Comment by weakened_malloc
2 hours ago
This argument never really holds water with me, why stop at card costs? Why not add on an additional fee for every other thing like, fuel surcharge on delivery costs, employee surcharges (I don't live in a place where tipping is expected), or even energy surcharges?
The cost of the product should be what's on the label. If that's not enough, raise the price.
Others have already mentioned that the credit card surcharge is something that the customer has control over. But in regards to the other fees:
> Why not add on an additional fee for every other thing like, fuel surcharge on delivery costs, employee surcharges (I don't live in a place where tipping is expected), or even energy surcharges?
A lot of companies already do this. As long as those fees are mentioned somewhere before purchasing, it's legal here:
https://abc7news.com/post/what-are-surcharges-bill-when-eat-...
California banned all these surprise fees, and then the restaurant industry got their own exemption:
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2024/06/california-restaur...
As a consumer, I find add-ons fees extremely annoying.
What does Europe do here? They at least add tax into the list price which the US can’t seem to do because reasons.
The credit card fee is the only thing that changes based on the payment method. The fuel cost, employee cost, etc. is the same for the same product, but if you pay with a credit card, it costs the seller more money.
It's common for the price you pay to change when the method of purchase changes. For example, having a product delivered costs the seller more than if you picked it up from the store, so you have to pay a delivery fee.
Because, between all of these expenses, it is the one the customer controls. The customer chooses what card to use, but the merchant pays the associated cost.