>>Part of that I think is because people can get so much software for free that expecting to pay a fortune for custom code, or even support seems oddly out of proportion.

I've seen that in low end clients, but our good clients still understand the value of expertise to their business.
On the other hand, they're all tech savy and have come to expect excellence and they expect it quickly.
There are few ripe plums out there.. you have to hustle every minute.

I agree about those subscriptions. They're pernicious and I'm constantly trimming them. I just whacked $100/month off the cable TV bill.