Slashdot Mirror
Why Xbox Live Doesn't Take Exact Change
With ever-more tempting content on Xbox Live (like the awesome Exit), it's really frustrating to have to 'overpay' and buy Points in bulk. 1up got an official response from Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg on that issue, explaining why the service always leaves you with a little bit left over: "The reason why we do that, the core reason, is around credit card transaction fees ... If we do this in bulk, we don't have to burden the consumer with the transaction fees, or ourselves or publishers. It's about keeping infrastructure costs down and I know sometimes it's frustrating because you end up with odd points, but we don't have any plans to change that." Greenberg also addressed why the service limits you to 100 friends on your friends list.
If you've ever bought a couple songs for 2-3 days in a row, you've noticed that you only get 1 charge on the credit card. Apple will hold off charging you for a couple days to try to lump a couple purchases together to save on the CC transaction charges.
---You're all I need, When the water runs deep, You're all I need, Now I cry my soul to sleep -- Collective Soul, Needs
... getting people to pay for stuff they won't use. There are entire industries centered on exploiting this concept, most notably the prepaid calling card market. You pay for $20 and get $17 worth of product, and you can't use the remaining $3 for anything, so the company makes extra money on you. You see it everywhere... reward points on credit cards, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakage_(accounting)
rooooar