Prices can be one of three types (Standard, Sale, or Contract). Each of these types has specific meaning within the pricing service.
A Standard price is used to represent the normal purchase price for a product / sku. Standard prices can be explicitly set or based on formulas tied to the direct product or sku attributes
A Sale price is used to represent an "on sale" price for a product / sku. Sale prices can be explicitly set or based on formulas tied to the direct sku cost and price properties or computed based off of the standard price list value.
A Contract price is used to represent a contract specific price for a customer / account. Contract prices can be explicitly set or based on formulas tied to the direct product or sku attributes or the computed standard or sale price. For example, a contract price list could be setup to be standard prices - 10 percent.