Allocation: assignment, not sale

The standard

A ruled allocation names the criteria by which it assigns and applies them equally to all. Without a disclosed rule, scarcity is merely a selling point.

Criteria

  • The assigned quantity is smaller than demand
  • The criteria of assignment are set in advance
  • They apply equally to all recipients
  • The scarcity is real, not manufactured

Distinction

Allocation ≠ en primeur: the subscription model concerns the timing of the sale, the ruled allocation the distribution of a scarce quantity. Allocation ≠ manufactured scarcity: an allocation presupposes a real scarcity, it does not create one.