That's the trend in recent innovations of our system. Instead of increasing profit by expanding market share or outdoing competitors, the new strategy is to find new ways to nickel-dime consumers. If it works, that's great (Yay capitalism), but more and more I find myself ending my participation in the non-essentials. If I feel like I'm starting to get fucked, I don't play. It's amazing how easy it is to do without those things I considered addictions. But obviously, I'm not setting any trends, and companies still seem to be able to scam enough customers to make their boardrooms happy. They still send me junk mail. So I know they want me to play with them, but they won't play by my rules. So sadly, it's sayonara. One of my favorite corporate jokes are these new services offered by companies that you can buy for a few dollars a month. But they aren't new at all, they are just the ordinary costs of providing service that the company had to pay to do business in the first place.
My most recent declaration of corporate retaliation I'm waging on Costco. I'm no longer paying them $75 dollars a year to shop in their store That's not even like an extra service. Granted their inventory is huge, but their selection is worse than the average corner deli. For example, you want to buy soup? They have it in warehouse quantities stacked in huge unopened crates 20 feet high. But you only get two choices. It's Chicken Noodle or Tomato. I've done the math, and when all is said and done, I can save about $50 a year after I pay for the membership and the extra gas it takes to make a 200 mile round trip to their store twice a year to stock up and make the trip worthwhile. I've taken my receipts to my local Walmart and compared prices. I can save $25 a trip to Costco, but waste an entire day while doing it. But then I'm not buying for a family.
In fairness, if you ever buy hearing aides, buy a membership and get them at Costco. Their service and professional care impressed me, and I saved about $800. 2 1/2 years later, I had a problem with one of them, and they were still totally covered by warranty. Other things not so much. I recently, bought a set of Michelin Tires at my local tire dealer for what Costco was selling them, and I don't have to pay him to shop in his store.