You're Charging Me for Whaaat? Four Things That Used to Be Free
It’s not your imagination: More and more things that used to be free are now costing you money. Food delivery. Grocery bags. The unexplained “convenience fee.” Add-ons and extras are everywhere, often boosting actual costs well over headline prices. New line items on power and cable bills often slip by unnoticed. Even securing a hard copy of your own bank statement might come at a cost. Things we used to buy once—like music or DVDs—are being replaced by subscriptions that we pay over and over. In some countries, BMW owners are even paying a monthly fee for heated seats.
Airlines
Prefer an aisle seat? Don’t like sitting in the back of the plane? These days, that can cost you. Major airlines have introduced “preferred seats.” Travelers that choose them must pay an extra fee—sometimes to the tune of more than $100—on top of their airfare. To be clear, these are not seats with extra legroom or other perks. Rather, these are standard economy seats, often toward the front of the plane and near the aisle or window.
Hotel pools
Like airlines, hotels are notorious for attaching additional charges to the bill at the end of a stay: resort fees, self-parking fees and fees for checking in early. Pool chairs are now sometimes added to the mix. Hotels in locations ranging from Las Vegas to Honolulu to Phoenix have begun charging for the privilege of a poolside lounge chair. This isn’t a cabana—though sometimes the reservations include towels, umbrellas, cold water and ice. Generally there will still be plenty of free seats available at the hotel pool, but they’re not always in a prime location. To get the best seats, at no additional charge, guests will need to snag them early in the day.
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At the movies
Avoiding spoilers for the next blockbuster movie may cost you. Earlier this year, AMC Theatres imposed a surcharge when “The Batman” first hit theaters. The surcharge cost between $1 and $1.50, depending on where the theater was located. Other chains did the same. Viewers at a Cinemark theater in Ohio paid an extra $2 to see “The Batman.” Cineworld Group-owned Regal Entertainment also charged more for the popular film. In a sense, blockbuster fees are a form of variable pricing—no different from how a hotel stay or flight will cost more during a holiday weekend as opposed to a less busy time of the year.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/things-that-used-to-be-free-that-now-cost-money-11661553156 (subscription)
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While manufacturers reduce the size of packaging yet still charge the same, or even more.
