[RealDinosaur]

I found it hilarious when a LA based startup compared their pricing structure to a 'nice meal' (50-100$)

Not only did it insult my definition of a 'nice meal', but also made me not want to give them any more money for 'nice meals'. A nice meal is 700 calories from healthy sources. An extravagant meal is the price they quote.

Similarly $5 is not the price of a coffee... It's about 30p.

[gnicholas]

I used to see older relatives post photos of very fancy meals they ate, and I thought they were being irrational/foolish. Then I had kids and realized that if you only eat out with your spouse (and no kids) 2-3 times per year, spending that much is not so crazy. If you have a babysitter, that will easily run $50, and it seems odd to spend more on that than the food/experience at the restaurant.

But to be clear, when people refer to a "nice meal" costing $50-100, they're talking about an evening of being waited upon, not just the food. What you're paying for is service, ambiance, and restaurant location (overlooking a beach? at the top of a skyscraper?). It's not crazy for someone to decide to choose to indulge by buying nice food bundled with a relaxing experience, compared with buying nice food separate from a relaxing experience (going on vacation, going to a sporting event, having a massage).

But for the record, I agree that $50-100 is an extravagant meal. I think they chose the euphemism "nice" to make it sound like the tradeoff was for something not so extraordinary.

[notyourday]

That's exactly why targeting people to pay $5.00/mo for software as a service is a mistake. At that tier SaaS gets people who complain about $5.00 cup of coffee.

[didibus]

Wouldn't that normally include drinks, tips, possible desert and service. With all that, 50$ to 100$ is common in big cities.

[grecy]

I've never spent more than $35 on a meal in my life, and I like to think I've had some mighty good ones!

[dhxudkwjwhh]

Even in big cities I have trouble spending more than this on a single meal. If I'm covering a date or sharing a bottle with the table that changes obviously, but unless you're going to a suit and tie or otherwise haute kind of place then $50 is absurd.