• Kethal@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’m perfectly happy to pay for things I value, especially if the alternative is being forced to pay with my time and attention. The evidence also doesn’t entirely support your argument, since plenty of places that you pay for still try to show ads.

    • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      The evidence also doesn’t entirely support your argument, since plenty of places that you pay for still try to show ads.

      Where was it ever said that a site could only use one model? The same is/was true of newspapers that cost you a subscription but also sold ads. Without the ads, the subscription would be much more expensive.

      I personally am unlikely to pay for a huge variety of news sites and other publications, but I really appreciated having access to all that content for free. Sure, I might pay for one or two especially valuable sites, but my personal opinion is that it was better when the sites were making enough money to make it worthwhile for them by selling a reasonable amount of advertising, and the content was free to the users.

        • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          42% is a fraction, but it’s a huge fraction. Higher in some demographics, lower in others.

          If your claim were accurate, they wouldn’t have to resort to putting ads on websites that are subscription based.

          How do you figure? Most business ventures will ask themselves how much a customer would pay for their product. If the answer is lower than enough to make product, they either won’t enter the market or they’ll figure out a way to lower the price. Selling ads is a way to lower the price. Also worth noting that ads used to generate a lot more revenue than they do now.

      • Kethal@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        “Without the ads, the subscription would be much more expensive.”

        That’s not at all how it works. How is it that adults think prices are based on costs? They teach supply and demand in high school.

        • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          As I said elsewhere, for most products, the makers ask how much they think people would be willing to pay for it. If that price is lower than an amount that would generate reasonable profit, they’ll either no go to market or they’ll look for ways to reduce or offset costs. Ads are a common way of keeping the price within what people are willing to pay.

          • Kethal@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            No, that assumes that prices are based on cost, which is not true. Ads are a way to make money on top of what people will pay.

    • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      He didn’t write a multi page thesis covering every single use case, quick tell him he’s wrong!