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You forgot the + taxes & gov't fees part, which will make the final bill somewhere between $165 and $180.

smsm42 7y ago
That's another dark pattern. It's not like they don't know what the taxes and the fees are. They have the system that has exact amount of fees for every zip code in the US. Otherwise they couldn't bill you. Just ask for the zip code and give proper price. But no, that would make that nice $50 into ugly $180. TMobile gets it right - their price is final, what you see is what you pay.
- bubblethink 7y ago
  That's a very US specific thing. There are different interest groups for or against taxes across different states that I doubt it would change any time soon. I would love for all advertised prices to be the final price (or very close based on reasonable estimates), but such a law would never get broad support. Taxes are such a taboo in the US that the government can't even offer free income tax returns.
  - smsm42 7y ago
    Yes, so I can see how it can be hard for a small shop owner or a family restaurant to update their menus every time. But telecom vendor has these all implemented in their billing system anyway, and if there's a company that wouldn't have problem with either technical aspects nor budget to make their site show true price, that company is Google. They totally could do it if they wanted, they just prefer to post misleading prices because people allow them to get away with it.
  - angry_octet 7y ago
    Not so much a taboo for the public as a taboo for special interest group money. But it just needs a campaign to show that advertizing without tax makes taxes invisible, because you just pay it and gripe after, vs tax included and you change your purchase decision because it is too much money. Every jurisdiction I've been in that charges a consumption tax requires it be shown on the receipt, regardless of whether it was advertised as inc or ex tax.
    - bubblethink 7y ago
      >without tax makes taxes invisible Right, and that is the argument used against free tax returns in the US. They want taxes to be painful enough so that filing your taxes makes you think about them (and hence you would support the party that lowers taxes etc.) Overall, this dubious logic will never go away.
chaostheory 7y ago
Most of them aren’t even real taxes and government fees, yet the telecoms have been allowed to keep pretending for decades that their fake government taxes aren’t just hidden fees

That's another dark pattern. It's not like they don't know what the taxes and the fees are. They have the system that has exact amount of fees for every zip code in the US. Otherwise they couldn't bill you. Just ask for the zip code and give proper price. But no, that would make that nice $50 into ugly $180. TMobile gets it right - their price is final, what you see is what you pay.

bubblethink 7y ago
That's a very US specific thing. There are different interest groups for or against taxes across different states that I doubt it would change any time soon. I would love for all advertised prices to be the final price (or very close based on reasonable estimates), but such a law would never get broad support. Taxes are such a taboo in the US that the government can't even offer free income tax returns.
- smsm42 7y ago
  Yes, so I can see how it can be hard for a small shop owner or a family restaurant to update their menus every time. But telecom vendor has these all implemented in their billing system anyway, and if there's a company that wouldn't have problem with either technical aspects nor budget to make their site show true price, that company is Google. They totally could do it if they wanted, they just prefer to post misleading prices because people allow them to get away with it.
- angry_octet 7y ago
  Not so much a taboo for the public as a taboo for special interest group money. But it just needs a campaign to show that advertizing without tax makes taxes invisible, because you just pay it and gripe after, vs tax included and you change your purchase decision because it is too much money. Every jurisdiction I've been in that charges a consumption tax requires it be shown on the receipt, regardless of whether it was advertised as inc or ex tax.
  - bubblethink 7y ago
    >without tax makes taxes invisible Right, and that is the argument used against free tax returns in the US. They want taxes to be painful enough so that filing your taxes makes you think about them (and hence you would support the party that lowers taxes etc.) Overall, this dubious logic will never go away.

chaostheory 7y ago

Most of them aren’t even real taxes and government fees, yet the telecoms have been allowed to keep pretending for decades that their fake government taxes aren’t just hidden fees