Posted on 11/16/2016 3:08:01 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Most people think you can usually find a better deal when you shop online.
But the price you see can be different than what other people see. The type of computer you use, your online search history, even your zip code have all been used by online retailers to determine what price you pay.
In a study conducted by researchers at Northeastern University in Boston, nine out of 16 online retailers and travel websites tested showed different prices or difference results for the same searches.
“I always assumed all the prices would always be the same,” said Liz Owens.
Owens, a busy mother of two, does a lot of her shopping online and was initially skeptical when she was told the prices she sees are not always what everyone else sees until she participated in a test.
Owens, along with six other people, were provided a list of items and had to look them up on the same websites Most people think you can usually find a better deal when you shop online.
(Excerpt) Read more at miami.cbslocal.com ...
It’s not always cheaper to buy online. The brick and mortars pay their shipping by the truck and save that way. Online retailers have to charge shipping by the item, which can add up.
Buy online from Walmart and pick up at the store
Buy with Amazon Prime
Buy with E bay free shipping
Not if you can find free shipping - or even low, flat rate shipping.
Its just more convenient to have bulky items shipped to your door.
One doesn’t have get in the car and drive to the local store to pick them up.
Since, I’m car-free, certain things I have to buy online as its impossible for me to transport them home myself.
I can understand price + shipping changes as determined by zip or ISP. The online retailers are at that point competing with brick & mortar stores local to the customer, or maybe with inconvenience the customer may shoulder if faced with having to transport a bulky/heavy item home.
Creepy tho that browsing in private/incognito is not as secure as I had thought. Nothing I can do about that. Maybe false-flag such snoopiness by hitting on a bunch of competitive shopping sites at once, so they can see you’re comparing prices?
They can play with prices somewhat but it pays to shop around for the best deal.
I use Amazon Prime, eBay free shipping and low flat rate shipping to keep purchase costs in check.
Retailers don’t carry everything in their store that they do online. I’d rather order it than to make a trip for nothing to the store.
Walmart charges $5.95 flat rate for shipping from their online store.
They were out of stock on a lamp I wanted. I found it on their eBay portal and got it with free shipping!
So you should check first if you can save on the shipping cost from the vendor even if you have to buy it off site.
Another useless study trying to create an issue where none exists. We use to call it “shopping around”. Heck, even big box stores may have different prices on the same items in the same towns. In fact, I have seen gas stations with a 20 cent difference in price just a couple miles apart. Just be a smart consumer. Same could also apply to homes. Using this logic shouldn’t the price of a home in N.Y. be the same as a home in Indiana.
It also often depends on what part of the country you are in. Brick and mortar is more expensive in more expensive areas. What the online sellers are doing in part is recovering some of the savings that people in high-cost areas can get by shopping online.
I am cheap. I do a google search on about everything. I figure seller systems that can see I’ve done that may also sometimes respond with lower prices just because of that.
I’m sure it’s that white supremacist Donald Trump’s fault...
...him, or George W. Bush.
😀
Class action lawsuit/shakedown in 3... 2... 1...
In Chrome, you can select ‘New Incognito Window’. Then they won’t know who you are or what your zip code is.
Read the article. It says that incognito isn’t really incognito. You have to hide your IP address. The article tells how to do it.
Huh...I’ve always wondered what that did.
When you have to log in with your location in order to see a price, or a certain region’s sale ad, that’s a pretty good clue that they have regional pricing.
I’ve taken trips to Chicago and seen the Target pricing and ads were different from the Indianapolis region. I’m sure the cost of bribing the right people is a lot higher in Chicago, Target has to build that into their pricing structure.
I use gift cards for Amazon, bought at Kroger’s, gas points are double the amount of the card’s value, straight amount, no credit, store or various amounts. When they go to 4 times the points I buy them up. Come early December they will go on 4 times the points. That means at least $1 off up to 35 gals of gas, usually get enough points for 2 fill ups.
Pay with Discover another 1% back, and the benefit of donation to St. Jude’s with a purchase using PRIME and no shipping fees. State tax is included though. And on Black Friday any brick and mortar store will match Amazon’s price if it is sold direct from Amazon, not a third party.
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