Turkeys have always been an interesting study for economics.

A whopping 88% of Americans eat turkey on thanksgiving. As basic economic theory tell us, when everyone wants to buy the same limited product at the same time, prices generally spike. Yet turkey prices decline around the holiday. Why?

Turkey producers stockpile tons of frozen birds over the summer and retailers place big orders in the fall. That is around 500 to 600 million pounds of turkey.

While consumer demand is high around Thanksgiving, supply is also high. Plus, many stores use turkeys as a “loss leader,” meaning that they lose money on turkeys, but more than make up for it on sales of cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other fixings.

They say sharing is the cornerstone of Thanksgiving. As long as enough of us share the same tastes and buying habits — particularly those of us who prefer low price-point, supply-elastic goods — perhaps most of us will continue to get pretty good deals on our holiday dinners.

Why do turkey prices fall around Thanksgiving?