If you're not paying then you're the product. If it's cheap then you're the product. If it's expensive you're still the product.
Companies hellbent on extracting every drop of revenue at all costs will always make everything the product that they're able--what it costs to you does not make you any less or more the product. The price to you is simply the amount that the company feels they can get away with.
In the case of marketplaces, it is third-party developers who are (also) the product. If the marketplace can lock in as many customers as possible, they can seek more rent from the developer ecosystem. Users will pay, developers will pay, advertisers will pay, everyone will pay as much as the marketplace can possibly get away with.
All companies are capable of behaving this way, but not all choose to the same degree, and not all are able to succeed. It helps them when the lock-in and market dominance is strong.
Footnote: This was originally written in the context of Facebook/Oculus, then generalized.
If you're not paying then you're the product. If it's cheap then you're the product. If it's expensive you're still the product.
Companies hellbent on extracting every drop of revenue at all costs will always make everything the product that they're able--what it costs to you does not make you any less or more the product. The price to you is simply the amount that the company feels they can get away with.
In the case of marketplaces, it is third-party developers who are (also) the product. If the marketplace can lock in as many customers as possible, they can seek more rent from the developer ecosystem. Users will pay, developers will pay, advertisers will pay, everyone will pay as much as the marketplace can possibly get away with.
All companies are capable of behaving this way, but not all choose to the same degree, and not all are able to succeed. It helps them when the lock-in and market dominance is strong.
Footnote: This was originally written in the context of Facebook/Oculus, then generalized.