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

81–90 of 93 posts

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

#81

Post by johnnyanmac »

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 feel in both examples I need more context. Like maybe he $1 hug was from an extremely attractive person. Yes, they will pay for that hug over the free normal or below average hug.

Likewise, "free car" can come from a family or friend. So I might trust it more than a $500 beater that I'd immediately take to shop.

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

#82

Post by johnnyanmac »

scott_w wrote: post #43
Nevermark wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 freeloa…

You're still inferring too much from it. Remember, this was a viral video, so there's also the simple explanation that it might have been staged. If it weren't, there are some really obviously, mundane, reasons that have nothing to do with money. Examples: the people paying saw the people getting free hugs and not getting stabbed, so they were willing to trust the stranger.

>there's also the simple explanation that it might have been staged.

Well with that mentality this whole conversation is useless. You can't argue any perspective on a faulty premise.

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

#83

Post by johnnyanmac »

bell-cot wrote: post #70
gizzlon wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they get fewer late pickups? Or do they just make more money?

Any reason to think their baseline is making money? The arithmetic of daycare - market-minimum hourly pay for the workers, vs. legal minimum per-child staffing levels, vs. tight parental budgets - is damned ruthless.

Yeah I'm not sure if $2/minute even covers the potential overtime of a caretaker needing to stay later.

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

#84

Post by lotsofpulp »

eatonphil wrote: post #67
lotsofpulp wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is sort of entertaining to see the gymnastics writers (or LLMs) do to get clicks.

To the contrary, I did not even send this post to my mailing list. It wasn't exactly a throwaway post but it was something more like that. A post I didn't expect anyone to care much about.

Sorry, I shouldn't have presumed. But the prior probability these days is so high. And I don't blame anyone for doing what they need to do get attention, especially if it is putting food on their table.

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

#85

Post by bell-cot »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #83
bell-cot wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any reason to think their baseline is making money? The arithmetic of daycare - market-minimum hourly pay for the workers, vs. legal minimum per-child staffing levels, vs. tight parental budgets - is damned ruthless.

Yeah I'm not sure if $2/minute even covers the potential overtime of a caretaker needing to stay later.

Unless it's some "Mrs. Smith's In-home Childcare" deal, it ain't a carer staying late at $2/minute - it's randomly keeping a business open, at $120/hour. With (good bet) a mandated-minimum staff of 2+. At SF wages. Plus the extra staff churn that randomly having to stay late causes.

Parents wanting ever-so-forgiving cheap daycare need to move an idle grandma into town.

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

#86

Post by m463 »

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.

Free hugs can be well funded by building biometric profiles.

hmmm.. but would private premium hugs attract unexpected customers/demographics?

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

#87

Post by scott_w »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #82
scott_w wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're still inferring too much from it. Remember, this was a viral video, so there's also the simple explanation that it might have been staged. If it weren't, there are some really obviously, mundane, reasons that have nothing to do with money. Examples: the people paying saw the people getting free hugs and not getting stabbed, so they were willing to trust the stranger.

>there's also the simple explanation that it might have been staged. Well with that mentality this whole conversation is useless. You can't argue any perspective on a faulty premise.

> Well with that mentality this whole conversation is useless.

Yes, it very well might be. Let’s look at the post I’m replying to:

>> 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.

That’s some deep psychological explanation for something when the simplest explanation could be “it was staged.” I hate to be cynical but it’s not exactly uncommon in show business!

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

#88

Post by ronsor »

4b11b4 wrote: post #71
gwbas1c wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I enjoy serendipitous interactions with beautifully weird people Gosh, I wish I could articulate that into words when I was younger. I remember having a fun conversation with a batshit insane lady who walked into a porch party, and one of my friends thought that I actually thought she was sane.

I'm also liable to think insane people might be sane

I'm more liable to think everyone is insane.

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

#90

Post by laughinghan »

guappa wrote: post #61
KolibriFly wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When there's a clear transaction, people feel entitled (in a good way) to your time

Oh no don't worry. They feel entitled also when they're not paying.

Not the same people. I’d expect to get way more out of talking to one of those sets of people than the other
Post reply on HN