• Asidonhopo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Just use up one of those gift cards you can use in any store and use that number for free trial signups. Then they can’t charge you when the trial period expires.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 months ago

      It’s because auto-renewal is always turned on by default and they’re hoping people forget they signed up.

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
          0·
          4 months ago

          Oh 100%. One of the many ways corporations try to pull money out of your wallet when you’re not looking.

          In these sorts of situations, I’ve sometimes made use of a temporary card using services like privacy.com. Lets you sign up for free trials that require cards without giving them any real card details. That way, if you happen to forget to remove the subscription (or if they are so draconian they make it nearly impossible to do so) the transaction fails to process when they try to charge you.

          Sometimes even banks provide temporary/virtual card services for their members, too.

    • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
      0·
      4 months ago

      Having worked at a bunch of SaaS products, it’s actually not that shady (at least in those cases i’ve seen). Free users are low value but they can cost a ton in support and commercial effort. Asking for a credit card upfront is just a simple way to filter for people who actually intend to maybe buy the product.

      OP’s reaction is not a bug, it’s the feature.

      • FozzyOsbourne@lemm.ee
        0·
        4 months ago

        Free users are low value but they can cost a ton in support and commercial effort

        Maybe they shouldn’t offer a free trial then

        • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
          0·
          4 months ago

          Or maybe they should keep their free trial and just filter out randos with a credit card wall. It’s a simple and cheap way to keep your user base high value. And as attested by the OP’s meme, it just works!

        • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
          0·
          4 months ago

          Yes, it’s a classic.

          Pre-market fit it makes sense to be 100% free, as you want to gauge whether your product is attractive to people.

          Post-market fit you already know the product has traction, so now you want to gauge whether it is attractive enough for people to pay for it.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        Sorry, no. The only reason you could possibly want my credit card information is so that you can start collecting rent if I forget to cancel, which is the goal. That is an extremely shady way to collect customers marks.

        It’s a con. The goal is to collect rent from people who don’t actually use the service. It’s basically theft.

        • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
          0·
          4 months ago

          lmao what a nuanced point of view, you seem to have vast personal experience of this kind of things

            • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
              0·
              4 months ago

              Again, it’s a filter. You give me card details, that means you seriously want the product and also that you trust me. If i treat you right and give you a great experience you’ll be subscribed for years, purchasing add-ons, and recommending me to your friends. That’s much more valuable for me than skimming 20 bucks a month because you forgot to unsub.

              When it’s a big corpo sure they’ll do it cause they don’t give a shit about their customers or even their reputation. I’m honestly not saying it doesn’t happen. But when it’s a no-name with a small online product they can’t afford that shit. If they put a credit card wall it’s most likely because they were getting too many people on the free trial, and were having a hard time telling actual future customers from drive-bys. This solves that.

              • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
                0·
                4 months ago

                1. I don’t know if I’m “serious” yet - I am here to test the product/service. I can’t determine if I am serious or not until after I have tested it, and neither can you. I should not have to share financial information with you until after I have determined that, so this justification about “seriously” wanting the product is bunk.

                2. You are dipping your hand into my wallet. Just because you haven’t pulled your hand back with money in it yet doesn’t mean this isn’t an attempt at picking my pocket.

                • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
                  0·
                  4 months ago

                  Hey man I’m not saying you’re wrong, but you’re touching on another important thing which is trust. On average, high trust people are just easier to manage, especially when you’re a small outfit. It’s better for everyone if low trust users bounce away because of the cc wall. They’ll come back once the product has some brand recognition or social proof.

  • irish_link@lemmy.world
    0·
    4 months ago

    I know its not the point but this kind of stuff happens so please consider privacy.com. You can set a per transaction limit, monthly limit, one time use. Etc. Please take a look as it lets you do some amazing things.

  • helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world
    0·
    4 months ago

    I get them wanting someway better than email to make sure I can’t repedetedly sign up for the trail, but don’t fucking auto-subscribe once the trail is over.