4 ms·
Every payment carries fixed "mental processing fee" (deciding whether to do it or not) that is not going to go away.
by ntoshev 19y ago
Every payment carries fixed "mental processing fee" (deciding whether to do it or not) that is not going to go away.
- PStamatiou 19y agoIf it can literally be one-click away in some cases, that's all that's necessary for small amounts. Why do they have all that stuff right next to the checkout counter? Impulse buys. If things are cheap and very accessible, you are likely to think "whatever, fsck it", and buy it. I think that is a decent way to think about micro-payments.
- PStamatiou 19y agoI didn't mean to say that the "mental processing fee" will ever go away, but there are ways to put it in the back of your users' minds for a moment. The case I mentioned above, saying that something is limited edition or only for a short time, putting a personal spin on things, ..
- pg 19y agoTaxis.
- randallsquared 19y agoCould you unpack that? I'm not sure how taxicabs relate.
- pg 19y agoA taximeter is an example of a UI where small charges accumulate, and you don't have to think about them individually.
- randallsquared 19y agoI see. Thanks.
- ntoshev 19y agoThis works with current payment processing schemes as well: the accumulated result is no longer a micropayment. Examples: monthly subscriptions (WSJ, Basecamp), Amazon S3.
- ivankirigin 19y agoI agree, but the example doesn't work for this case. You don't think about each 1/8th mile on a ride, so the charges aren't thought of individually. But the issue here is content that isn't worth much, and you pay a tiny amount for each piece. My application to yc shares more thoughts on this.
- paul 19y agoI do. It hurts to see the meter keep increasing, especially at stop lights or a few feet from the destination. The best way to make a metered scheme hurt less is to hide the current charge, like an electric meter does, and only expose the value once per month. (the best way to decrease power consumption would probably be to expose the current charge in very visible and realtime way)
- far33d 19y agoPaul, I just heard a great NPR story about a power company that is doing just this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12476742 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1247674...
- ivankirigin 19y agoI think I agree, but that's only because I'm a cheap bastard. Also, I often stop myself and realize I'm biased towards thinking a cab is a better deal when it is moving faster -- as if I can magically avoid traffic and stop lights when I'm driving. But I suppose the point is that user pain needn't be rational.
- tipjoy 19y agoOr, as the update to the post suggests, allow people to pay a large amount up front.