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Used to be Free... no more
10-27-2012, 06:29 PM
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#1
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peru
Posts: 6,335
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Used to be Free... no more
Wasn't so long ago, I could go to "white pages" or a number of other websites, to do a reverse look-up on a phone number. Tried tonite, and found at least ten websites that promised a free phone look-up with name and location. Turns out, none of them delivered. Just a four step process to get you to a page that says we found your number, and will give it to you for $.99 to $4.99.
Finally found a page... CBS I think that said in effect... "good luck on the FREE part. The suggestion was to simply put the number into Google, and see if it turns up there.
This started me thinking... What ustabe FREE, ain't FREE no more.
Free air at the gas station...
Free Car Check ups... yes... we used to do that... made bundles of $$$ for us. We averaged more than $150 in subsequent Sales/labor charges after our 18 point free checkup that took 5 minutes. Today, the dealership made a point to tell me that after my car crossed the white line on the floor, I would have minimum charge of $95... just to look at the car.
Free legal consult... The 3 minute conversation "Here's my problem, can you help?" Now has a minimum $200 fee.
Free weight scales... Publix stores... still yes... The scale in front of General Nutrition at the mall... $.50... (but it includes a Body Mass Index calculation).
Free Bank Checks (even interest bearing accounts) Hah!... We even had to pay for the "free starter checks" and they froze our initial deposit for 3 days...
no Free checks and .007% interest..
The "free 25% more" in the $3.00 shampoo bottle means the old 16 .oz container is now 12 .oz and costs $3.50.
The third tire FREE, is based on full price, which is 25% higher than the normal every day sale price.
The second canteloupe FREE is based on the never-before-regular-price of $4.00.
One new twist here in my town.... Instead of the "Free" hearing test, our local hearing aid dealer is offering a free turkey...
Anyone else notice notice that true "Free" is disappearing?
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10-27-2012, 06:38 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,303
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No product or service was ever really free...but a surprising number of people like to believe otherwise. Sorry...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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10-27-2012, 06:45 PM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
No product or service was ever really free...but a surprising number of people like to believe otherwise. Sorry...
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Okay . . . "Things you could get for free that other people really paid for when they bought the item."
I miss the free air at the gas station. Water was always available, too (I'm pretty sure the lawyers and insurance companies made them remove that--too many burns from hot radiators)
Hey, there are still free food samples at Sam's!
Free Blue Chip/S&H Green Stamps. Okay, there was no way to get these for "free"--the cost was certainly built into the price of the products. Mom used to save those stamp books and I remember pawing through the catalogs. It took a LOT of stamps to get anything.
Also at the gas station: Full service was free (because there was no self serve). That included cleaning the windshield, checking the oil, a look at the tires and air if needed.
Free batteries at Radio Shack. Bring that battery card in every month and get your choice.
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10-27-2012, 07:15 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Moscow
Posts: 1,572
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Free air and water reigns supreme in my neck of the woods...
__________________
You can't enlighten the unconscious.
But you can hit'em upside the head a few times to make sure they are really out...
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10-27-2012, 07:44 PM
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#5
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imoldernu
true "Free"
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Like Midpack says, that seems oxymoronic...
Today when something's "free" I ask for a price breakdown and a discount.
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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10-27-2012, 08:01 PM
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#6
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 702
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I had to buy a can opener the other day to open a large can of pineapple juice.
The simple can punching openers used to be free.
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10-27-2012, 08:19 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,894
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I've been getting motor oil for free with sales and rebates. This year has mostly been Nextgen at advance auto onsale with a amex gift card rebate and G-OIL mail in rebate for full purchasr price. Got several years worth of changes stacked in the garage. It really is free other than the stamp to send the rebate in.
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10-27-2012, 09:11 PM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,223
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We still have free air and water at the gasoline station , mandated by California state law , but an "Out of Order" sign is on those goofy airhose boxes at about 90% of the time. At Costco , you just swing by the tire center.
One thing you didn't even get to: The Free Dinner at the Ameriprise Financial Investors Seminar .
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10-27-2012, 09:54 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakewood90712
We still have free air and water at the gasoline station , mandated by California state law , but an "Out of Order" sign is on those goofy airhose boxes at about 90% of the time.
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Hmm--I wonder why they don't fix them. 
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10-27-2012, 10:00 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,258
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Or as Robert Heinlein said: (TANSTAAFL) "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. If you paid for lunch, the beer would be cheaper."
For instance, as people demand lower gas prices the station owners have to stop "paying" for the "extras" and charge the users of them. Competition (capitalism) requires this. That's also the logic behind Toll Roads.
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
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10-27-2012, 10:57 PM
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#11
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakewood90712
One thing you didn't even get to: The Free Dinner at the Ameriprise Financial Investors Seminar .
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Yes, and it comes at a very high price...
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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10-28-2012, 01:18 AM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
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The free clinics where I volunteer sometimes are 100% free. However, patients have to buy their meds when they pick them up at their pharmacy of choice.
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
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10-28-2012, 05:29 AM
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#13
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,353
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Apparently this is a regional thing. Many gas stations near me have free air compressors. Not long ago, I needed gas at one of the stations where it cost a quarter. I was out of change, so I went in and asked for change of a dollar to use the air. The clerk said "Oh, you don't have to do that; I'll just turn it on for you from here."
The thing that has always surprised me is how just about every store is happy to give you a free bag ("paper or plastic") for whatever you buy there. Since that's obviously not the case in most other countries I've visited, I keep wondering when we will get wise and require people to bring their own bags.
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-28-2012, 06:14 AM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,894
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
The thing that has always surprised me is how just about every store is happy to give you a free bag ("paper or plastic") for whatever you buy there. Since that's obviously not the case in most other countries I've visited, I keep wondering when we will get wise and require people to bring their own bags.
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I reuse the the plastic ones for garbage and waste basket liners, I never buy trash bags. 
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10-28-2012, 06:20 AM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,141
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There are lots of things that used to be expensive that are no longer....
I remember way back when people had to spend serious bucks to place a classified ad. Now there's Craigslist.
It used to cost me $100 to make a stock trade, now it costs me $8.
I'd rather take the savings on the stock commissions and pay 25c for the air for my tires, thank you very much!
And I barely use paper checks anymore so don't have to buy more (actually I got the "free" ones), and I use stamps so rarely that I haven't bought any in years (still have old forever stamps), and I get % cash rewards back on my no-fee credit cards where that used to be unheard of.
I get a lot of "free" two day shipping. Shipping rates in general are way cheaper and many online venders throw in free shipping once an order reaches a modest threshold (which keeps dropping).
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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10-28-2012, 06:25 AM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,656
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Still Free Checking at the Credit Union - the "price" is you have to have an ongoing direct deposit into your account.
Free electronic bill-pay, if you use it to pay at least 3 bills per month. When it first started, they were charging $5.00 per month. I guess nobody signed up at that rate!
Amethyst
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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10-28-2012, 08:15 AM
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#17
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,774
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
...
The thing that has always surprised me is how just about every store is happy to give you a free bag ("paper or plastic") for whatever you buy there. Since that's obviously not the case in most other countries I've visited, I keep wondering when we will get wise and require people to bring their own bags.
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Whole Foods does the opposite of requiring you to bring your own bag--the store gives you 10 cents credit per bag if you bring your own. The (organic free-trade) carrot works even better than the stick for the store.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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10-28-2012, 08:37 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,413
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Here in Mass, not only is nothing free, it's damn expensive sometimes!
There's a fee/charge/tax on just about everything except hot air. There's even a charge to pay our property taxes online.
__________________
Living well is the best revenge!
Retired @ 52 in 2005
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10-28-2012, 08:40 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
The thing that has always surprised me is how just about every store is happy to give you a free bag ("paper or plastic") for whatever you buy there. Since that's obviously not the case in most other countries I've visited, I keep wondering when we will get wise and require people to bring their own bags.
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Eh, in Europe you have to put stuff in the bags yourself too.
That we also do. However, my sister-in-law who lives in San Diego says she will no longer have that freebie when the plastic ban law takes effect.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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10-28-2012, 09:09 AM
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#20
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
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Free love?  ...
Or is a relic (like I am) from the 60's?
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