Reply To: Are we the grognards?

[onlyonepinman 18109xp 2]

The ulterior motive behind services over products is…  Dun dun duuuuun… Money.  If a business sells you a product they make an amount of money off you once and then they have to put a lot of extra work in to make a new product to sell you again and that sale is by no means guaranteed, especially in a competitive market place where there are other options.  Sell you a subscription model and they only have to make one product and then spend a lower level of effort servicing that product whilst making a guaranteed (albeit smaller) amount of money off you each month.  While it is certainly cheaper in the short term it more expensive in the long run and never really gives you the opportunity to move upwards and improve your circumstances (for example buying a car, looking after it and then selling it to use as a deposit for your next car).  You essentially become trapped in a system.  While you could compare it to the credit system, you can manage the credit system to ensure you do not become trapped in it (i.e. taking on too much debt).  I don’t currently see any way around the subscription model