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Comment by untilHellbanned | Hacker News Reader

I think you underestimate how valuable the vast majority of the world considers their money. All this use of "My". Sorry to be blunt but you are irrelevant. Spend some time outside of the bubble, St. Louis for example. People here ain't gonna pay $15 to reclaim 40 minutes a month. This strikes me like the gig economy spend a $1 to get $0.90 strategy. There are huge costs for physical presence businesses that can only solved by charging a premium...or spending VC money. So you are fated to be a lifestyle brand or brace for the pump and dump.

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You're not wrong, but it's a premium service for a self-selecting market. Given SV/SF's narrow geographical spread and high disposable income, I can see it working there, while it would probably falter in most of Middle America.

Or, this is where they figure out how to run a business like this right, and then they (maybe) use that knowledge to launch something in the outside world.

> People here ain't gonna pay $15 to reclaim 40 minutes a month

are there no hand car washes in st. louis? a full service carwash saves about 40 minutes of labor that you can use to catch up on work or other activities, and costs about 15 bucks.

and how about a cheap lunch at the diner for 1 or 2? wouldn't that be about $15? and saves you about 40 minutes of prep, cook, and clean?

$15 in a taxi cab or uber would save you about 40 minutes of walking.

You're missing the point. Most people don't think through this. They stop at "That costs me $15. Not gonna do it."

i think you're missing the point, people spend $15 all the time without thinking about it... hence my examples.

No. My point is people value their money over their time despite their time being more valuable than the money they save. Remember people drive 10 minutes out of the way to save $0.05/gallon on gas. People waste time and money to save money! My mom does this. There is no amount of analysis that will make her stop. People just don't think.

And yeah people do part with $15 on known entities in brainless ways. This is a new behavior though. This gas refueling scheme ain't gonna make sense to the vast majority of people, hence once again cue the Dana Carvey George Bush skit...."Not gonna do it."

People often pay $15 to avoid doing 40 minutes of work: walking, cooking & cleaning, washing a car.

Much fewer people will pay $15 to avoid 40 minutes of driving or waiting.

Personally I save 40 minutes of carwashing by never washing the car.

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