A start-up computer company is in the process of introducing their first line of computers. These computers are high in performance and "radically slim" in design but will cost the consumer only $1,800 (average retail price). It costs the computer company $500 per computer for the materials, $300 per computer for assembly, and $1,000 for every five computers in shipping. The machines are sold to retailers for $1,500.

In addition to manufacturing the computers, the company has invested heavily in marketing the computer. They spend $3,000,000 on TV ads, $4,000,000 on magazine ads and $1,000,000 on sending a free catalog to subscribers of Wired magazine.

Fixed Costs = $3,000,000 + $4,000,000 + $1,000,000 = $8,000,000

Average Unit Contribution = $1,500 - ($500 + $300 + $200) = $500

IBEV = $8,000,000/$500 = 16,000 units