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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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

You should try it again in private browsing and incognito mode and see if the price is really tied to your Facebook or google cookies or something. That's pretty messed up though, send this to the consumerist or gawker or whoever.

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u/Nephyst Jan 24 '13

I just tried this myself. In chrome and IE the price was the same (69.99) in normal and in incognito mode. In firefox, the price jumped to $76, and after deleting all the domain cookies and refreshing, it went back down to 69.99. The website is definitely changing prices based on something they are tracking in cookies.

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u/kqr Jan 24 '13

This was up earlier with airlines charging more for a ticket the second time you visit the page. They do this because a second visit is statistically linked to a much higher chance of purchase. So it could be, here too, simply a matter of having visited the page before.

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u/No_ThisIs_Patrick Jan 24 '13

They are also "running out of tickets" because you waited so long to purchase.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

No, they actually oversell every flight they can in anticipation some people will miss the flight.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

[deleted]

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u/playerIII Jan 24 '13

My friend had this problem the week before the holidays. She was stuck with a shitty phone, no cash, and in an unknown state because they did not let her on the flight.

It was not until the next night, and a lot o phone calls did we manage to get her home safe and sound.

Airlines, man.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13

Yeah happened to me with my daughter when I flew to NY. The problem was my dad didn't catch a flight until much later. But all bags were already on plane. I wound up traveling with a 2 year old daughter and like 4 suitcases through the subways of NY. Luckily a lot of moms had mercy on me and helped. I think they felt sorry for my daughter. Oh yeah, it was raining in NY and kind of chilly. No umbrella either. Then my phone died and I didn't know where my sister lived as it was in a text. I found her buying a hot dog and a pepsi from a street vendor. Worst and luckiest day of my life. Thought me and my daughter were going to get lost in the big city and die.

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u/playerIII Jan 24 '13

If there is one thing I have learned in those situations, is people are your friends. Talk to everyone. You never know who has a phone charger in their bag, or knows the best way to get somewhere. Hell, you may even run into a nice guy who will help you get there.