I remember reading that early on in the telephone age, some people had leased their phones from the telephone company for $5 a month or so rather than buying on

I remember reading that early on in the telephone age, some people had leased their phones from the telephone company for $5 a month or so rather than buying one outright. They then proceeded to pay that lease fee for decades, ultimately paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more than the cost of the phone, and continuing to pay that fee even when replacement phones could be had for $10 or less.