I didn't hear that one but I am a fan of Sklansky. And I also have a very vivid memory of learning the word, when I first heard the song Turn Around by They Might Be Giants. The connection with the song burned it into my memory.
Then I think they should submit the email (e.g. in a pastebin or Google doc or something). Not misrepresent the contents of this page.
First, editorializing the submission titles is against HN policies. Second, it'd let us see the actual communication from Vercel rather than a paraphrase.
And it's not so much about proof, it's about the details. For example the $300/month discount for a much longer transition period seems like pretty relevant context.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, regardless of how you distribute the costs. If a seller is refunding the cost of shipping on returns, they are passing that cost on to you in some other way (higher prices, membership fees, etc).
You could make the argument that if you return items more often than the average customer, your share of those costs may be getting subsidized by the customers who return items less often. But if you return items less often, you're probably worse off.
No, in a competitive market they are not necessarily “passing that cost on.” For instance, an online retailer must compete with bricks-and-mortar stores. At local stores, all shipping and returns are free. If online retailer’s price is too high, it might simply lose the sale. Its price, including shipping, must compete with the price at the store.
I hear this “passing the cost on” argument all the time and it always presumes that the consumer is the only cost taker. It forgets that costs can also get passed to someone else: the shareholders, in the form of lower profits.
