when does a product become a commodity

[RedMaterialist]

On re-reading Chapter One of Capital it seems that Marx (and Engels in his comment on feudalism) make the point that a product is not necessarily a commodity. For instance, primitive tribes produced products even by using a division of labor; also, in a modern factory workers produce products, but these products are not commodities in relation to the workers or other commodities. The products only become commodities when they are exchanged.

When money (as a commodity?) is paid for a product, the product becomes a commodity?

[Tower of Bebel]

Though, indeed, the commodity, a product of labour that satisfies a real or imginary need, is produced for the purpose of being exchanged (exchange-value) with other products, we also need to take the social qualities that make a product a commodity into account. It's value can only be formed by labour of an equal character in all branches of activity, while the magnitude of this value is determined by the labour-time socially necessary for its production.

Most of the time, production in pre-capitalistic societies was not based on commodity production because much of what we ate was almost solely the product of nature, labour was far from equal (e.g. no machines, no serious devision of labour), many producers produced only for themselves (e.g. peasants, etc.), labour-time differed greatly (only in the 19th century did most European countries harmonise the clockfaces of the churches in their municipalities), there was lack of money or anything that could express the value of a product's labour, etc. The exchange of money for a product is by itself not a sufficient explanation for what gives a product it's commodity form.

[Blake's Baby]

A commodity, for Marx, reveals its 'commodity form' when it is exchanged against other commodities. Goods produced for the market are commodities. Goods produced for comsumption are not commodities.

[MarxArchist]

A commodity, for Marx, reveals its 'commodity form' when it is exchanged against other commodities. Goods produced for the market are commodities. Goods produced for comsumption are not commodities.

And human labor power itself becomes a commodity. A commodity is anything which is not produced by the producer themselves for use or trade but by a capitalist for sale on the market for a profit. Labor power, cars, computers etc. All commodities because they are for sale on the market for profit and were not produced by the person selling them. If I make a hat and then trade it for a pair of shoes to another person who made the shoes themselves the shoes nor the hat are commodities nor was our labor to make the hat/shoes. If the person who had the shoes used other peoples labor and then that person sold the shoes for a profit the shoes and the labor power to make the shoes would be commodified.

[Blake's Baby]

... If I make a hat and then trade it for a pair of shoes to another person who made the shoes themselves the shoes nor the hat are commodities nor was our labor to make the hat/shoes...

I disagree. If you make a hat to trade for something it is a commodity. Artisan/peasant production is still commodity production if it is for trade. It doesn't have to involve wage labour (it is 'simple commodity production').

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_...ity_production

[Sotionov]

Commodity is anything that is sold, rented or exchanged for something else. It is normally products of labor (tangible or intangible [services]), but troughout history it was and is also fictional property such as land and natural resources, human beings- as in slavery, human freedom- as in feudalism and coverture marriages and similar contracts, or human labor- as in capitalism.