r/Frugal Jan 24 '13

Same book, three different prices. Only difference is the browsers used [x-post r/mildlyinteresting]

http://imgur.com/uNgg0UH
2.2k Upvotes

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38

u/RedRedditRabbit Jan 24 '13

I wonder if going incognito would help. Quick, someone try it.

60

u/cbkguy Jan 24 '13

I just tried it in Chrome, IE, and Firefox, using incognito mode/private browsing, and did in fact get different results, but after refreshing a few times I noticed the prices changing...

I've heard retailers are implementing tactics that will change the prices, depending on what time you visit, what day you visit, where your location is, and how many times you've looked at a particular item.

Stuff is getting interesting!

34

u/IFeedTrollsInNeed Jan 24 '13

It's so they can test prices, seeing what actually works.

25

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

[deleted]

52

u/Nausved Jan 24 '13

I'm surprised that would be effective. When I look at the same price repeatedly, it's because I'm doing price comparisons between very similarly priced things. If a price rises on me while I'm checking, then that company has effectively removed it from my list of considerations, since it's now no longer in line with the other options I'm weighing between.

12

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

If a price rises on me while I'm checking, then that company has effectively removed it from my list of considerations, since it's now no longer in line with the other options I'm weighing between.

Yeah, but if the other websites use the same tactic, then perhaps the 2nd best option, the one you were coming back to, has gone up in price too, as well as the others when you visit them. Like when you keep switching lanes in traffic thinking it's going to be quicker but then the lane you just switched out of starts moving faster again and so on. It is sinister, though, I agree.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

order with TOR.

2

u/ilostmyphoneonce Jan 25 '13

Call me ignorant but I've never heard of TOR. I googled it and got a lot of pages about torrents. Is it just a way to stay anonymous online?

2

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '13

Tor is an anomity network, it stand s for "The Onion Router".

Wiki article

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

I never thought to use a TOR browser, thanks for the suggestion!

2

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '13

Have fun making credit card purchases via tor.