The Convenience Fee Scam: Why Not Just Include It in the Price?

Why Do Businesses Nickel-and-Dime Us?

When I was a student at Howard University’s School of Business, I sat in a marketing class and learned something that has stuck with me to this day. We were discussing “shipping and handling” fees, and the professor explained what they really were: extra charges businesses tack on to cover their costs. Shipping and handling was a nice way of saying, “We need to squeeze a little more out of you.” The thing is, those costs are already part of doing business. Why not just include them in the price?

Now we’re dealing with the same nonsense in a new package: the convenience fee. Want to buy concert tickets online because you can’t show up in person? That’ll be $3.50 extra for the “convenience” of using their website. What’s convenient about paying more? Absolutely nothing. It’s the same scam as “shipping and handling,” but now they’ve slapped a fancier label on it.

Here’s the thing I’ve never understood: why not just include these costs in the final price? If a ticket is $100, and your so-called “convenience fee” is $3.50, why not just charge $103.50 from the start? Why break it out like it’s some separate charge? It feels deceptive. It’s like a restaurant charging $10 for a burger and then adding a $3 “cheese fee” and a $2 “plate usage fee.” Just tell me the burger costs $15, and let’s move on.

I don’t break out every single cost in the final price when I create something. If I write a book or sell a T-shirt, should I list the cost of the fabric, the thread, the shipping to my house, the time I spent designing it, and the Shopify fee? Of course not. I calculate all my costs, add a margin, and give you the final price. That’s how business works. Why should buying a concert ticket or a theater seat be any different?

The convenience fee isn’t just unnecessary—it’s insulting.

Businesses love to say it’s there to cover their costs, like credit card processing or website maintenance. Okay, but those are their costs, not mine. That’s just the price of running a business. When you go to a bakery, they don’t charge you extra for the “oven usage fee” or the “flour-handling surcharge.” They bake it into the price of the loaf of bread. That’s how it should be.

Here’s what this really comes down to: transparency. When you see a price, that’s what you expect to pay. Breaking it down into fees and charges feels like a bait-and-switch. It’s like a car dealership advertising a car for $20,000, and after you’ve signed the paperwork, they hit you with a $2,000 “dealership fee.” That’s not a convenience; it’s a con.

When businesses slap on convenience fees, they’re telling us two things. First, they think we’re too dumb to notice. Second, they don’t respect us enough to just be upfront about their costs. And that’s what really pisses me off. If you respect your customers, you don’t nickel-and-dime them. You give them a fair price, and you stick to it.

So next time you’re hit with a convenience fee, think about what it really is: a sneaky way of passing their costs onto you. Then, ask yourself why they couldn’t just include it in the final price. If they can’t be honest, I suggest finding another way to use your hard-earned money.

Am I taking crazy pills and out of line here, or do you feel the same way?

Clayton Craddock is a devoted father of two, an accomplished musician, and a thought-provoker dedicated to Socratic questioning, challenging the status quo, and encouraging a deeper contemplation on various issues. Subscribe to Think Things Through HERE, and for inquiries and to connect, email him here: Clayton@claytoncraddock.com.