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Electricity and so on are already included independently of the payment method. Yes, the store should be charging enough to its customers that it can afford el

Electricity and so on are already included independently of the payment method. Yes, the store should be charging enough to its customers that it can afford electricity, and if it can't afford electricity, it should increase its prices. It's not worth trying to account electricity use per-customer though, obviously, and it typically won't really vary by customer much anyway. Credit card fees on the other hand do vary by customer, and can trivially be attributed to a single transaction accurately.

bdangubic 2y ago
none of this makes sense of course if you want electricity, you call electric company, turn it on and you get a bill for usage. you want the priviledge of using visa at your store, you call them and get it all setup and and then you get a bill for this. it is cost of doing business and you can’t pass that shit off to customers
- TheDong 2y ago
  What you're saying doesn't make sense. If you run a cafe, and one customer orders an espresso and the other orders a latte, are you not allowed to charge them differently? Buying milk to make lattes is also a cost of doing business, but it's a cost that is only driven by people who buy lattes, so you pass the cost of milk on to latte buying customers and not espresso buying ones, right? Credit cards are the same as milk here, only people using them cost you money. Should all foods and drinks in a restaurant cost the same because otherwise you're passing on the cost of buying ingredients and staff labor, i.e. "the cost of doing business" on to customers unevenly?
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    Now I have seen it all - comparing a method of payment to milk might just be the greatest thing I have ever read on HN and that is ... something for sure ... so let's try again - I am buying a product or a service. It is exactly the same product, same "milk" if you will :) now the business is telling me that based on the method of payment I choose (who the F carries cash around in 2024/25...) I will be charge _different_ price for the _same milk_? that ... makes absolutely no sense. of course the business itself can choose to charge me extra 3% if I pay with Visa or 15% if I bring a goat to barter with but of course I am going to pick my ass up and head on over to a competitor who won't charge me 3% or 15% extra
- ac29 2y ago
  > it is cost of doing business and you can’t pass that shit off to customers If a business doesnt pass on its costs of doing business to customers, they will go out of business. The cost doesn't need to be passed on as a fee or surcharge, but it does need to be passed on.

bdangubic 2y ago

none of this makes sense of course if you want electricity, you call electric company, turn it on and you get a bill for usage. you want the priviledge of using visa at your store, you call them and get it all setup and and then you get a bill for this. it is cost of doing business and you can’t pass that shit off to customers

TheDong 2y ago
What you're saying doesn't make sense. If you run a cafe, and one customer orders an espresso and the other orders a latte, are you not allowed to charge them differently? Buying milk to make lattes is also a cost of doing business, but it's a cost that is only driven by people who buy lattes, so you pass the cost of milk on to latte buying customers and not espresso buying ones, right? Credit cards are the same as milk here, only people using them cost you money. Should all foods and drinks in a restaurant cost the same because otherwise you're passing on the cost of buying ingredients and staff labor, i.e. "the cost of doing business" on to customers unevenly?
- bdangubic 2y ago
  Now I have seen it all - comparing a method of payment to milk might just be the greatest thing I have ever read on HN and that is ... something for sure ... so let's try again - I am buying a product or a service. It is exactly the same product, same "milk" if you will :) now the business is telling me that based on the method of payment I choose (who the F carries cash around in 2024/25...) I will be charge _different_ price for the _same milk_? that ... makes absolutely no sense. of course the business itself can choose to charge me extra 3% if I pay with Visa or 15% if I bring a goat to barter with but of course I am going to pick my ass up and head on over to a competitor who won't charge me 3% or 15% extra
ac29 2y ago
> it is cost of doing business and you can’t pass that shit off to customers If a business doesnt pass on its costs of doing business to customers, they will go out of business. The cost doesn't need to be passed on as a fee or surcharge, but it does need to be passed on.