"It's An Actual Scam At This Point": People Are Sharing Things That Used To Be Free Back In The Day, But Now Cost Money
1."Accessories that used to come with your phone. They claim it's to cut costs and be more environmentally friendly, but the phone is actually MORE expensive now, and I need to buy battery-powered headphones."
"And then they don't include a power supply anymore, so I need to buy one that is USB-C, so all of the older ones I've been collecting are obsolete or sitting in a drawer at home. And I need a new USB-C cord to charge in the car."
—jrmart91
"iPhone headphones and charger! Phones used to have headphones, a charger, and accessories in the box. Now, it's just the phone, and you need to buy everything separately."
—Anonymous, 21, Macedonia
2."Camping. It used to be free to get into most state parks."
—pizzamanhoxie
3."Driving on the highway."
—OminousSC
"Tolls piss me off so bad. It's not about the money; it's about having to stop and count out change, plus a lot of that money is likely just paying for the person manning the booth. Why not just raise the gas tax a couple of pennies? So much more efficient."
—jmcdon00
4."Buying tickets. 'Convenience fee: $9001.'"
—ReferencesCartoons
"Print them off yourself — convenience fee. Pick them up at the box office — convenience fee. Get them mailed to your house — convenience fee."
—SultanOfBrownEye
"Seriously. I just ordered $5 tickets to a concert, but had to pay $20 to print them to actually use the tickets."
—zack6511
"Pearl Jam was right 20 years ago; it's an absolute slap in the face. The last company I used contacted me after I gave them a 2-star rating for their service. They literally couldn't understand why I was unhappy with their fee being 30% of the ticket prices added on. AND I had to download another app, not theirs, to use the ticket. I paid over $100 to click a few buttons on their website. It's an actual scam at this point."
—Anonymous, Chris, MA
5."I used to be able to get extra garlic sauce cups for free any time I got pizza from Papa John's. Now, they charge $1 per extra cup."
—TheRedditPaperclip
6."Plastic grocery bags (they're 5 cents in Washington, DC)."
—TheAustr0naut
7."Airplane food. I remember complete meals for free, and they were pretty decent too."
—None
8."Air for your tires. When I first started driving, I could walk up to any gas station and fill my tires for nothing. Not anymore. It's 'only' $1.25, but it used to be free."
—Anonymous, 33 Colorado
"California and Connecticut are the only states by law that can't charge for air at gas stations."
—UrsaPater
9."Everything on the internet, especially news articles and even most original content."
—VincentGrayson
"Also, academic articles. A few weeks ago, I read a paper about the viscoelastic something or other of mayonnaise and ketchup. They basically just squeezed out drops and watched how they fell, and they expected me to pay $35.99 for that shit. Nope, not happening. So glad I pirated it."
—brickmack
10."Parking. Of course, it wasn't free everywhere all the time, but it used to be you could usually go a couple of blocks farther to free parking or get validation from a restaurant or just some kind of deal/way out of paying. At large fairground-type events or amusement parks, parking was free or was next to nothing. Now, parking seems to be a major fraction of the site's revenue. "
—BrainBurrito
11."Banks used to give a toaster (or similar) to open a checking account, and those accounts had no fees. Today, there are no gifts, and fees start the minute the account is open."
—Ray Rocks, Yahoo
"This one kills me. They are charging you to hold your money for you, which they use to loan out to other people and make money off of the interest. You're already basically financing the bank's loans, why do they have to charge you on top of that?"
—wuroh7
12."Checking up to two bags when flying by plane. It was included in the cost of the ticket."
—NDaveT
13."The internet. Dial-up was free, then cable internet was $30 for a while. Now, it's $60 a month."
—Crotch_Snorkel
14."Hulu used to be free (with ads). Now, you have to pay to watch, and some tiers still have ads. "
—Anonymous, 35, Atlanta, GA
"Hulu used to be partially free. You could watch new episodes online without having to pay money. I used to watch Law & Order all the time on the website for free. "
—Anonymous
"Hulu. It took a while before Hulu Plus appeared. Hell, there were absolutely NO commercials when Hulu first started. I remember how sweet that was. Then, little 10-15-second ads started appearing. And now, I think there are two minutes or more of ads during each commercial break."
—ILoveYouBBW
15."Content in games. Maps, extra levels, weapon packs, and the like were available as updates, not DLC [downloadable content] that you have to pay for."
—ErrantRose
16."McDonald's sauce packets."
—blake_cq
"BBQ sauce at McDonald's."
—isaac9092
17."Paying bills online. It used to be a convenience, but now there's a fee to talk to a rep to pay a bill, and then if you do it online, there's a processing fee?"
—jrmart91
18."One that really burns me is Disneyland's FastPass. Pre-COVID, everyone who paid the price of entry was treated equitably and had an equal chance of getting on at least a few rides quickly. It was a brilliant idea and allowed all paying guests the same perk."
"Since COVID, Disney has doubled the cost of an entry ticket, even more on busy days, and has gotten rid of the FastPass so they can exploit the lines by charging for the same perk. We are already paying twice as much for a ticket, so why isn't that extra $80+ per person enough to cover it for everyone?
Maybe the wealthy can afford to tack on another $150 for a family per day without feeling it, but there are those who can ill afford it and feel pressure to pony up in order to maximize their visit. Adding insult to injury, both tickets and Genie Plus have gone up even further this year. It's money-grabbing, exploitive, elitist, and in no way 'magical.' It's shrinkflation at its saddest."
—bubblyghost664
19."YouTube without a headache-inducing amount of ads."
—redman004
"YouTube. Sure, there might have been a floating ad at the bottom of the video, but you could click it away and go on with your life. And if you had an ad blocker, then life was grand. Now, it's four ad breaks in a 10-minute video."
—justchillman
20."Pizza delivery. Directly from the restaurant, not one of the delivery services."
—markh63
21."'Kids eat free.' I remember going to restaurants with siblings and their kids as a teenager-early 20s, and there were often deals at many restaurants that had a kids' free meal or a discount with every adult."
"Now, as a mother of two toddlers, I only know of one restaurant in my area that has something free for kids. It makes taking a family of four out to eat a near impossibility for my budget. Not a major loss as I enjoy cooking, but I do feel a little sad that this is an experience my kids won't have memories of."
—Anonymous, 37, Colorado
22."Birthday desserts at most restaurants. I celebrated a birthday in May and booked reservations for brunch and dinner on my birthday, noting it was my birthday in the reservation, and neither restaurant gave a free dessert or food item."
—Anonymous, 33, California
23."Car charging. Everyone had them to lure in customers. Now, they have all been replaced by expensive chargers."
—Anonymous
24."If you were a member of Victoria's Secret, you used to get a coupon for a free panties every couple of months. Now, you have to spend $10 just to use the coupon."
—Anonymous, 36, EauClaire
25."I remember back in the day how the department stores would hand out good quality gift boxes like they were nothing. They were so sturdy you could store your Christmas decorations in them, which my mom did for years."
—Thomas, Yahoo
26.Seat selection on an airplane. I remember the first time I saw this; I hadn't flown in a while, so I was confused with all of the different prices on exit rows, front rows, and the first few rows. I was like, 'Didn't I already buy my ticket? I just want to sit on an airplane and go to my destination.' I feel like such an old man, but I'm only 40."
—Bill, Yahoo
"Exit aisle seating on airplanes."
—necrokitty
27.And finally, "Mini bottles of shampoo at hotels. My family used to take the bottles even when we didn't take a shower that night, just so room service would supply another one. Now, they have a big, huge bottle that is basically nailed to the shower."
—Geralt, Yahoo
Now, I want to know: are there even more former perks and freebies you remember that now cost money? Let us know in the comments. And if you'd like to remain anonymous, you can use the form below.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
38 Dating Profiles So Horribly Cringe-Worthy, I Can't Believe These People Actually Thought They Would Get Matches
is it. The worst dating bio I've ever seen. least she's honest. this man away from children. dates until five sexual encounters? That's a new one. you, his first photo was with a baby. Related: no. 80k a year like you're Warren Buffett is...a choice. you hate women so much, you don't have to date them. making a dating profile so you can LINE UP ALTERNATIVES in case your current relationship doesn't work out. sounds like a keeper. 200 lbs is "livestock" to you??? You deserve to be alone. no, I think the guy that an entire city of women is avoiding is the "undatable" one. you have to write "c'mon it was hilarious" after your joke, you know it was not, in fact, hilarious to your target audience. sure he got many takers here, but hey, maybe it's someone's thing. Related: would anyone be interested in being abused? he want an award for the nudes thing? 17.I think my "yumyum" just physically cringed. would you put this in your dating profile? least she's honest about what she wants? we past this in 2025? Related: guy needs therapy, not a girlfriend. everyone has pronouns, so I think this guy is ending up alone. for the warning, I guess? 24.I hope he got zero matches. the irony... this guy looking for help burying a child's body??? honesty is not the best policy. a gem. she sounds fun! word "warning" was appropraite here. Related: 32.*Who would reply to this? do people use their dating bios to complain about women and modern dating? It's not going to get you a match. being 39 and wanting a woman under 25 tells me all I need to know. I'm glad you disclosed that you're problematic as hell upfront, at least. Because I'm convinced that we live in a generation where men don't know basic spelling or grammar. calling yourself an "alpha male" actually attractive to any woman? to the future of dating. What's the worst thing you've seen on a dating profile? Let us know in the comments! Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed: Solve the daily Crossword
The Verge
14 minutes ago
- The Verge
I tried ‘Bricking' my phone to fix my brain
'We need to talk.' Nobody likes to hear those words from their spouse. Especially when it's delivered in a grave tone as you rot on a couch in a grubby blankie, staring like a zombie while doomscrolling. 'Wut?' I said, very intelligently. What came next was a compassionate but firm speech about how I was in dire need of an intervention. My attention span, my spouse said, was utterly shot to hell. They'd just asked my opinion about something happening on the TV show we were watching. I hadn't heard them. At all. Apparently, they'd repeated the question three times. Instead, I'd been engrossed in… actually, I couldn't tell you. 'You have a problem,' they said, tapping my phone. 'You can't put it down.' I launched into an impassioned self-defense. A close friend was going through a tough time, and I was worried about them. My bestie was asking my opinion on a dicey work matter. Those texts could not wait! Plus, it was a busy week at work, and I was keeping an eye on something in Slack. And I'd only picked up my phone during our sacred viewing of Love is Blind to look up a factoid about the tea the show producers had kept hidden, and then I'd seen an ad for a new sunscreen and — oh. 'It's not a 'you' problem,' my infinitely patient spouse said. 'I do it, too. Which is why I think you should Brick yourself.' For the second time that night, I uttered a very intelligent, 'Wut?' As it turns out, my spouse heard about Brick from a podcast and had been using it for months. It's an app that 'bricks' distracting apps and their notifications. Similar to other screen-time apps, you can create modes that let you pick and choose which distracting apps to block. For example, a 'deep work mode' that blocks all social media. But unlike other screen time apps, this one gets a bit nuclear. Brick comes with a physical key — a small NFC-enabled square about the size of an AirPods case. You tap your phone to the key to brick it, and you must tap the device again to unbrick it. If you lose the key, you can't unbrick your phone. The company gives you only five 'emergency unbrick' codes to manually override blocked apps in a pinch. Once you use one, it's gone. Forever. If you use the codes up and lose the key, well. You've got to factory-reset. There's even a 'strict mode' that prevents you from deleting all apps while your phone is bricked. As in, you won't be able to bypass it by deleting and redownloading blocked apps. My spouse had lost their Brick. Apparently, that's why they hadn't been on social media in weeks. They were adamant that my attention span — and therefore my life — would dramatically improve if I tried it too. So I gave it an honest go. It went poorly. The main problem is that Brick requires you to be intentional about being present. I was addicted to being omnipresent. I became so worried about losing the key — and therefore my connection to Knowing Things — that I carried it with me everywhere. When you carry the key with you, it becomes stupidly easy to just unbrick your phone whenever temptation or mild inconvenience strikes. My failure was useful, though. It underscored everything my spouse said about how my attention span had eroded over the past five years. Humbling as it was, I had to look at how I got here. As a caretaker, I'd gotten used to allowing every notification because I was afraid of missing an important one. As executor of my mother's estate, I'd been trained to jump at every email and to pick up every unknown call because it could be a bank representative, an unpaid bill collector, or a long-lost friend wanting to know what happened. And, well, in journalism, you're incentivized to pivot at a moment's notice if news breaks. It's hard to fully unplug when a small portion of your brain is always on call. Despite the dopamine rush I get from answering notifications, it's a bad way to live long-term. I love reading. I used to be able to devour A Song of Ice and Fire books in a single sitting. I was one of those dorks who read nearly 100 books a year. But in the last year, getting through a single chapter was a Herculean struggle. But where I noticed it most was while watching TV shows and movies. At first, it started with recognizing an actor but not knowing from where. I'd reach for my phone, look them up, and go back to watching. Simple. But somewhere along the way, particularly while watching thrillers or horror movies, I became unable to handle the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next. The internet is glorious for that. Some people hate spoilers, but I devoured them. I started avoiding movie theaters, not just because they were expensive, but because my hands would itch with the urge to look things up. And once you pick up your phone, something else will grab your attention next. It wasn't until I saw Old Friends and John Proctor is the Villain that it hit me. In a Broadway theater, a grumpy usher will kick you out if you're on your phone. (Or, Tony Award-winner Patti LuPone might snatch it from your hand.) The not-knowing was uncomfortable at first. But sitting with that discomfort also allowed me to feel delighted when moments of the shows surprised me. I remembered that not knowing isn't always a portent of disaster. It can be a good thing. Maybe I'd failed with Brick because of my tendency to optimize for every scenario. Right off the bat, I'd created a Work mode, a Writing mode, a Reading mode, a TV mode, a Fitness mode, and so on and so forth. Who in their right mind is going to remember to tap a device every time they switch gears? I put maybe two hours of work into selecting which apps to block for each without knowing what I actually needed. That only frustrated me when I required something from my phone. Ultimately, I put myself in a situation where I couldn't possibly succeed. But what if I just used Brick for one scenario: Watching TV. I remembered that not knowing isn't always a portent of disaster. It can be a good thing. I've since edited my Brick's TV mode. When enabled, the only apps I can use are Messages and utilities like the Clock, Calls, or the Wallet app. People can reach me in real emergencies, but once a show starts, I now put my phone face down on the table and take off my smartwatches. I'm trying a thing where, if I have an insatiable burning need to know something during an episode, I write it down on a memo pad. So far, I've learned the world doesn't end if I am late to respond — even if people, usually other chronically online friends, get tetchy with me. My attention span hasn't been fully rehabilitated. My spouse and I are currently rewatching Law and Order SVU, and every time there's a cameo, I nearly lose my mind trying to figure out who it is. But I miss fewer plot points. I laugh more because I'm not missing Ice-T's infamous zingers. I'm still struggling with longer movies and prestige shows, but I've started reading more easily again. I can't prove these two things are related, but it feels like they are. I don't know that I'll ever find the perfect balance between being connected and disconnected. Brick still doesn't work for me in every scenario. I don't think this is a solution that'll work for everyone in the same boat. But this experiment has been a helpful reminder that you don't always have to go big and fix everything at once. Sometimes, all it takes is a tweak to get a small win. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rescue my Brick key from my cat. I like a little peace, but I'm not ready to lose an emergency unbrick code just from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Victoria Song Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Analysis Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Column Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Features Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Phones Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Fox News
16 minutes ago
- Fox News
'Bring on more of these women!': Stacy Washington rips Sweeney ad controversy
'Stacy on the Right' host Stacy Washington discusses American Eagle's response to online backlash received for their ad campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney.
