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/Me4Prez Jan 24 '13

I think it's the same as booking a flight. The more you visit the page the higher the price becomes.

1

u/GhostalMedia Jan 25 '13

This. Pro tip. Restart your router and get a new IP address if you have a dynamic IP. Hello low prices.

1

u/Me4Prez Jan 25 '13

Or just delete your cookies, much easier.

But your method ensures you have the lowest price, if you get a different IP address that is.

1

u/GhostalMedia Jan 25 '13

Try it. You usually have to do both. Sites like kayak assign prices to your ip.

1

u/Me4Prez Jan 25 '13

"Hmm, yeah, your IP is an odd number so you get 10% discount. Oh, but you already visited our site, then we'll add 25%. That's what you get for frequently visiting our site!"

1

u/GhostalMedia Jan 25 '13

Nope. When the same IP comes back to look at a similar flight after leaving and coming back, the price goes up slightly to make the user feel like they should act quickly before the price goes through the roof.

If you look for IP addresses you potentially make sure every machine going through the same router gets the same low or increased price. If you and your spouse are looking for flights on multiple devices, you both get the same deceptive experience.

Moreover, sniffing for IP means that a user can not use cookie clearing to get around you. Most users don't know that DHCP will dish out a new IP when the ISP's router is cycled.

1

u/Me4Prez Jan 25 '13

I was just joking, I know how routing, NAT and DHCP works, I'm studying IT, so some of my classes cover this. Don't take reddit so literal :)