> this ease of price comparison has resulted in unbundling of services in a number of industries - e.g. airlines where the base price is akin to "we let you han

> this ease of price comparison has resulted in unbundling of services in a number of industries - e.g. airlines where the base price is akin to "we let you hang on to the wing", and everything else is an upcharge. The issue isn't that everything is an upcharge. I have no problem with having options. I actually like being able to pay less when I don't need the added options. With airlines, (at least here in EU) you pretty much know what the base price buys you and that everything is an option on top of it. And as long as the options are reasonable (like paying for additional luggage) and the UI isn't trying to mislead you to buying something you don't intend, I think this is very defensible from the standpoint of making product better and more affordable to people (who don't necessarily need additional luggage, for example). The issue is in many cases there is not even a possibility to buy the product/service for the advertised price and they will make difficult for you to find out what you are going to pay until it is too late or you have invested time/effort. It is a restaurant where the charges are added to your bill (the tip no longer being voluntary) or a shop where they try to recoup some of their losses with an exaggerated shipment fees. Or when you suddenly find out a critical part of your product is sold separately. Or you buy a printer and then they try to scam you by selling the ink/toner for more than the price of the printer. Or the website UI makes every effort to hide from you the fact you are buying something you don't need.