Quoting instrument prices in a scientific paper I’m writing my first scientific paper as a PhD student and it’s a comparison of 6 different instruments that measure precipitation. The instruments differ massively in terms of cost, and their performance is inherently tied to that. The discussion seems pointless without giving the reader this knowledge. Simply saying “low cost” or “relatively high cost” doesn’t quite cut it for me. 

I realise I’m entering risky territory, but how might I quote the price of these instruments in the paper? The separate companies do not actively publish this information, you must request a quote. Am I breaking the law or simply pissing off these companies if I attempt to publish this data?
One reason why usually no definitive prices are publicly communicated is that the manufacturers compete against each other when bidding on a tender, where e.g. one lab might ask for quotes from several possible sellers. It would be a disadvantage for a vendor, if their competitors would have knowledge about the specific prices.

Apart from possibly releasing undisclosed information about the prices, another difficulty that I can see with publishing those numbers is that the prices might differ significantly depending on who is asking for the quote and the intended use. Industry customers might have to pay different prices than public institutions, non-profit organizations or individual persons. The instruments might further be discounted depending on how many one would purchase. Also, prices might change on rather short time scales and not be valid anymore after as short as a couple of months.

Therefore, you should take into consideration that any price information available to you might not even be accurate or generally applicable to the audience of your paper.