[handmodel]

I don't think this covers all of this - but I feel like the reason it could never be investigated is that most of these things are only unprofitable because of the administration. Not on a per item basis.

Netflix may lose money on their show but clearly by giving you a month free and then charging just $12 a month they are making money on that unit. AirBNB is making money on each additional rental they do even if historically that didnt cover all marketing and tech.

For a store selling berries if they buy it for $3 and sell it for $2 then it is more tangible (though Im sure today they could just call it marketing)

[hnick]

I guess that makes sense and is one consequence of moving so many things to an abstract 'service' model. Many services are essentially free to provide - until you count all the other overheads any business also has to pay for. It's not as simple as buying and selling berries like you say.