....There's a reason that many companies sell products and services using two payment schemes. I think such a scheme could/should apply to Ring Finders. ...
Everything you're saying "rolls off the tongue" in a perfect world. I mean, who would argue with "fairness" ? Which of us doesn't balk at the guy who is making "obscene profits" and thus "should charge us less".
You're thinking that the RF system could be modeled differently: For a sliding scale. Ie.: a scale for "those that are only wanting to help for fun and charity. And perhaps won't charge much (or would charge nothing). And perhaps aren't super skilled, etc...". Versus the professional (like scuba detective) with the most advanced gear, experience, and thus ... makes more at recoveries & $$.
If I understand you, you're saying that RF could give a listing free to the back-woods small-town charity type beginner guy. Yet charge for the big-business-model professional experienced md'r guy . Right ? After all, in your mind's eyes, the web-design RF guy is making "big bucks". So he should have a sliding scale for the smaller-fry guys. Right ? Who can argue with this "more fair system"? Right ?
So let me give you a real world example, if I can continue with the street sweeper business analogy : We have jobs that are super easy. And have lots of stand-by time. Eg.: Sweep for 15 minutes, but then have to wait on the sidelines for other equipment doing their thing for an hour. Then sweep 5 minutes, and the park again for an hour wait. Needless to say, this is GREAT for our equipment's wear and tear. Fuel consumption way down. Bearings hardly getting hours. Brooms not wearing down, etc....
Contrast to other jobs, where it's non-stop, all night, where the engine is never off, the brooms always spinning and wearing down. Thus more overhead on this type job.
Yet we charge the same hourly rate for each job. REGARDLESS of the wear and tear on the unit . I have sometimes thought about making a lower rate exception, if we get called out to the former "easy" work. Since my overhead costs are lower.
But I never succumb to the temptation (to "be fair") to do that. Because I know exactly what will happen next : There will be perpetual baby-sitting to determine exactly which side of the fence each job sits on. Or a customer who gripes that my hourly rate fluctuates. Or perhaps he thinks his job should be the lower rate , while my driver insists that he hardly stopped all night long.
In other words, it will become a baby-sitting nightmare. So too would the RF guy have a ton of baby-sitting to do, if he had to sit there and make perpetual judgement calls about "who's a professional" vs the "little guy" who should get it for free, etc.....
There comes a time, in business, where it doesn't matter how much profit you're getting: You still set a price, and .... that's it. A store that sells a millionaire a loaf of bread, is selling it for the same price that the poor guy pays. EVEN IF the grocery store is highly profitable. Otherwise, it becomes a constant chore to sit there and hear the shopper's laments of "I'm poor" or "I'm rich", or ....whatever.