CONVENIENCE FEES HAHAHAHA
God what a scam that shit is
“Hey, we saved money by computerization, so we’re gonna pass that cost onto you!”
“Don’t you mean ‘pass the savings onto us?’”
:D “Nope!”
Honestly they probably spend so much on devs to maintain their website that they don’t break even lmao
The amount you’d save not hiring physical ticket sales workers would absolutely dwarf any amount of possible dev salaries for one website.
Lol in my local cinema I have to use a computer next to the ticket taker to print my ticket I bought online and then they physically look at it to tell me which theatre I should walk to, it’s like Idiocracy’s costco
What you don’t find paying extra money convenient?
It’s a convenient way for them to rip you off
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Convenience fee is the best name they can apply to soften a fee, which is really just a way for them to charge more than the list price.
Fees should be universally folded into the list price by default.
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You might be seeing fees I’m not, but some cell service are actually mandatory in the US. Usually a few dollars a month, they go to various state and federal agencies.
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I feel you. Weird that they don’t label it, maybe you get a summarized bill or something.
Essentially automated greed. They make more money by automating their employees and they charge you even more because of how convenient it was for them to do so.
For the convenience of getting screwed over…
I visited Marrakesh back in 2018 and went to a coffee shop where you can see the main city square from above. When I asked for the bill, the employee said the price plus a “serving” fee. This “convenience” fee has the same bullshit energy as that fake fee in Morocco.
I visited Marrakesh back in 2018 and went to a famous coffee shop where you can see the main city square from above. When I asked for the bill, the employee said the price plus a “serving” fee. This “convenience” fee has the same bullshit energy as the fee in the coffee shop in Morocco.
… and on top of that you have to watch like ten minutes’ worth of ads at the beginning. Ugh.
I quit going to movies when they started blaring loud obnoxious commercials under the guise of “entertainment” prior to the movies supposed start time. Going to a movie used to be a social thing you did with friends, but now with them blasting that shit at you at a volume that makes talking impossible what the fuck is even the point? The fact that ticket prices are climbing to this level with this kind of jack assery is ludicrous. And don’t get me started on the 20-30 minutes of previews they show after a movies supposed start time. Just fuck this shit.
So you haven’t been to a movie theater in, like, 20 years? Because none of that is new.
Ads are fairly new, like the car commercial kind of ads. Before you’d show up early to watch the trailers. No one would show up early to watch ads.
First time I remember going to see a movie was about 20 years ago. There might’ve been a movie preview or two; I don’t remember ads. Both “trailers” and ads have gotten progressively worse over the years - almost to the point that you’d think they alone fund the movie and the theatre - but you still pay a ridiculous ticket price.
Adverts have been on at the cinema for as long as I remember although they might have been for products sold at the cinema.
This is the oldest advert that I remember and it’s from 1986. https://youtu.be/rlyrlsf3EfA
Edit: although your point of both previews and ads getting progressively worse is still very correct.
i don’t mind true previews, but seeing standard TV ad garbage in a theatre that loud legitimately pissed me off last few times I went. swear they got louder. i also age incrementally, unceasingly, which doesn’t help
That’s the thing that bugs me so much. Most movies have around 10 minutes of ads. That is ample time to promote some of the lesser known movies that company has made but instead we get ads for insurance companies pretending that they are green, banks gaslighting you into thinking they care about you, McDonalds trying to trick you into their food I synonymous with a happy family and Matt Damon pushing cryto currency on you. I would rather watch an ad for a good movie.
lol what? you go to the movies to watch the movie… if you want to talk you can do it afterwards. also, it’s not like the ads take time off the actual movie
You’re paying $20 to watch a series of giant, unmutable, unskippable and loud ads. It’s like going to a restaurant and the waiter reminds you to stop by the car dealership on the way home to experience the thrill of the new Chevy Equinox. Get ready for a journey that combines style, performance, and endless possibilities.
it’s not that serious, get there a couple minutes late and that’s it
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Would be good if it was only 10 minutes. Where I’m from it’s 15 minute ads (with horrible sound usually too), followed by 15 minutes of trailers.
Though we don’t have this bullshit with “convenience fees”.
More like 20 to 30 minutes 🙄
Question from an European: What is that convenience fee? Which costs does it cover?
Nothing for the customer. It’s just convenient for the theater to charge more for the ticket.
Nothing, it’s just an extra charge so that the company can make more money.
Answer from another: nothing. We also have them in various places, like parking, or highway vignettes - you are not using their facilities, you save them money, so they charge you some extra
In the early days of the internet in the US the convenience fee was what the 3rd part sales software charged for online transactions but I think now with the it mostly being first party sales or integrated to the vendors POS it’s just a way to charge more money without advertising it on the sticker price.
I think the “convenience” is referring to using a credit card. They charge businesses any time their card is used. This is the business passing that cost on to the consumer.
We go to AMC quite a bit and I think it’s actually the fee for buying tickets online or through the app. So probably even worse than passing CC fees on to customers lol. Always buy our tickets in person for that reason (and matinees).
Adding to this for more context, in America, credit card fees on merchants are like 3-5% of the transaction. That’s why some places have started to pass them to consumers, especially in low-margin businesses like restaurants and movie theaters. If your margins are around 5% and Visa is taking 3.95%, that’s not super sustainable. Card network fees tend to be much lower in Europe. I’m not sure about elsewhere.
Thing is…usually the “convenience fee” isn’t there if you pay in person. It’s usually done in online sales. It actually costs less for you to use their online portal because they don’t have to staff more employees in house. But for some reason companies like to charge you extra for buying online and put it as a “convenience fee” instead of going inside to pay. You could theorize that it has something to do with credit cards, but then why don’t they charge you for paying by a credit card in store?
And you have to create an account (with 2FA) to buy the tickets. In specifically inconvenient.
And the fee stacks too which is insane.
See, if you didn’t pay that fee, then buying the tickets would be “inconvenient.”
Jokes aside, it’s really just a way to pad profits. It should be called the “We want more of your money” fee.
I’m paying added convenience fees left and right, but I’m not feeling the added convenience. Please send help.
I saw Indiana Jones today it had 25 minutes of trailers, an admonishment to not ruin the movie, Nicole Kidman telling me how great going to the movies is, and a commercial for the projector. So a movie listed to start at 11 started at 11:28. it’s fucking ridiculous.
I find that pretty consistent for AMC. What ever the listed time is the film will play after 30min of trailers/promos. Its annoying but easy to plan around.
I watched the new spiderverse. I liked the Dolby Atmos/HDR demo as I hadn’t seen them before, but they’ll need to shorten them a little bit going forward
The first Dolby movie I saw Thor Ragnarok, and they ran that same damn ad for the projector then, so that’s like 5 and half years. But I do prefer the Dolby to imax, or at least the bullshit imax they run in amc theaters.
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I got a $600 projector and have about 90 inch display ( can hit 120 if my apartment was bigger). No need to go to a cinema, overpay for drinks and snacks, and I can pause and pee whenever I want.
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When you get divorced, you make decisions 😂
From the tone of your phrasing, it sounds like you got rid of TWO expensive things at once! lol
😂
I have a very good setup at home but we still like going to the cinema once in a while, it’s more of an event and we don’t spend the movie with our nose in our phones.
We do select movies where it’s worth it, big action, etc. Last one was the new avatar in “4D” where they splash you with sprays, the seats move and you feel the wind, pretty cool.
Maybe you should have a no phones rule when you watch a movie at home? Seems like a good idea otherwise what’s the point of watching
We probably should and sometimes when it’s a movie we’re actually looking forward to, we’ll admonish each other when we see ourselves do it, but a good chunk of our relax time is also “put whatever on and scroll” and we’re ok with that.
That last bit sounds detrimental to you brains, not a very healthy practice, but I also sometimes catch myself slipping up.
The hell is a “convenience fee”?
Find a new theater, you’re being robbed.
I work at a pretty high end movie theater. All seats are recliners with tables, there’s a full wet bar and restaurant quality food, and we do events and shit too. Tickets typically run $10-$15. This is ridiculous.
What area of the world if you don’t mind answering? I used to love going to the cinema but its been too pricey for the past decade here.
I live in Vancouver and we have theatres similar to that here
Where? I’d love to go to one if you don’t mind sharing.
$10 - $15? in BC? I can’t get a lunch for under $20 anytime I was there, wonder why movies are the cheap thing still? Is this for a old cinema place?
What the fuck? A convenience fee??? They’re just making shit up at this point
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Was literally thinking the same thing. Afternoon matinees in the mid 2000s were like $5 in my, admittedly small, hometown. You and your friends could get dropped off at the shopping center, hit up the arcade, see a movie, and go bowling in the evening all for like $30 lol.
I gave up on theaters a long time ago. I wanna watch a movie in my PJs, smoke pot, and pause it when I need to. Plus I get lots of kitty snuggles during the viewing as well.
If you’re stoned enough, a big screen and decent sound system is just as engrossing as a movie theater.
I was so stoned the first time I smoked hash, I kept falling asleep to Inception in theater. The score would jolt me awake and I had no clue what the hell happened in that movie.
I went back and watched it sober a few days later with another friend. After that, I had no clue what happened in that movie…
That sounds very convenient, how much is the convenience fee?
About a bag of cat food per month
Kitty snuggles are priceless too. Win win.
Nothing beats sitting on my own couch in my bathrobe with one kitty on my lap and another snuggled up to me at my side. Don’t have to go out of the house, snacks are cheap. You’d have to pay me money to go to a theater, and a hefty amount at that.
An exterminator told me that a lot of cinemas have issues with bedbugs. Since then, I haven’t been able to set foot in one.
That’s horrifying to think about
I’ve heard the same. They weren’t enjoyable places even pre covid and now it’s just not worth the trip or the risk. Better experience at home for less money.
Convenience fee? What does that even mean?!
I think you’re going to the wrong place. That or the US is just insane.
I think I’d pay about £8 (approx $10.11) per ticket here in the UK. That is without buying food.
Before the pandemic, the US wasn’t too bad. Large cities got expensive, but most places a movie ticket ran around $10.
Now, to make up for lost money, some chains are trying to charge extra for getting “a good seat” or other perks that used to be just part of the price of the ticket.
I think they overestimate demand. I haven’t been to a movie since 2019. I don’t think I’m missing out. Home TVs are just so big now.
It’s crazy these days, it makes no sense to go pay $20+ each to see a movie when I can wait a month and stream it on an 80 inch OLED at my buddy’s place if it doesn’t break any records at the box office. Color quality is better, couch is more comfortable and I don’t have to worry about anyone dragging their screaming kids in.
Seems like the whole world became a lot more expensive after the pandemic. Same here in Germany and my family in Brazil tells no different story.
Especially all kinds of recreational activities, day or night. I for myself can’t afford many things i used to do before the pandemic.
AMC is a huge multiplex chain, they seem to own about half of all theatres in the US, as a result they can overcharge to their heart’s content because they might be the only one in town with the movie you want to see. They also attempt to pass their service off as a “premium” experience. In reality it just means larger seats. For this they’ve destroyed the movie-going experience. Not much love lost on my end, however, I’m not really a movie person. It mostly sucks when my child really wants to see something.
You can still find more reasonably priced tickets. We go to a second-run theater that only charges like $8 a ticket for movies that have just left the main corporate theaters and even Regal offers discount days where ticket prices are more reasonable.
We went for the first time in years a couple of weeks ago. Cost us £14.50 each only on the tickets. Just a regular Odeon.
I almost never go to the theater but I just checked and here in the Netherlands it’s €13,50 for 2D and €16,50 for imax. That’s crazy. The last time I went to see a movie in the theater was somewhere at the end of 2019, and it was like €10. That’s a 30% price increase in under 4 years, christ.
