Comment by andy99
I would group that kind of pricing with dark patterns, and I tend not no but anything when I see that. It's like designing the free shipping threshold to be a couple of dollars short of common purchases, buy 1 get the second for $5, etc. They all apply fake pressure hoping to upsell. I want a far exchange of money for goods/services, not a trick and if I feel I'm being tricked I leave.
While I agree with you almost universally, I think in this case, the pricing is meant to be part of the loss aversion technique the creator is employing.
My problem is there is no such thing as a lifetime subscription anymore. More like "until the company gets acquired and the new parent company gets bored or until I get bored, whichever comes first".