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Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bleed-em-dry dept.

The Washington Post has a story about the proliferation of extra fees tacked on to just about every product or service under the sun. A couple of good insights make it worth the read.

3 of 375 comments (clear)

  1. Vancouver Airport by EkiM+in+De · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had a conference in Vancouver in October. When I flew into Vancouver's airport I found out, much to my surprise, that I would have to pay 15 Canadian dollars just to leave the place (this fee not being included in my ticket). The airport authority called it an "Airport Improvement Tax". My only thought was, "I don't care what this airport looks like, I'm only going to be here a couple of hours".

    --
    Patriotism is the opium of the masses
  2. Per Transaction Fees Suck... by KagatoLNX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My boss gets lots of complaints because we pass the 3% credit card charge on directly. Like somehow people who pay with cash or check should subsidize the credit industry.

    I hate that sort of thing. It first really hit me when I got an unexpected $1 fee for using an ATM. Not the fee from the ATM's owner--a fee from MY OWN BANK for not using a preferred ATM network! After that I just came unglued (switched banks too).

    In the end, I think it's all just part of the game. Most people are so jaded about "the value of service" anymore that the only way to sell something is with the lowest price. A lot of these fees serve no other function than to allow the price to represent the real value of whatever it is you're paying for. No longer do we live in an age where many aspects of the transaction are rolled into an "overhead account". Everything seems to be billed in excruciating detail!

    While it largely makes sense, I long for the days when bills were simpler.

    --
    I think Mauve has the most RAM. --PHB (Dilbert Comic)
    1. Re:Per Transaction Fees Suck... by MyHair · · Score: 5, Interesting

      My boss gets lots of complaints because we pass the 3% credit card charge on directly. Like somehow people who pay with cash or check should subsidize the credit industry.

      But doesn't handling cash and checks cost money, too? Armored cars and local security to guard the cash, and someone gets paid to take the checks to the bank. I don't know if it compares to credit card fees, but don't discount the cost of cash and checks.