Amazon identified that people hate paying for shipping, so they deceived their customers about the price of shipping and compelled any vendor using Amazon to double-charge for shipping everywhere else. This may be clever, especially since they're getting away with it, but is hardly something to be praised.
"People hate paying for shipping. They despise it."<p>Similarly, the hate for add-on charges from the likes of airlines, hotels, and Live Nation.<p>Forcing airlines to quote one price and one price only is one of the more wonderful things that the EU has done for average Joes.
The article is interesting and all, but this aside was wildly out of touch:<p>> Wealthy people tend to receive a much more direct and immediate payoff for their time which is why they tend to be better about valuing it. This is why the first thing that most ultra-wealthy people I know do upon becoming ultra-wealthy is to hire a driver and start to fly private. For most normal people, the opportunity cost of their time is far more difficult to ascertain moment to moment.<p>Are you kidding? Poor people value their time, they just can't afford to use it more efficiently. I can't speak for Amazon shipping fees in particular, but if someone is eschewing a $5 delivery fee in favor of $3 of gas + 20 minutes of driving, it's because the marginal value of that $2 greater than the marginal value of that 20 minutes.