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Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (2018)

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Re: Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (2018)

#61

Post by m463 »

barberousse wrote: post #58
buboard wrote: post #7

subscribe to read hahahah For one, I hope subscriptions die. It's a pernicious trend that is borderline fraud for consumers (like gyms, profiting from users who simply forget to unsubscribe or making it painfully hard to unsubscribe). It's also exclusionary for most of the world for whom the subscription price might be a year's income. With downloadable software it was kind of possible to find a crack online, but web…

Funny to read this, VISA near silently installed a program whereby replacing your Debit/Card (lost, stolen, etc) automatically updates that card everywhere it is being used a payment method. You can't even cancel a card and see what dies. You have to opt out of this program.

To be honest, I don't mind this at all.

Re: Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (2018)

#62

Post by leetcrew »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #48
ajdlinux wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Visa/Mastercard debit cards are a thing.

In fact, I'd argue that credit cards are US thing. You can pay for most stuff on-line with debit cards just fine. Over the past decade, I had to use PayPal maybe 3 times, because some braindead payment system wouldn't accept debit cards. (It may differ between classes and countries, but over here in Poland around people I know, having a private credit card is like shaving with a straight razor - it's awesome if you c…

> having a private credit card is like shaving with a straight razor - it's awesome if you can handle it without hurting yourself, but most people can't and are smart enough to not even try.

as someone who treats a credit card like a charge card (pay it off in full every month, without exception), I don't really understand this mentality. imo, managing a debit card is way harder. I have to ensure that I have enough money in my checking account every time I make a purchase. it feels like inevitably my payday will line up in such a way that I overdraft on a purchase I could have easily afforded by the end of the month.

Re: Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (2018)

#63

Post by TeMPOraL »

leetcrew wrote: post #62
TeMPOraL wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fact, I'd argue that credit cards are US thing. You can pay for most stuff on-line with debit cards just fine. Over the past decade, I had to use PayPal maybe 3 times, because some braindead payment system wouldn't accept debit cards. (It may differ between classes and countries, but over here in Poland around people I know, having a private credit card is like shaving with a straight razor - it's awesome if you c…

> having a private credit card is like shaving with a straight razor - it's awesome if you can handle it without hurting yourself, but most people can't and are smart enough to not even try. as someone who treats a credit card like a charge card (pay it off in full every month, without exception), I don't really understand this mentality. imo, managing a debit card is way harder. I have to ensure that I have enough m…

To use debit card, all you have to do is to know how roughly how much money you have. You have to know this even if you have a credit card, otherwise you risk not being afford to pay it off.

The danger with having a credit card is that you have an option to not pay it off. With debit cards, it's impossible. You can overdraft a little if you're tricky, but that's about it - whereas with a credit card you can end up going negative and finding it difficult to get back to black (whether because of your own faults or external circumstances).

I compared a credit card to straight razor because both are useful and safe in skilled hands, but create danger of hurting yourself if you're unskilled - a danger that doesn't exist with safety razors / debit cards.

Re: Subscriptions Are Remaking Corporate America (2018)

#64

Post by orev »

swagasaurus-rex wrote: post #8
buboard wrote: post #7

subscribe to read hahahah For one, I hope subscriptions die. It's a pernicious trend that is borderline fraud for consumers (like gyms, profiting from users who simply forget to unsubscribe or making it painfully hard to unsubscribe). It's also exclusionary for most of the world for whom the subscription price might be a year's income. With downloadable software it was kind of possible to find a crack online, but web…

I think subscriptions are fine; it is the banks that give power to corporations by making it impossible to control who bills your accounts. If you could easily see recurring billing charges and cancel on your bank's end easily, companies would have to step up and offer a useful service.

People try to do this by using one time use credit card numbers, but being able to easily cancel the payment method does not release you from the agreement you made with the vendor for their service. It’s simple contract law and I can see how banks would not want to wade into those murky waters.
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