After Math: Premium Pricing
Dig deeper into those pockets, capitalism won't save itself.
Earnings week seems to arrive just a little bit sooner every fall — or it could just be the nonstop cheering from Big Tech who had a banner quarter thanks to the COVID quarantine turning many of us into a captive audience for their products and services. Here are some headlines from the week that was.
The first Alexa-connected toy kitchen goes on sale for $300
What, you thought your child was just going to indoctrinate themselves to life within the surveillance state? For free? In this economy? Not a chance. Not when Jeff Bezos can ding you for a trio of Benjamins on the way out.
While we were staying home, Amazon amassed $96.1 billion in sales
Speaking of Jeff Bezos getting even more wealthy, Amazon made an extra $26 billion in sales during Q3 2020 thanks to our shelter in place rules and everybody embracing delivery for, well, everything.
Tesla's $500 'Radio Upgrade' restores FM and Sirius XM access
Oh the woes of Tesla ownership. First the company offered a $2,500 infotainment system upgrade that gave customers access to YouTube, Netflix, Hulu — none of which should be watched while operating a motor vehicle mind you, unless you spring for the $10,000 FSD mode (though it’s being called is a “distant second” to GMC’s SuperCruise) — but had to ditch the existing AM, FM and Sirius functions. Now the company is offering to restore the FM and Sirius capabilities that used to be there with the addition of a new tuner and antenna for the low, low discount price of $500.
Netflix is raising the price of standard and premium plans in the US
Netflix is yet again getting a little more expensive. The company announced last week that its standard plan will now cost $14, a dollar increase, and its premium plan will rise two dollars to $18 a month. I’m old enough to remember when cord cutting actually saved people money.
Under Armour is selling MyFitnessPal for $345 million
Under Armour is looking to shed some weight, namely its MyFitnessPal and Endomondo apps. The former is being put up for sale with a $345 million price tag, the latter is simply being shut down, all so that the company can achieve a greater degree of “investment flexibility.”
