By Karen and Erica

It’s free!!! It’s cheap!!!

Really? If you are over the age of about 10, you know that’s not true. Unless it is a gift from someone who loves you a lot, it is not free. And if it is advertised as cheap, is it really worth it? Maybe. But maybe not.

What else could be going on? One of several things.

First, the cost may be hidden. Take our favorite apps. Most of us don’t pay for them in cash. But we have learned the hard way that we surely do pay—in privacy loss, for one. We should have been able to figure that out when we saw that providers were becoming fabulously wealthy. But a lot of us truly got it only the first time one of our accounts was compromised. By then the cost was enormous.

Or, maybe, someone else is paying. That recommendation is “free” to you If the service provider is paying a fee. But that does not make it free, even to you, in the long run.

Or maybe something is “free,” or “cheap,” because someone who is not being paid a living wage is involved in making it. That’s not free or cheap.

What does this have to do with Lustre? We have been around for a while. We know nothing is free. Sometimes you do get a bargain, and we love a bargain. But a bargain is usually a reward for diligent digging at a resale store. It is not offered up front, to everyone. And most things should be evaluated on their merits. If the best thing that can be said about a product or service is that it is free or cheap, look more closely.

We like to know what we are paying for what we are getting, and how.