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I don't think they would want to bring down the price. Right now Magic is targeting price insensitive users, which provides an ENORMOUS advantage because they

I don't think they would want to bring down the price. Right now Magic is targeting price insensitive users, which provides an ENORMOUS advantage because they can always pick the most expensive options when executing a request. They basically remove one of the variables regular people have to optimize for, and it makes it much easier to make users happy. If they're dropping the price to where price-sensitive users get involved, they're going to have to make far more complicated decisions about what flowers at what price point make someone happy, or what seat on what airline makes sense.

dingo_bat 11y ago
I agree. Consider an example on their website: >User: Can you get me an Ipad pro tonight? >M+: Sure. I'm assuming you want the best model - 128GB with LTE in Space gray? >U: Yeah This process of comparing available options against prices, data plans, and features would have taken at least half an hour for me. Right now, they can just disregard the price completely and offer whatever is the easiest to do/get/access.
- puranjay 11y ago
  Not just that, the guy wants to buy TWO! This is a purchase normal people would spend hours agonizing over. Should I get the 64GB model or the 128GB? Should I get the latest one, or one generation older? Should I get the slightly more expensive gray/white one, or stick with black? But that's okay. It's not meant for everyone, and that's perfectly fine with me
  - BookmarkSaver 11y ago
    Ok, so why is this so unbelievably interesting to everyone here? I mean, seriously, its been ten hours and this thing is still at the top of the page, and that is very long time for a HN story. For something that doesn't seem particularly innovative nor useful for a typical person, it has a huge amount of support here. Which is especially confusing because this indicates that somehow there is a massive number of price insensitive people people on this site that somehow do consider this useful, a fact that doesn't seem born out at all by the usual activity. It seems like this is a massive attempt to make an enormously overpriced service seem reasonable to people that can afford it but normally wouldn't even consider it.
    - puranjay 11y ago
      As another commenter pointed out, HN has a lot of young people making $150k+ and this is just a way for them to "optimize" their time and be more "productive". In reality, this is just a way for them to pretend that they have the same luxuries as the actual rich who came from money. Services like this will last only as long as the bubble in the valley.
      - de_Selby 11y ago
        It sounds like it's targeted at people earning hell of a lot more than 150k.
        Terretta 11y ago
        $100/hr is $200K/yr or $350K to get you $200K after taxes. Plus inefficiency or loss of fidelity to intent from the delegation, which adds a cost. I'd think $450K - $600K income before this makes sense. // Also note the contact and meeting management class of tasks require always on engagement. At that point, you're better off with your own company-supplied EA who is in the flow and can carry your personal prioritization prefs so you don't think about any part of that process.
        corin_ 11y ago
        You don't have to use them all the time, though... there's plenty of things I couldn't afford to do all the time but sometimes it's worth paying extra for, a service like this could be one of them. If something urgent comes up that Magic+ could fix in 15minutes and that I don't have 15 minutes to use and it can't wait, a $25 fee could easily be justifiable, even if my salary was only $50k. The same way as most people wouldn't have a chauffer, but that doesn't mean taxis aren't sometimes worth paying for.
        fluxquanta 11y ago
        But how do you know how long a request will take? Maybe I think a request will take 15 minutes, but in reality it takes 3 hours. I make less than $100k/year. There's a big difference to me between $25 and $300. What if I start the request, decide it's taking too long, and ask that it's cancelled? Can it even be cancelled? And then am I charged for the time used and get nothing in return? To use your taxi analogy, I can get in a cab and ask "About how much will it be to get from A to B?" and probably get a good estimate (or not even have to ask with Uber and the like). Does that exist for this service? Maybe public transportation would be better for me depending on the answer. It sounds to me like, at least from their perspective, they wouldn't want a poorer customer like me.

dingo_bat 11y ago

I agree. Consider an example on their website: >User: Can you get me an Ipad pro tonight? >M+: Sure. I'm assuming you want the best model - 128GB with LTE in Space gray? >U: Yeah This process of comparing available options against prices, data plans, and features would have taken at least half an hour for me. Right now, they can just disregard the price completely and offer whatever is the easiest to do/get/access.

puranjay 11y ago
Not just that, the guy wants to buy TWO! This is a purchase normal people would spend hours agonizing over. Should I get the 64GB model or the 128GB? Should I get the latest one, or one generation older? Should I get the slightly more expensive gray/white one, or stick with black? But that's okay. It's not meant for everyone, and that's perfectly fine with me
- BookmarkSaver 11y ago
  Ok, so why is this so unbelievably interesting to everyone here? I mean, seriously, its been ten hours and this thing is still at the top of the page, and that is very long time for a HN story. For something that doesn't seem particularly innovative nor useful for a typical person, it has a huge amount of support here. Which is especially confusing because this indicates that somehow there is a massive number of price insensitive people people on this site that somehow do consider this useful, a fact that doesn't seem born out at all by the usual activity. It seems like this is a massive attempt to make an enormously overpriced service seem reasonable to people that can afford it but normally wouldn't even consider it.
  - puranjay 11y ago
    As another commenter pointed out, HN has a lot of young people making $150k+ and this is just a way for them to "optimize" their time and be more "productive". In reality, this is just a way for them to pretend that they have the same luxuries as the actual rich who came from money. Services like this will last only as long as the bubble in the valley.
    - de_Selby 11y ago
      It sounds like it's targeted at people earning hell of a lot more than 150k.
      - Terretta 11y ago
        $100/hr is $200K/yr or $350K to get you $200K after taxes. Plus inefficiency or loss of fidelity to intent from the delegation, which adds a cost. I'd think $450K - $600K income before this makes sense. // Also note the contact and meeting management class of tasks require always on engagement. At that point, you're better off with your own company-supplied EA who is in the flow and can carry your personal prioritization prefs so you don't think about any part of that process.
        corin_ 11y ago
        You don't have to use them all the time, though... there's plenty of things I couldn't afford to do all the time but sometimes it's worth paying extra for, a service like this could be one of them. If something urgent comes up that Magic+ could fix in 15minutes and that I don't have 15 minutes to use and it can't wait, a $25 fee could easily be justifiable, even if my salary was only $50k. The same way as most people wouldn't have a chauffer, but that doesn't mean taxis aren't sometimes worth paying for.
        fluxquanta 11y ago
        But how do you know how long a request will take? Maybe I think a request will take 15 minutes, but in reality it takes 3 hours. I make less than $100k/year. There's a big difference to me between $25 and $300. What if I start the request, decide it's taking too long, and ask that it's cancelled? Can it even be cancelled? And then am I charged for the time used and get nothing in return? To use your taxi analogy, I can get in a cab and ask "About how much will it be to get from A to B?" and probably get a good estimate (or not even have to ask with Uber and the like). Does that exist for this service? Maybe public transportation would be better for me depending on the answer. It sounds to me like, at least from their perspective, they wouldn't want a poorer customer like me.