Saleability is a mathematical formula used to compare different investments or trading strategies based on their profitability and success. There are several different methods that can be used to make this comparison. Commonly, it will be done based on the returns relative to the amount of capital required.

Measuring the percentage of winning trades is another method for measuring saleability. In an economic context, saleability is also used to describe the reliability of a good’s demand across space and time. Carl Menger, a central figure in the Austrian school of economics, defined saleability as the “facility with which they can be disposed of at a market at any convenient time at current purchasing prices.” From this definition, Menger states that the most saleable good in an economy is destined to be used as money in a free society.

For example, gold was adopted as a global monetary standard during the 18th and 19th centuries because the demand and liquidity for gold was reliable regardless of location and the value of gold was relatively stable or increasing across time.