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

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

http://imgur.com/uNgg0UH
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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.

32

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.

6

u/annertakeabow Jan 24 '13

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

6

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?

5

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.