If you get what you pay for, does that make it hard to value things given for free?

We all know that we are often given gifts. All the advice provided on fluther, for example, is a gift (as far as I know). I.e., no one pays for it.

There are God knows how many Q&A sites on the internet, and many are free, and some require payment. Do you think there is a bias that if you pay for advice, it will be better than advice given for free? Do you feel that way?

I know it’s easy to think that of course you value things based on their merit, not what you paid for them. But there is research out there that shows that if you raise the price of something, you sometimes make more sales because people look at the price and think it must be better. This is one reason why colleges and universities raise their tuition fees. They don’t want to seem like they are offering less than a competitor that charges more.

So, try to look at this as honestly as you can. Do you value you things more when you pay more for them? Especially if you pay a lot, doesn’t that behoove you to like it? After all, you invested a lot in it, and you don’t want to feel stupid for doing that.

On the other side, if you get something for free, do you value it less, simply because you got it with no effort at all? Like a child getting an expensive gift, and tossing it aside because it holds no interest for them. If they knew how much others value that, and how much prestige comes from having that, would they toss it aside so lightly?