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I think it's an issue of customer need. I need a car, I can't get to my job without one, and so I'm willing to pay a $250 non-refundable deposit before knowing

I think it's an issue of customer need. I need a car, I can't get to my job without one, and so I'm willing to pay a $250 non-refundable deposit before knowing my interest rate and wait two months for my model y to come in. I don't need a magazine, the content is free on HN, so minor inconveniences will prevent me from subscribing. If customers really needed this magazine they wouldn't care about how hard it is to cancel, and the magazine would probably make it easy to cancel because they would have better revenue streams to chase.

dcminter 1y ago
Hmm, I don't entirely agree - I don't, after all, need my Disney+ subscription, or my Spotify subscription, or several patreon sponsorships. I think those are comparable. The major intrinsic advantage they have is that they offer immediate gratification. The non-intrinsic advantage they have is that they're low commitment. When you could pick up a relevant magazine in a shop that had both characteristics. Now it has neither and one of them's self-inflicted.
chiffre01 1y ago
Assuming the advertising model still works, yes everything is "free".