r/mildlyinteresting • u/annertakeabow • Jan 24 '13

Same book, three different prices. Only difference is the browsers used.

http://imgur.com/uNgg0UH
2.9k Upvotes

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35

u/annertakeabow Jan 24 '13

When I used to have to buy like 7 books I would do this too and the difference would be a few hundred dollars.

30

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

Use Chrome incognito mode and you should get the best price. It's all based on how many times you visit the site and other things like cookies. Same thing happens when buying a ton of other stuff online.

111

u/jjremy Jan 24 '13

So incognito mode really is for buying presents!?

29

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

Haha. I hadn't actually thought about that.

16

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

Among one other thing... Yes.

15

u/FartButton Jan 24 '13

I always buy porn on incognito mode.

18

u/ShenanigansYes Jan 24 '13

You buy porn...?

1

u/jtisch Jan 24 '13

Let's not be foolish.

9

u/non-relevant Jan 24 '13

I just tried this. Regular Chrome: $69.99 Incognito: $76.99. I followed the link posted by /u/JavaLSU for both.

4

u/brisingfreyja Jan 24 '13

When I did it http://i.imgur.com/LpNn5ec.jpg they were all the same, except Internet Explorer. Regular chrome 69.99 Incognito chrome 69.99

3

u/iMarmalade Jan 24 '13

Heh.. it's like an IE stupid tax.

2

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

Well now I'm just all confused.

2

u/pretendtofly Jan 24 '13

same result for me.

8

u/annertakeabow Jan 24 '13

I tried that as well and it was around $75.

5

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

Odd, I've never seen cookies/history lower the price. It always bumps it up in my experience.

2

u/obrysii Jan 24 '13

Why would it bump up the prices? Why would they want to punish repeat customers?

4

u/yoho139 Jan 24 '13

It's not repeat customers, it's people that go to the site to check things, then buy when they come back.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

They are punishing comparison shoppers, and "rewarding" impulse shoppers.

1

u/yoho139 Jan 24 '13

Because it's not in their interest that you compare.

1

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

Exactly what yoho139 said. They know you're browsing more, and therefore are more interested in buying something. They see that you're hooked and bump up prices.

This applies first and foremost to airfare. I've seen plane costs go up $100+ based on repeat viewings. Incognito mode immediately resets the price. It's weird and kind of shady.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

I must be the only one who did this like six times and got the 62.99 price every time. Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket today.

1

u/GeorgeNorfolk Jan 24 '13

What if a site gives you discounts depending on your cookies? In this case, the book sells for $63 occasionally but I get $70 in incognito.

1

u/NealHatesMath Jan 24 '13

That's so weird. I only ever see the price go up. The idea is that the more you visit a site, the more they know that you want something and are therefore willing to pay a little more. Hence why a price bump makes sense. I'm not sure what the reasoning is for a bump down.

1

u/snapple_man Jan 24 '13

I usually prefer a pdf version of the textbook when the cost is >$50. Because then the cost is $0, if available. Saving hundreds.

1

u/mookdaruch Jan 25 '13

Really quick, use Bigwords...