Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Xfinity vs. Everyone Else Digital Download Pricing

After 7 seasons, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to a very satisfying end.

As a fan of the Marvel movies such as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers, I watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. from the beginning.

Admittedly, I was a fan, but not a fanatic devotee. Until this year's series finale and a character brought over from Agent Carter, a spinoff from the Captain America films. Marvel's Agent Carter aired for 2 seasons on ABC from 2015 to 2016.

His name: Agent Daniel Sousa (portrayed by actor Enver Gjokaj). A sweet and funny relationship developed between Sousa and Agent Daisy Johnson (original cast member Chloe Bennet).  Because of him, I found the series much funnier with a more playful tone than in any of the previous 6 seasons. It certainly helped that Agent Sousa was easy on the eyes, too.

Like many other fans, we definitely felt the sparks between them develop slowly. When the series came to an end, I wanted so much to see this again. But my Xfinity On Demand account would only permit me to watch from episode 9. If I wanted to watch earlier episodes, I'd have to buy it.

For Xfinity, that's $2.99. To buy the entire season, it's $26.99.

Pulled the trigger. It's only 3 bucks and I was determined to watch episode 3 again. But it didn't sit with me very well.

So I went to Google to look up prices. Almost everybody that doesn't require a subscription charges $1.99 per episode.

So I went into my Amazon Prime account to confirm. Sure enough, it is $1.99 per episode, $14.99 for the entire season. Plus a $2 credit from Amazon for opting later delivery dates on previous purchases.

My total cost for the ENTIRE season, $12.99.

That might not seem like a big difference. But it is. 

My YEARLY Amazon Prime membership is $119. 

My MONTHLY Xfinity subscription for cable and internet is $165.

Shame on you Xfinity. 

When We Use Delivery Apps

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Make no mistake.  I love delivery apps. There are lots of days I come home from work and let my thumbs on a phone screen fetch dinner.  My primary go-to's are Grubhub and UberEats.

Easy, fast, convenient, accurate. I can order from most places at the restaurant's menu price. As an American Express Platinum cardholder, I am given a $15 monthly stipend through Uber. If I don't use the stipend for the month, I lose it. Because I'm not in frequent need of rides these days, I apply the $15 toward an UberEats order. 

What you may not know is that most restaurants that offer food on these apps have to pay 15% to 30% fees to the delivery apps. 

Many restaurants are small, owner-operator or family businesses. In order to keep menu prices down, restaurant profit margins in general are razor thin. 

I am fully aware drivers need to make money too. When I do use the delivery apps, I tip 20%. However, as a child of restaurant operators, I make a conscious effort to order from the restaurant directly (call, walk-in, or if they have one, their own website) as much as possible. 

So the next time you want take out or delivery, try ordering from the restaurant directly. And, while we're still in this pandemic purgatory (and can afford to do so), please tip them generously too.