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> but this isn't cost, it's ridiculous profit margins

Profit margins are a different discussion. If you charge me $20 for a cookie or you charge me $15 + a $5 baking fee, your profit margins are the same. We can argue either way that they are ridiculous. But you shouldn't be able to advertise that you sell $15 cookies if there's no way to buy them for $15.

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That’s why I don’t tip at coffee shops - if my espresso is $4, and it doesn’t include your labor, then what does it include? Coffee beans and water cost like .25

Another trick is price changes by some popularity metric. Advertise 15 dollar cookies, but only charge 15 if it is after 6pm and the cookies are cold. Peak hours? That’ll be $25.

Assuming the company's main product is a hot cookie, then I take issue with this particular example, because a cold cookie is really a different product. But in general, I have no issue with peak pricing. I'm okay with you advertising a low price if it's something that a reasonable person might be able to take advantage of (e.g., I'm not okay with you advertising $15 cookies if that price only applies between 1:48 and 1:52 AM).

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