When my family stays in a hotel, we’ll have the bellboy carry our bags, and tip him for it. Yet, if it were offered as a free service, we would probably opt to carry our own bags . What are some other things that you pay for, but would not take for free?
Sex.
In a sense, shouldn’t every human interaction involve a measure of give-and-take, though the medium of exchange isn’t necessarily monetary? I wouldn’t expect anyone to give me something without getting anything whatsoever in return.
When I looked at this thread, I found that I could not think of anything. I can think of a lot of things in the opposite direction. There are a lot of things that I would take for free, but I would never pay for. It is very hard for me to think of anything in the opposite direction.
I buy Girl Scout cookies, and I buy candy and other junk from school kids, but if any of it were offered to me for free, I’d turn it down as I don’t like sweets and I don’t need wrapping paper, magazines, etc. I just buy cuz I feel sorry for the kids trying to sell that crap. And of course because I want to support our schools (although I thought my tax dollars were supposed to do that).
Hypodermic needles.
Not that I’ve ever needed any, but if a need did arise, I’d certainly pay for them.
I’ve thought about this, and while a couple things came to mind, it’s not really the free/nonfree issue that makes them different.
In the nonfree situation, I’m buying the thing directly. In the free version, someone’s giving it to me and I have no way of knowing where it came from or what they’ve done to it.
Mixed drinks, for example. I’d never accept one from some random person trying to hand me one in a club… but I wouldn’t necessarily object to getting one from the bartender with someone else paying for it.
Anything that could possibly be stolen goods also comes to mind.
I knew someone was going to beat me to that, but I didn’t expect it so quickly!
Only three days :rolleyes:
My doctor’s office offers free valet parking. There’s a big NO TIPPING sign near the valet stand. So, I park my own car.
I don’t feel comfortable using the service without tipping the person who parks and brings me my car. It’s a long walk out to the valet parking lot, and the weather is this area is pretty miserable year round.
Legal advice
Cool it there with the rolleyes. That’s how wars get started, you know.
It’s true, though. I wouldn’t have posted that except I thought the thread needed a bump.
I nominate invasive surgery too.
By ‘pay for’ do you mean services that are so complicated that someone who offers them for free is probably not be very good at them or someone who doesn’t offer that service for a living or do you also include professionals offering charity? If you include charity I cannot really think of anything i’d turn town. Viva poverty. There is a book called influence about the main motivators in human relationships and reciprocation was a major factor (people don’t fee comfortable giving without recieving, or recieving without giving). I’ve noticed a few of the examples listed in this thread are reciprocation situations, where someone offers you something and you do nothing for them in turn like baggage handling and valet parking.
Most everything (other than an occasional good meal). I’m forever bewildered when friends are surprised that I’ll fill up their tanks if I borrow their cars. If someone helps me out with an assignment (outside of working on the reading together, but a specific “Can you help me with this?”) I’ll buy them a cup of coffee, etc.
Really, nothing’s free.
And, yeah, if someone offers you free surgery? Say no.
Cable TV, or anything of that nature which by accepting might constitute criminal proscecution.
Sorry for the snarkiness. I forget that–online–rolleyes doesn’t automatically come with a sly grin.