The difference between an acquisition cost per customer but making money on each transaction and losing money on each transaction is that the first can be a via

The difference between an acquisition cost per customer but making money on each transaction and losing money on each transaction is that the first can be a viable business if you can retain customers long enough while the second will always lose money. Offering below-cost deals to all customers for a time (to acquire them) then raising prices to a profitable level is different from either. Unlike the second, it might make money in the long run. Unlike the first, the ability to make a profit hasn't been demonstrated yet.