Broadly speaking, oranges and apples could be classified as substitutes. Obviously, oranges and apples are not that similar, which is why they are not classified as “perfect substitutes”. When the price increases for one good, the demand for the substitute will increase (assuming that price remains constant). What does this look like?
Obviously, this decision will also be affected by how much the price increases and the amount of money you have to spend. For a wealthy shopper, a change from $1 to $2 an apple won’t be a huge deal. A person who loves apples more than oranges may also decide not to change their purchase plan. But, consider this analogy on a larger scale—say that the cost of an SUV doubles, so you instead buy a small car. Both goods accomplish the same function, meaning they are substitutes. As long as you don’t have very strong preferences, you will change your demand for small cars due to changes in the price of SUVs.
Complementary goods literally complement each other. Peanut butter is a complement to jelly. Gas is a complement to cars. Complementary goods are items that go together, so if the price of one increases the demand for the other will decrease. The strength of this correlation depends on how related the goods are. If peanut butter costs a lot more, some people will buy less jelly, but others will just use their jelly on toast instead of a PB&J. On the other hand, if the price of cars increases, demand for gas may decrease—you cannot use one item without the other, so the demand is tightly intertwined.
Complements can often have a one-sided effect because of their dependent nature. If tires become cheaper, you don't suddenly decide to buy a car. But on the other hand, if cars become cheaper, you will demand more tires. Same goes for the cost of songs on iTunes and iPods, and many other complementary relationships. Clearly these complementary pairs are not two-sided, often because one good is a sub-component of the other. In situations where the goods exist independently (such as milk and cookies), this one-sided issue doesn't really apply. Substitutes work both ways because they are supposed to be interchangeable to begin with.
Source: http://www.econogist.com/home/complements-and-substitutes
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