Price gouging at the carnival

I recently went to a concert at a local carnival. Unfortunately I came unprepared so I needed to buy some bottled water from one of the vendors.

Water was three dollars for a small bottle. No sweat. I knew it would be expensive so that didn't seem so bad. But the vendor didn't take debit cards and I generally don't carry around cash unless I've specifically planned ahead for it, which I didn't do.

The carnival has ATM machines so I visited one and withdrew twenty dollars.

I was then informed that the withdrawal fee would be $3.99. Did I want to proceed?

Did I have a choice? I needed the water.

With cash in hand I went back to the vendor and bought my water.

I can afford the fee, and I'll be sure to go to the next carnival with plenty of cash in hand, obtained from my bank's ATM for free. An occasional fee like that for convenience is not a problem. But 20% of my total transaction?

I'm going through this process, and later lightheartedly complaining to a friend about the ATM fee. As a customer I'm annoyed and feeling a bit robbed.

As a cryptocurrency insider, I'm smiling. One of these days, a great cryptocoin is going to get into the ATM business in a big mainstream sort of way. Its ATMs will charge a reasonable transaction fee that covers costs and allows for realistic profits, and still lets the customers feel like they got a decent deal.

And these ATMs operating in the conventional way are not going to know what hit 'em.

For all the modern moneychangers who are skinning their customers, the writing is already on the wall.