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Is there some sort of consumer psychology behind this whole 'as a service' push? It seems like monthly bills kind of go in the back of people's heads and they r

Is there some sort of consumer psychology behind this whole 'as a service' push? It seems like monthly bills kind of go in the back of people's heads and they rarely consider the full cost in the way they do normal purchasing. Maybe we should have a law surrounding subscription services since it seems like they're making increased profit off exploiting a tick in the human psyche as opposed to actually making a better product.

dotBen 8y ago
It's a play on op-ex vs cap-ex
sizzzzlerz 8y ago
It's the same "thinking" that makes many people care more about low monthly car payments by taking out 6- or even 7-year car loans. They totally ignore how much that is actually costing them to get a new, shiny car that they really can't afford or the fact that their new car will only be worth a fraction of what they paid for it at the end of the loan. There's certainly no law preventing car dealers from taking advantage of that. Why is this different?
- frgtpsswrdlame 8y ago
  Interesting, I'm actually testing out my own thought here. I guess I would say there is a difference between these two scenarios: (1) I can't afford to outright purchase a product that would normally cost $10,000 so I choose to finance it and pay $12,000 over 5 years (or whatever.) (2) I could afford to outright purchase a product that would normally cost $100 but instead I have to pay over time, say $500 over 5 years. It seems to me that a lot of the more recent SaaS stuff is associated with a very large price increase probably because there's no on-prem price to compare to, no stated rate of interest or any of that information you get from a car loan. So I suppose my problem is that the premium on these products is much higher due to obfuscation and these companies (like Plume) don't offer a comparable option to buy outright.
derekp7 8y ago
No different than any other form of financing for other products. Take cars for example, you can lay down cash up front, or you can spend more money by paying over time. Or you can pay less money for a lease, but you lose the car after 3 years.

dotBen 8y ago

It's a play on op-ex vs cap-ex

sizzzzlerz 8y ago

It's the same "thinking" that makes many people care more about low monthly car payments by taking out 6- or even 7-year car loans. They totally ignore how much that is actually costing them to get a new, shiny car that they really can't afford or the fact that their new car will only be worth a fraction of what they paid for it at the end of the loan. There's certainly no law preventing car dealers from taking advantage of that. Why is this different?

frgtpsswrdlame 8y ago
Interesting, I'm actually testing out my own thought here. I guess I would say there is a difference between these two scenarios: (1) I can't afford to outright purchase a product that would normally cost $10,000 so I choose to finance it and pay $12,000 over 5 years (or whatever.) (2) I could afford to outright purchase a product that would normally cost $100 but instead I have to pay over time, say $500 over 5 years. It seems to me that a lot of the more recent SaaS stuff is associated with a very large price increase probably because there's no on-prem price to compare to, no stated rate of interest or any of that information you get from a car loan. So I suppose my problem is that the premium on these products is much higher due to obfuscation and these companies (like Plume) don't offer a comparable option to buy outright.

derekp7 8y ago

No different than any other form of financing for other products. Take cars for example, you can lay down cash up front, or you can spend more money by paying over time. Or you can pay less money for a lease, but you lose the car after 3 years.