Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

passingtime.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 425 posts

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#61

Post by phpisthebest »

dqv wrote: post #23

It would be nice to have bundle reform that requires all prices to be listed as taxes-and-fees-inclusive here in the US. Ok, it’s not going to happen federally, but I’d at least like it where I live. Changing prices is already regular maintenance, so the idea that this would place a burden on businesses is BS. If they have metadata at the cash register to know how to tax different items, they can have it at the label…

>>It would be nice to have bundle reform that requires all prices to be listed as taxes-and-fees-inclusive here in the US

No no no no

Taxes should be listed for atleast 3 reasons

1. The company is not paying the tax, you are. You owe the tax not the company, the company is merely collecting the tax for the government. In many states the company is paid to collect this tax on the governments behalf. If the tax was not collected at time of purchase you still owe the government the money

2. Hiding taxation is never a good thing, Taxes we pay should be transparent to everyone as they are extractions from the economy and we should be fully aware of the amount of money the government is stealing errr extracting from us at all times

3. Tax increases are blamed on the merchant if they are hidden in the price instead of on the government where they belong, this makes is politically easier to raise the sales taxes if it is all hidden from the consumer. If a state goes from 8 to 10% people will notice that tax went up instead of the price. This is one of the reasons why of you look historically gas taxes have increased far more than the sales tax rate, because gas taxes are hidden into the price of gas where sales taxes are not.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#62

Post by barbazoo »

myself248 wrote: post #48
pjsg wrote: post #43

I always object to US retail adding Tax to the price of the items. In the UK (and I expect Europe) the price on the shelf is the price that you pay. VAT is included. In the US, you walk into a store and have to become an expert at understanding local taxes in order to figure out how much anything costs. Hotels often have four of five extra fees tacked on. I'd like "The price you see is the price you pay" to be the ru…

Most places in the US, the local tax is the same statewide. Not in Ohio, where it can vary by township, sometimes across invisible boundaries. I once attended a large flea-market where such a boundary cut through the fairgrounds. Taxes were different on one side of the line than the other. It's so bad that Ohio actually has a mobile app that uses your phone's GPS to figure out which jurisdiction you're in and show th…

> I once attended a large flea-market where such a boundary cut through the fairgrounds. Taxes were different on one side of the line than the other.

Does this matter though? Even if the tax is different from one stall to another, they could still publish a price that includes tax.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#63

Post by rqtwteye »

pjsg wrote: post #43

I always object to US retail adding Tax to the price of the items. In the UK (and I expect Europe) the price on the shelf is the price that you pay. VAT is included. In the US, you walk into a store and have to become an expert at understanding local taxes in order to figure out how much anything costs. Hotels often have four of five extra fees tacked on. I'd like "The price you see is the price you pay" to be the ru…

"I'd like "The price you see is the price you pay" to be the rule."

Totally agree. I don't care what other fees or taxes go into the price. They are all cost of doing business. Just wait until the baker charges you extra for the flour and yeast that went into the bread.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#66

Post by no_wizard »

renewiltord wrote: post #35

Interesting. I used to either go to Peets or Starbucks, and after a while exclusively the latter because of the annoying Peets tip thing which I never know what to put on. Is a $2.5 Americano a $1 tip? Who the hell knows? Anyway, I eventually stopped going to Peets. Then a year passes and Starbucks started this shit. The local workers do that embarrassed "and there's a new extra button you have to hit" thing, but it…

I've never been prompted to tip at the Starbucks drive through in my area. I pay using the app after loading up the gift card (you get more stars this way).

I'm very much tired of the explosion of tipping culture though. Now fast food wants me to tip workers. This was definitely not the norm when I was growing up, or even pre COVID, and as far as I'm aware, they're all hourly workers that started making pretty good wages in due part thanks to staffing shortages (McDonalds was hiring for 18-20 USD an hour, pretty big increase)

I feel like service industries and restaurants are doing anything they can to push costs onto the consumer without raising "official" prices. Like they all employed the same sociology consultants and they discovered what social levers they can instrument to get people to pay more without "paying" more. I been seeing these "economic recovery fees", "COVID safety fees" and other nonsense too.

I eat alot more at home now.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#67

Post by alistairSH »

mortenjorck wrote: post #54
alistairSH wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The other industries mentioned might tack on fees at check-out time, but the service/product hasn't yet been consumed, so the consumer can back out. This isn't true with dining out, where you see a price list, order, eat, and then get a bill at the end. You can no longer opt to eat elsewhere. You either make a scene or pay the undisclosed fees. Restaurants should at least put a notice on the menu in a highly vi…

If an establishment adds a 20% surcharge to a dining check, that's a tip, and generally considered to be on the higher end in the US. I would simply consider them to have chosen my tip amount for me and leave it at that.

The restaurant in the article claimed the 20% surcharge was NOT a tip. :shrug:

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#68

Post by lotsofpulp »

duxup wrote: post #47
pjsg wrote: post #43

I always object to US retail adding Tax to the price of the items. In the UK (and I expect Europe) the price on the shelf is the price that you pay. VAT is included. In the US, you walk into a store and have to become an expert at understanding local taxes in order to figure out how much anything costs. Hotels often have four of five extra fees tacked on. I'd like "The price you see is the price you pay" to be the ru…

Hotels and some things are a huge mess. But generally your random consumer buying a random widget has some idea about what taxes are involved and roughly what to expect when they buy specific consumer goods / the machine tells them what to pay. It's complex if you want to do the math and get the exact number each time, but for most transactions it's a fairly small amount / not something you need to think about / need…

In my experience, hotels show total cost prominently. Go to Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt/IHG/choice/Wyndham websites, and before you can reserve, it will show you total cost and list potential parking/pet/resort/other fees.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#69

Post by DeRock »

myself248 wrote: post #48
pjsg wrote: post #43

I always object to US retail adding Tax to the price of the items. In the UK (and I expect Europe) the price on the shelf is the price that you pay. VAT is included. In the US, you walk into a store and have to become an expert at understanding local taxes in order to figure out how much anything costs. Hotels often have four of five extra fees tacked on. I'd like "The price you see is the price you pay" to be the ru…

Most places in the US, the local tax is the same statewide. Not in Ohio, where it can vary by township, sometimes across invisible boundaries. I once attended a large flea-market where such a boundary cut through the fairgrounds. Taxes were different on one side of the line than the other. It's so bad that Ohio actually has a mobile app that uses your phone's GPS to figure out which jurisdiction you're in and show th…

Same in California, it varies by county and city: https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx

Obnoxious to keep track of.

Post reply on HN