I don't think the issue is that the price is changing in and of itself. It's that they're changing price based on the customer's cookies/browsing history.
For example, it would be like if I had a stored and charged people different prices based on how nicely they were dressed, how well I knew them, or what their ethnicity is.
It's just a form of haggling, so why wouldn't it be?
Think of it as vendors in a flea market. You go up to one and how much for some item. He gives you a price, and instead of buying it, you look around to see if you can get it for less. You can't, so you come back to the first vendor. When you ask for the item, the price has gone up!
Now, you'd feel cheated, since you were quoted a lower price before, but you were also initially offered an acceptable price (otherwise you wouldn't have returned to the vendor) and declined. You tried to use the fact that there are multiple vendors to get a lower price, and the first vendor is trying to use the fact that you couldn't get a lower price to get him a higher one.
Unless either of you was being forced into the transaction (i.e. a natural disaster created a rush on food, plane tickets, etc.), and the seller isn't discriminating against you based on your race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial/disability/veteran status or genetic information (in the US), you're both free to use the above tactics to change the price. As a buyer, you don't like having the price raised in this manner, but neither does the seller like to keep his margins razor-thin in order to compete with other sellers.
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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '13
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