How about rejecting "cheap appliance; recoup costs with shady, anticompetitive business practices"

It's inherent to the business model to block out competition on the "recoup" item. What business sells the appliance at a loss and meekly accepts being overrun by third-party suppliers? Dead businesses, that's who...

Yup, I think we should, because it leads to the world where appliances suck.

Downside: the model is "progressive", where more people can afford to use the appliance because it is subsidized by people with high usage. So if we axe that model, product X becomes inaccessible to many people.