Squeezing the Customer (Page 2): Wow!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BigDaddy wrote:

Tesla's been doing that.
White is free, all other colors cost you a few hundred.
I heard they were changing the free color to gray. Not sure though...

Wow!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BB4A wrote:

What makes me giggle is that most of the people reading this, are doing so on a “smart phone”. Now, there’s a “did you buy it, or are you just paying a ridonculous usage contract fee?” question that people should be asking themselves.

We've been getting service from TracFone for years. I've bought several name-brand phones for well under $100 each, and I buy the usage. I've averaged $13.47 a month over the past eight years. I would never pay up to $1,000 for the phone and then pay for the usage. We used to pay Verizonwireless $167/month for two phones. Ridiculous.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

jerryc41 wrote:

We've been getting service from TracFone for years. I've bought several name-brand phones for well under $100 each, and I buy the usage. I've averaged $13.47 a month over the past eight years. I would never pay up to $1,000 for the phone and then pay for the usage. We used to pay Verizonwireless $167/month for two phones. Ridiculous.

Wow, we pay Verizon Wireless about $100 (with taxes) for two phones and a tablet.
Never gone over our data limit yet.

Equus Loc: Puget Sound

Perhaps the car companies will get with the subscription program. A monthly fee for the engine to run after the first year. A monthly fee for the lights to work. A monthly fee for the paint to not fall off. A monthly fee for the radio to work. Another one for the radio to connect with the smart phone. And of course the service fee to reconnect any of these things. And because of all the wonderful extras that they have they can increase the cost of the car by another 20%. What a deal

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Longshadow wrote:

Wow, we pay Verizon Wireless about $100 (with taxes) for two phones and a tablet.
Never gone over our data limit yet.

I'm looking back eight years. Maybe competition forced them to lower prices. We were also paying for a landline.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Equus wrote:

Perhaps the car companies will get with the subscription program. A monthly fee for the engine to run after the first year. A monthly fee for the lights to work. A monthly fee for the paint to not fall off. A monthly fee for the radio to work. Another one for the radio to connect with the smart phone. And of course the service fee to reconnect any of these things. And because of all the wonderful extras that they have they can increase the cost of the car by another 20%. What a deal

Like printers & ink.
The car itself may be inexpensive, but the accessories........

BebuLamar

Longshadow wrote:

Like printers & ink.
The car itself may be inexpensive, but the accessories........

But the car itself isn't inexpensive....

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

But the car itself isn't inexpensive....

But you get my drift, no?

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Jerry, imagine owning a business where every computer needs a license for its software and these are high-end programs. In addition to the annual fees, there are support fees that go along with them. Of course, ALL expenses get passed on to the customers of the business.

BebuLamar

Longshadow wrote:

But you get my drift, no?

Granted printers are not not inexpensive like before either. I bought a Samsung monochrome laser printer for $50. A Konica Minolta color laser printer for $42. I used them until the cartridges empty then I tossed the printer.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

Granted printers are not not inexpensive like before either. I bought a Samsung monochrome laser printer for $50. A Konica Minolta color laser printer for $42. I used them until the cartridges empty then I tossed the printer.

Sadly, in some instances it may be more cost effective to do that based on the price of some ink cartridges.....

Similar to buying a new razor handle with blades as opposed to just buying replacement blades.

fantom Loc: Colorado

I am quite happy to pay Adobe ten bucks a month for life for LR/PS. I get free updates and stay current with some of the most technically advanced editing tools available---versus expensive software that requires $$$$ charges for significant updates.

Also, please be aware that I am hoping that no one bothers to tell me why I'm stupid for getting screwed by Adobe like this---I'll just bypass your close-minded silly reply. Thanks

The auto purchase example is pretty clever and accurate, however. The auto industry has been using variations of these scams since before Henry built his first assembly line.

BebuLamar

fantom wrote:

I am quite happy to pay Adobe ten bucks a month for life for LR/PS. I get free updates and stay current with some of the most technically advanced editing tools available---versus expensive software that requires $$$$ charges for significant updates.

Also, please be aware that I am hoping that no one bothers to tell me why I'm stupid for getting screwed by Adobe like this---I'll just bypass your close-minded silly reply. Thanks

But I am saying there are a lot more of people thinking like you than otherwise. That is why the subscription model is a success to the industry. No companies can do anything that doesn't get support from their customers.

fantom Loc: Colorado

BebuLamar wrote:

But I am saying there are a lot more of people thinking like you than otherwise. That is why the subscription model is a success to the industry. No companies can do anything that doesn't get support from their customers.

No argument with what you so accurately said.

But ,the original post tended to condemn the practice of software subscriptions in general rather than referring to the scammers in that industry, so I was taking exception to that stance.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Longshadow wrote:

Like printers & ink.
The car itself may be inexpensive, but the accessories........

The automatic transmission adds $4,500 to the price of a Jeep. When you figure they are saving the cost of the six-speed manual, they think that auto trans is worth over $6,000. The average replacement cost of the manual trans is $2,500.

Lemon Lawyers: It has been reported that Jeep transmission problems have plagued owners for years. It has been our experience that certain models have experienced a variety of transmission and engine problems that can impact their safety and functionality. Feb 7, 2022