this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2025
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For reference, that business model is called the loss leader pricing scheme. It's the one where you sell a product for cheap with the expectation that the customer will buy something else that's more expensive alongside it. It's more common than you would expect.
For instance, eggs and milk are placed at the back of the store because there's a higher chance of you picking up other things to buy on the way to the back.
IKEA does something similar with their food court.
The Steam deck is sold at a loss, because Valve makes their money back via game sales. The same is true for all gaming consoles
All F2P games operate on the same principle
My understanding is that Costco gasoline is so cheap because it's offset by product purchases in-store. Also, Costco food court
I think what OP is asking about is less about loss-leaders and more about vendor lock-in.