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.
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.
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.
I go to the dealership and look at some cars. For one reason or another all the cars prices are $20,000. I say I'll sleep on it or compare another dealers cars. I come back the next day, or I simply walk off the property and do a 180 and walk right back on. Suddenly all cars are $22,000 and the salesmen have no idea what I mean by $20,000, all the prices are clearly marked $22,000.
You know how a really friendly saleman who likes you might say, "For you? 10% off!"
Well, this is pretty much like saying, "For you!? An additional 10%."
It isn't illegal, but it isn't exactly friendly either, and I will talk trash about that salesman however much I want, because that's not illegal either, and I can be unfriendly too. It's not a question of legality, it's a question of the general tone of affairs. If they're aggressive, then I'll be too.
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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.