> I thought it's interesting that everything in the end gets put on the customers. It's the price we pay for convenience. I just don't like the way it's hidden to make it look like we're not actually the ones paying for it.
Where else would the cost go? Credit card costs, delivery costs, supply costs, advertising costs, the consumer always pays for it as they are the only one who are providing cash in any of these scenarios. I suppose the merchant could just eat the cost, but, assuming the markup isn't wild, that's a proposition that leads to a dead business.
The cost could go to a specific credit card fee paid by the customer only when they use credit cards, but the merchant agreements typically prohibit you from doing that. You're paying the price whether or not you're getting the convenience.
(I've seen a few small merchants tackle this by offering a cash discount as a subtraction from the regular price, for instance. But I'm not sure even that is contractually permitted.)
Where else would the cost go? Credit card costs, delivery costs, supply costs, advertising costs, the consumer always pays for it as they are the only one who are providing cash in any of these scenarios. I suppose the merchant could just eat the cost, but, assuming the markup isn't wild, that's a proposition that leads to a dead business.