7 ms·

I'd be interested to see whether a movie theater is considered an event. Our local one charges a convenience fee when buying online because ... they can? I wis

I'd be interested to see whether a movie theater is considered an event. Our local one charges a convenience fee when buying online because ... they can? I wish they banned all mandatory add-ons. If I don't have the choice it should be part of the base price. The touristic railroad near me advertises a price, and then slaps on a mandatory Fuel Surcharge and Historic Preservation Fee. Excuse me? How can I compare what I'm going to spend my money on if you're just allowed to lie to me? Sidenote on fuel cost: Fuel is almost back to pre-COVID costs https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epmr_pte_nus_dpg&f=m https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=e... and once you add in inflation it's even cheaper.

ToucanLoucan 2y ago
> How can I compare what I'm going to spend my money on if you're just allowed to lie to me? You're not supposed to, that's the point. It's frankly shocking (and also not, but you know) how much businesses in America are allowed to bullshit you. I signed on with a telco for high speed internet when we bought our house for $65 a month and by the time we got fiber and I could finally tell them to kick rocks, the bill had soared to nearly $200 for the exact same service over the course of 4 years. Why? Because they can, and go fuck yourself. A hotel stay for a vacation was supposed to cost $851, but they demanded a $300 pre-authorization on top of that. Why? Because they can. I wasn't notified ahead of time, absolutely nowhere was this information given to me. And I could take that on fine, but why is this allowed? What if I wasn't so fortunate and was traveling by air, do I just sleep in a box because the hotel can't guarantee I'll be able to pay for $300 worth of room service I have no intention of buying? I feel like this just happens everywhere now, I just expect it. I expect to get fucked over in one way or another, and on the one hand I'm sure it's my anxiety, but on the other hand there is so much expensive arbitrary nonsense that's just plunked down in front of me, and yeah, most of it I can handle fine, because I work in tech and make good wages. So I guess just fuck everyone who grew up at the income level I got, because I am fucking sure that my single mother trying her hardest as she was, wouldn't be able to get by if I was born like 15-20 years later than I was. Edit: Oh and FUCK every politician who has ever farted out words something like "responsible consumption of healthcare" because sweet Jesus, healthcare billing is an utter nightmare. I don't think I have EVER, EVER in my entire life had some kind of medical event where I knew the costs going in that were then reflected afterwards. It's just all made the fuck up on the fly with no respect for the patients, when they are already stressed out and scared.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  > You're not supposed to, that's the point. It's frankly shocking (and also not, but you know) how much businesses in America are allowed to bullshit you. There's actually an administrative code in Washington that furniture (and maybe other) stores are only allowed to have a "Going out of business" sale _once a year_.
  - ToucanLoucan 2y ago
    We could use one of those where I live. There was a furniture store off the side of the highway that over a period of like 4 years had at least 12 of them, and then would just change it's name each time. Never bought anything from there since it seemed so incredibly sketchy. Then at last it went out of business properly and a U-Haul took over the space.
currymj 2y ago
when you buy a ticket online, you are actually buying an option on the ticket, because you can go in and refund it at any time before the movie starts. the “convenience fee” is the option premium. it would be fairer if this were opt-in. Some e commerce sites now allow you to pay a few extra dollars to have free returns, something similar would work for movies.
- conductr 2y ago
  No, this is complicating things. A physical ticket can also be refunded prior to show time. It's not an option at all, it's just a fee. They are charging you to 1) pick your seat 2) not have to show up early 3) peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved - all of those things are conveniences in the purest sense of the word. In many cases, the fee is more closely related to a platform fee going to fandango or similar service.
  - n144q 2y ago
    I think the "convenience fee" of online purchases is about the fact that if you want to buy a ticket days before showtime, you don't have to get a physical ticket at the box office in person. Not necessarily that I agree with it though -- in many parts of the world you have no such fees when you buy a movie ticket online.
    - conductr 2y ago
      I'd categorize that under my "2) not have to show up early 3) peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved" points. I don't necessarily agree with them either. It seems mutually beneficial to the venue to allow me to buy tickets digitally. It made sense maybe 20-25 years ago when the move online was a significant update to the then status quo. Now, it's just a revenue stream they don't want to give up that consumers see as the status quo, so why remove it? (from their perspective)
  - currymj 2y ago
    i guess it's technically true that you can go to the movie theater, buy a ticket, and then get back in line to refund the ticket and leave, but this seems like an odd thing to do. whereas buying a ticket in advance online, and then later refunding it (but losing the convenience fee), is common. "peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved" is what i mean by an option on the seat. now maybe i'm in fact wrong and all convenience fees are exactly passing through the credit card/fandango fees etc., but in practice it sure looks like an option.

ToucanLoucan 2y ago

> How can I compare what I'm going to spend my money on if you're just allowed to lie to me? You're not supposed to, that's the point. It's frankly shocking (and also not, but you know) how much businesses in America are allowed to bullshit you. I signed on with a telco for high speed internet when we bought our house for $65 a month and by the time we got fiber and I could finally tell them to kick rocks, the bill had soared to nearly $200 for the exact same service over the course of 4 years. Why? Because they can, and go fuck yourself. A hotel stay for a vacation was supposed to cost $851, but they demanded a $300 pre-authorization on top of that. Why? Because they can. I wasn't notified ahead of time, absolutely nowhere was this information given to me. And I could take that on fine, but why is this allowed? What if I wasn't so fortunate and was traveling by air, do I just sleep in a box because the hotel can't guarantee I'll be able to pay for $300 worth of room service I have no intention of buying? I feel like this just happens everywhere now, I just expect it. I expect to get fucked over in one way or another, and on the one hand I'm sure it's my anxiety, but on the other hand there is so much expensive arbitrary nonsense that's just plunked down in front of me, and yeah, most of it I can handle fine, because I work in tech and make good wages. So I guess just fuck everyone who grew up at the income level I got, because I am fucking sure that my single mother trying her hardest as she was, wouldn't be able to get by if I was born like 15-20 years later than I was. Edit: Oh and FUCK every politician who has ever farted out words something like "responsible consumption of healthcare" because sweet Jesus, healthcare billing is an utter nightmare. I don't think I have EVER, EVER in my entire life had some kind of medical event where I knew the costs going in that were then reflected afterwards. It's just all made the fuck up on the fly with no respect for the patients, when they are already stressed out and scared.

FireBeyond 2y ago
> You're not supposed to, that's the point. It's frankly shocking (and also not, but you know) how much businesses in America are allowed to bullshit you. There's actually an administrative code in Washington that furniture (and maybe other) stores are only allowed to have a "Going out of business" sale _once a year_.
- ToucanLoucan 2y ago
  We could use one of those where I live. There was a furniture store off the side of the highway that over a period of like 4 years had at least 12 of them, and then would just change it's name each time. Never bought anything from there since it seemed so incredibly sketchy. Then at last it went out of business properly and a U-Haul took over the space.

currymj 2y ago

when you buy a ticket online, you are actually buying an option on the ticket, because you can go in and refund it at any time before the movie starts. the “convenience fee” is the option premium. it would be fairer if this were opt-in. Some e commerce sites now allow you to pay a few extra dollars to have free returns, something similar would work for movies.

conductr 2y ago
No, this is complicating things. A physical ticket can also be refunded prior to show time. It's not an option at all, it's just a fee. They are charging you to 1) pick your seat 2) not have to show up early 3) peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved - all of those things are conveniences in the purest sense of the word. In many cases, the fee is more closely related to a platform fee going to fandango or similar service.
- n144q 2y ago
  I think the "convenience fee" of online purchases is about the fact that if you want to buy a ticket days before showtime, you don't have to get a physical ticket at the box office in person. Not necessarily that I agree with it though -- in many parts of the world you have no such fees when you buy a movie ticket online.
  - conductr 2y ago
    I'd categorize that under my "2) not have to show up early 3) peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved" points. I don't necessarily agree with them either. It seems mutually beneficial to the venue to allow me to buy tickets digitally. It made sense maybe 20-25 years ago when the move online was a significant update to the then status quo. Now, it's just a revenue stream they don't want to give up that consumers see as the status quo, so why remove it? (from their perspective)
- currymj 2y ago
  i guess it's technically true that you can go to the movie theater, buy a ticket, and then get back in line to refund the ticket and leave, but this seems like an odd thing to do. whereas buying a ticket in advance online, and then later refunding it (but losing the convenience fee), is common. "peace of mind knowing your spot is reserved" is what i mean by an option on the seat. now maybe i'm in fact wrong and all convenience fees are exactly passing through the credit card/fandango fees etc., but in practice it sure looks like an option.