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I call it "subscription fatighe"I like to call this situation "subscription fatigue". Every company out there wants you to subscribe to their services, and people are getting tired of it. I mean, you are being asked to subscribe to things like:
Power
Gas
Water
Cable/satellite
Internet
Cell phone
Landline or VoIP phone
Netflix
Hulu Plus
Satellite radio
Newspaper
Magazines
And most everyone has a mortgage and car payments, and many younger folks have student loans.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone subs to all these services, but they're all out there, bugging the hell out of us, and, honestly, it's getting to be too much. And now the cell companies think we are ready to pay yet again for Internet on yet another device. Not me. I just don't see the value in it. If I'm at home, I'll use my home connection, if I'm at work, I'll use my work connection, and if I'm traveling, I'll use my smartphone and wi-fi. Where, exactly, is a tablet going to be so necessary that I have to pay another $30/month to use it?
These guys all seem to think we're swimming in cash, just looking for someone to give it to. Not me, and I suspect many others have also hit their limits. If you want to sell me something that will reduce my bills, I'm listening. Otherwise, bug off. | |  trebzon
join:2001-09-03
Grandville, MI |
said by ISurfTooMuch:These guys all seem to think we're swimming in cash, just looking for someone to give it to. Not me, and I suspect many others have also hit their limits. If you want to sell me something that will reduce my bills, I'm listening. Otherwise, bug off.
Spot on. | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO |
to ISurfTooMuch
You forgot all the coming "cloud" services. I predict that we're fast-approaching a time when we cannot buy a perpetual license to listen to music, watch a movie or even use a software program. It's all going to be a "service" that demands a monthly "access" fee. Oh and just in case that sounds OK, use of the service will also mean they get access to your usage profile so they can include ads-- unless you subscribe to the higher priced "premium" account. Then you'll only get one ad when you first access the content.
Wall Street loves recurring revenue. It helps offset increases in aviation and marine fuel. It also helps to purchase carbon credits. | | | |
It also reduces the need for companies to keep updating their products. I mean, how much more do we need MS Office to do that it isn't doing already? This makes it that much harder for MS to keep people buying new versions. Same with music. If most new music is garbage, why would anyone want it when they already have the albums they want? A subscription model solves these problems. Companies can keep charging you to have access to the same software, music, movies, etc. Suddenly, they can just sit there, producing nothing new of any value, yet still make money. | | |  dmxrob
Premium Member
join:2005-06-24
Saint Peters, MO |
to ISurfTooMuch
I couldn't have said it better myself. | | elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA |
to ISurfTooMuch
said by ISurfTooMuch:I like to call this situation "subscription fatigue". Every company out there wants you to subscribe to their services, and people are getting tired of it. I mean, you are being asked to subscribe to things like:
Power
Gas
Water
Cable/satellite
Internet
Cell phone
Landline or VoIP phone
Netflix
Hulu Plus
Satellite radio
Newspaper
Magazines
And most everyone has a mortgage and car payments, and many younger folks have student loans.
These guys all seem to think we're swimming in cash, just looking for someone to give it to. Not me, and I suspect many others have also hit their limits. If you want to sell me something that will reduce my bills, I'm listening. Otherwise, bug off.
Excepting Water and Power, everything on that list is completely optional. No one forces you to take student loans, a mortgage, or buy gas, cable, satellite, cellphones, landlines, netflix, hulu, newspapers or magazines. Companies don't think you're "swimming in cash" - quite the opposite. They're panicked that you don't have cash, and desperately trying to provide a product you'll buy with your limited funds. That's the whole point behind UBB and "low caps" Karl rants about daily. Even Walmart is telling its investors to hang on for a bumpy ride - its customers are running out of coin. | | | |
I'm going to nit-pick a little here. True, no one forces you to take student loans or a mortgage, but you almost have to. The cost of college is insane, especially professional programs like med school and law school, so, if you want to get a college degree, loans are a big part of that. Sure, you can skip college, but your earning potential is much lower in most cases. As for a mortgage, unless you want to rent all your life, you'd better buy a house, and, unless you happen to inherit one or have enough cash on hand to buy one outright, you have to take out a mortgage. You can continue to rent all your life, but all you're doing is helping pay someone else's mortgage, and you have nothing to show for it in the end.
Optional, yes, but there are very strong incentives to get them. | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO |
to ISurfTooMuch
And after they've sat there for a while, even that won't please The Street. Suddenly the monthly access fee will only allow a set number of "free" units after which you'll be charged a per unit overage fee. That's when we'll all try to find old computers and ditch the net -- if by then that's even an option. If you cannot start your car without pairing it to an Internet-attached smart phone, perhaps we'll just be forced into submission... | | elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA |
to ISurfTooMuch
said by ISurfTooMuch:I'm going to nit-pick a little here. True, no one forces you to take student loans or a mortgage, but you almost have to. The cost of college is insane, especially professional programs like med school and law school, so, if you want to get a college degree, loans are a big part of that. Sure, you can skip college, but your earning potential is much lower in most cases. As for a mortgage, unless you want to rent all your life, you'd better buy a house, and, unless you happen to inherit one or have enough cash on hand to buy one outright, you have to take out a mortgage. You can continue to rent all your life, but all you're doing is helping pay someone else's mortgage, and you have nothing to show for it in the end.
Optional, yes, but there are very strong incentives to get them.
If you are going to undertake a professional degree program like med school or law school, it is incumbent upon you to do the net financial analysis up front, not cry about it later. The cost is only "insane" because irresponsible wannabe "professionals" allow it to be. For undergrad, school doesn't have to be expensive - especially if parents act responsibly and force a budget on the situation. As for your earning potential, I'd submit that most people with the fortitude to survive med school or law school will do just fine in any endeavor they pursue, and with a 4-10 year head start, will come out ahead. As for a mortgage - I suspect you'd find there are millions of "homeowners" who disagree with your romantic vision - sometimes "having nothing to show for it" (and renting) beats owing the bank more than the intrinsic value of the house, while while paying for property taxes, maintenance, repairs, insurance, gardening, water/sewer and trash, and living in a car-only suburb. If you really want to "own", that's fine, and a personal decision - but you shouldn't be buying more house than you could ever afford, nor should you complain about it as a "necessity". | |
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