> They would not risk breaking even or losing money if people opted out more than expected.
Loss-leader. Allows them to advertise a low base price, but most people will pay more.
> It's a false choice
Lol it’s not - you can genuinely choose to never pay for it, to pay later, or pay up front. Those are all useful choices I can imagine real people exercising.
Why do you think it’s an illusion? Why is not paying not an option?
> If I stood in front of your front door with a gun in hand
It’s a car seat heater. It’s a luxury. Nothing as dramatic.
> Loss-leader. Allows them to advertise a low base price, but most people will pay more.
They wouldn't risk it in this case, for such a high cost item. It makes no sense for the marginal cost of the heater, the base price would just be marked above the cost.
> It’s a car seat heater. It’s a luxury. Nothing as dramatic.
Way to miss the point. Thought experiments are dramatic so as to make the principle obvious: just because you've increased the set of possible choices does not mean you've added value. That's the case with the thought experiment and with subscription seat heaters. That's why it's a false choice, the value has already been added by economies of scale, and BMW is trying to profit more without any effort by removing that added value.
As I already explained, we want innovation from effort that encourages progress, not profiteering from artificial scarcity. Skewed incentives that don't result in progress should be criticized and corrected.
Loss-leader. Allows them to advertise a low base price, but most people will pay more.
> It's a false choice
Lol it’s not - you can genuinely choose to never pay for it, to pay later, or pay up front. Those are all useful choices I can imagine real people exercising.
Why do you think it’s an illusion? Why is not paying not an option?
> If I stood in front of your front door with a gun in hand
It’s a car seat heater. It’s a luxury. Nothing as dramatic.