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

Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

notes.eatonphil.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 93 posts

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#21

Post by BlackFly »

Author notes that there is still a standing offer to answer questions for free "if time allows" but doesn't get any inquiries. I believe this shows that it isn't due to fame or the payment making the author seem more legitimate.

Instead I think that the payment creates the expectation that the inquiry will be answered and when someone expects an answer they are more willing to inquire. When the consultation is free or "time permitting", then it might simply be refused but making the inquiry itself isn't zero cost for the individual and their mental calculus makes it not worth asking. The mental calculus is, "What is the person getting out of this interaction and why would they choose to answer me but not someone else?" When it is financial you can see that you are equal to everyone else and you see exactly what the consultant is getting out of it.

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#22

Post by ttb-2134 »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #16
wodenokoto wrote: post #9

This reminds me of video that went simi viral a decade or so back. Not sure how much of it was staged, but the creators went to a public place and stood next to some “free hugs”-people and then put up a sign “Premium hugs $1” and apparently collected more hugs to the chargrin of the free-huggers.

Similarly, people think FOSS software must not be as good as proprietary software because it's free.

Hahaha, so true. There's always good and excellent FOSS. Sticking to open source forever :)

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#23

Post by fn-mote »

pyman wrote: post #15
volemo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also when I see a cool person, I think my stuff is not good enough to waste their time, but if they charge for it, then it’s a deal.

Do people pay for knowledge or attention? Because let's be honest, most of the podcasts and books out there already contain more knowledge and wisdom than anyone needs to be successful in any profession.

People pay to go to school where there are teachers that “make you work”.

Some people claim it’s gatekeeping or access to the brand name of the school, but I think it’s more than that.

Most of them know they won’t read the (text)books and learn on their own. Even though the knowledge is available. I guess the money is for the transmission of the knowledge.

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#25

Post by scott_w »

HPsquared wrote: post #14
wodenokoto wrote: post #9

This reminds me of video that went simi viral a decade or so back. Not sure how much of it was staged, but the creators went to a public place and stood next to some “free hugs”-people and then put up a sign “Premium hugs $1” and apparently collected more hugs to the chargrin of the free-huggers.

If it's free, people are suspicious and judge the cost to be something implicit, generally with a higher expected cost than $1. On the other hand if you make the cost explicit, people are more comfortable. It ties in with the story in Freakonomics about the daycare that started to charge a small "fine" to discourage parents picking up the child late, with the effect that these incidents happened more often. Because t…

I'd be careful of inferring too much from things like this, particularly given how much criticism Freakonomics has received. One example from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11eTG4_iwqw&pp=ygUVZGVhdGggb...

> If it's free, people are suspicious and judge the cost to be something implicit, generally with a higher expected cost than $1. On the other hand if you make the cost explicit, people are more comfortable.

To address your point explicitly, if someone believes the cost of a hug is higher than $1 ("higher than expected cost"), then offering one for $1 should trigger a similar suspicion in your head.

Think about it, if a stranger offered you a free Porsche, you'd rightly be suspicious. Would you be less suspicious if they offered that same car for $500?

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#26

Post by jpalomaki »

It's a similar as described in Freakonomics book.

Daycare was annoyed with parents picking up their kids late. They introduced a fee for this. As a result, late pick ups increased.

Something that was not considered to be socially acceptable, became more acceptable when you put a price tag for it.

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#27

Post by Nevermark »

scott_w wrote: post #25
HPsquared wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's free, people are suspicious and judge the cost to be something implicit, generally with a higher expected cost than $1. On the other hand if you make the cost explicit, people are more comfortable. It ties in with the story in Freakonomics about the daycare that started to charge a small "fine" to discourage parents picking up the child late, with the effect that these incidents happened more often. Because t…

I'd be careful of inferring too much from things like this, particularly given how much criticism Freakonomics has received. One example from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11eTG4_iwqw&pp=ygUVZGVhdGggb... > If it's free, people are suspicious and judge the cost to be something implicit, generally with a higher expected cost than $1. On the other hand if you make the cost explicit, people are more comfortabl…

I don’t think your example carries over to hugs.

Porsches are worth big money. The “costs” for hugs are more of a social calculation.

I expect that the act of taking a small social good that would not normally be available, or even allowed, but is being offered for free, feels subtly wrong.

“Why would this person give me X for free?” Makes us feel uncomfortable. We feel we are not seeing something, or perhaps freeloading. Which prompts a subconscious threat or status calculation, not a simple cost calculation.

But being able to pay for it suddenly fits a common pattern, even if the “product” (hug or conversation) is novel.

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#29

Post by bravesoul2 »

HPsquared wrote: post #14
wodenokoto wrote: post #9

This reminds me of video that went simi viral a decade or so back. Not sure how much of it was staged, but the creators went to a public place and stood next to some “free hugs”-people and then put up a sign “Premium hugs $1” and apparently collected more hugs to the chargrin of the free-huggers.

If it's free, people are suspicious and judge the cost to be something implicit, generally with a higher expected cost than $1. On the other hand if you make the cost explicit, people are more comfortable. It ties in with the story in Freakonomics about the daycare that started to charge a small "fine" to discourage parents picking up the child late, with the effect that these incidents happened more often. Because t…

Free hugs? Yeah probably going to be churchy!

Re: Want to meet people, try charging them for it?

#30

Post by bravesoul2 »

dotBen wrote: post #18
wodenokoto wrote: post #9

This reminds me of video that went simi viral a decade or so back. Not sure how much of it was staged, but the creators went to a public place and stood next to some “free hugs”-people and then put up a sign “Premium hugs $1” and apparently collected more hugs to the chargrin of the free-huggers.

The best way to get rid of junk is not to put it outside your house with “free” on it. It’s to put “$10” on it. Someone will steal it.

Ah no. Gumtree free means 10 messages in the next 30 minutes. 1c or higher = ghost town.
Post reply on HN