"You pay for this service and rides aren't getting any cheaper" - you can't just say things. You could very well be right but you need to actually look at their margin profile over time to know if this is true.

To give an industry that's a counterexample to the "they add ads and don't make things cheaper", look at groceries. It's a terrible, single-digit percentage margin business but they sell everything from placement in catalogue to whether the product is in a convenient spot on the shelf. That's a clear case where ads make it _cheaper_ for consumers.

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jcalvinowens 17 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> look at groceries. It's a terrible, single-digit percentage margin business but they sell everything from placement in catalogue to whether the product is in a convenient spot on the shelf. That's a clear case where ads make it _cheaper_ for consumers.

I don't follow... it certainly improves the grocer's margins, but how does that do anything at all for the consumer?

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benced 10 hours ago | parent [-]

I should have been clearer: it's a terrible single-digit percentage business, including the ads. The ads are cross-subsidizing the food.

	▲	jcalvinowens 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> The ads are cross-subsidizing the food. I don't think you were unclear, that's what I understood you to be saying. Surely, the grocer just pockets the extra ad money? Never in my life have I seen a for-profit corporation voluntarily charge a lower price than the market will bear because they increased their margin by other means. The ads are also inherently shitty to the producers: they all have to spend money on the grocer's ads now, because if they don't, their competitors will. If you look at it that way, the ads are almost extortion.

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monerozcash 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah, in competitive markets this would inherently cause some downward pressure on prices.