The referenced article caught me a little bit unaware, and as I sit here writing this, I wonder how many times I have been ripped of by online merchants that know a little to much about my buying habits. Little did I realize they are adjusting prices on a per customer basis, based upon your buying habits.
Does that make you angry, well it makes me mad enough to start doing some heavy research, and fight those companies I find out who are doing this!
If you are aware of some deceptive practices like this, then I want to know about it, and don’t be afraid to give me all the juicy stuff. Have inside information that your employer or company that you are associated with is doing this, sell them out, and help me fight this practice. [CNN]
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Different pricing for different segments of customers is common in all areas of commerce. Dell sends coupons out all the time for percentages off and they can run from 15% to 35% off. Who gets what discount is a mystery that only their intenal Marketing department knows. Many merchants offer coupons that are only targeted to new customers and are not promoted to existing customers. For online shopping the best method is to check several “Deal sites” for bargains and coupons. Sometimes clicking through to product from bizrate or pricematch will get you a different price than directly clicking to the same item from another source. Overstock on a regular basis offers discounts on products that can only be had if you click through one of it’s affiliate links. I used to work for two large food companies and pricing of product was dramatically different based on the retailer we were selling it to. We would sell products at a much higher price to upscale supermarkets (who pass the higher price along) than we would the discount box stores. A local TV Channel in the Cleveland area just ran a report that the pricing at Wal-mart stores is dramatically different from store to store. Laundry detergent for instance was $2 a bottle more expensive at a store that was in an upscale housing area than a store that was just 3 miles down the road in a less affluent area.