Posted on 10/24/2014 11:23:38 AM PDT by Utilizer
Do you think you can find the lowest prices by shopping online? Think again. More FTC Mandates Refunds for Online Backorders Over 30 Days 7 Ways to Shop Online with Friends NYC Ebola Patient in Stable Condition, Officials Say NBC News Slain Canadian Soldier Takes 'Highway of Heroes' Home NBC News 'Fortunate and Blessed': First Ebola-Infected Nurse Heads Home NBC News
A new study by researchers at Northeastern University confirmed the extent to which major e-commerce websites show some users different prices and a different set of results, even for identical searches.
For instance, the study found, users logged in to Cheaptickets and Orbitz saw lower hotel prices than shoppers who were not registered with the sites. Home Depot shoppers on mobile devices saw higher prices than users browsing on desktops. Some searchers on Expedia and Hotels.com consistently received higher-priced options, a result of randomized testing by the websites. Shoppers at Sears, Walmart, Priceline, and others received results in a different order than control groups, a tactic known as “steering.”
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
I’m not surprised. I have all browsers here set to automatically clear all cookies when I close them. Opera even has a section where you can go to delete the “Persistent Storage” cache as well, though I can’t find a corresponding section in FireFox.
but doesn’t this suggest the higher prices are for those new to the sites?
I’ve heard that prices fluctuate based on the operating system you use.
Amazon shows multiple price differences when I search at google. I pick he lowest price. Problem solved.
Apparently, it depends upon various factors. According to oh8, in his experience once he found a price he liked then returned later to purchase, the price had mysteriously gone up since his last visit. Closing out the browser (which cleared out the cookies) reset the noted site to the lower price offering.
Other sites seem to offer lower prices if you log onto them versus if you are just a casual browser. It pays to keep an eye on the sites you are interested in making a purchase from and trying alternate methods to see if you can get a lower price.
The article mentions more.
That’s a new one. Never heard of that one. Should probably check and see if Opera still allows you to change how it identifies itself online. I think it still allows you to identify as another browser, but I have not checked lately. I do know earlier versions allowed you to change every identifying field, including browser type, version, computer type, and running OS.
Mine used to be configured to read as IE running in DOS 5.0 on a TI-99/4A.
I prefer ixquick.com as the default search engine. They are a lot more secure and do not track you or sell your personal info to other parties.
You might try your searches there as well and see if you can spot a difference.
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