I’m tired of companies calling things “free” when we are obviously paying for them. The two best examples are Amazon Prime and PlayStation Plus.
Amazon describes the benefits of Prime as “Free Two-Day Shipping, Instant Videos and Kindle Books.” Everyone I know (including myself) touts the “free” shipping as the best benefit of Amazon Prime. But since the program costs $79 a year, should they really be claiming that the primary benefit is free? This would be like a Chinese buffet claiming, “When you buy $8 worth of rice, the rest of the food is free!” No, it’s a buffet. You’re paying for everything.
PlayStation Plus does something similar. The online membership costs $50 a year and provides a variety of benefits including “free” games, discounts on certain game purchases, and other exclusives. I am confident that “free games” is the primary reason PlayStation 3 owners subscribe, especially at this price. Again, how can they claim these games are “free” when that is the very thing people are paying for?
A better way to phrase these benefits would be “Unlimited 2-day shipping” and “Access to certain games for no additional cost.”
Sure, it may not sound as exciting (nothing will get people to stand in line for 2 hours like the word “free”), but I would argue that it is far more accurate and ethical.
Amazon describes the benefits of Prime as “Free Two-Day Shipping, Instant Videos and Kindle Books.” Everyone I know (including myself) touts the “free” shipping as the best benefit of Amazon Prime. But since the program costs $79 a year, should they really be claiming that the primary benefit is free? This would be like a Chinese buffet claiming, “When you buy $8 worth of rice, the rest of the food is free!” No, it’s a buffet. You’re paying for everything.
PlayStation Plus does something similar. The online membership costs $50 a year and provides a variety of benefits including “free” games, discounts on certain game purchases, and other exclusives. I am confident that “free games” is the primary reason PlayStation 3 owners subscribe, especially at this price. Again, how can they claim these games are “free” when that is the very thing people are paying for?
A better way to phrase these benefits would be “Unlimited 2-day shipping” and “Access to certain games for no additional cost.”
Sure, it may not sound as exciting (nothing will get people to stand in line for 2 hours like the word “free”), but I would argue that it is far more accurate and ethical.