1. Your online profile could boost the price.
Online retailers know all kinds of things about you from the electronic bread crumbs you drop, such as your IP address, and they capitalize on it using price discrimination or differential pricing. For example, a site may charge higher prices after taking note of the Web browser you’re using, your location, your previous shopping habits, or your search history. Or the merchant may steer your search—arranging the results to guide you toward more-expensive items. If a travel site sees that you’re using a MacBook Air or an iPad, say, rather than a Windows desktop, it may show you a pricier selection of hotel rooms.
See Our Slide Show: 10 Online Shopping Traps That Catch Even Smart Shoppers
2. Everybody’s doing it.
A recent study by Northeastern University found that several leading Web commerce sites practiced steering and price discrimination. For example, Cheap Tickets and Orbitz quoted lower prices for users who logged in than for those who didn’t log in—an average of $12 a night less for about 5% of hotels. Expedia and Hotels.com steered a segment of customers toward their more-expensive hotels. Searches of Travelocity’s and Home Depot’s Web sites using certain mobile devices yielded different results and pricing. And Priceline changed search results based on a user’s history of clicks and purchases.
3. It’s legal.
Although it may seem unfair, retailers aren’t breaking laws when they employ differential pricing. A recent White House report notes that the idea is “to set prices based on demand, or what customers are willing to pay, rather than costs.” But the report cautions that luring customers with false promises or burying significant details in the fine print can tip the scale to fraud—and that vigilance is necessary to ensure that businesses don’t use data they collect online to put consumers at a disadvantage based on race, gender or religion.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
4. And sometimes it works to your benefit.
When a movie chain offers discounts to students, seniors and members of the military, that’s price discrimination. Lower prices for members of loyalty programs fall under the same heading.
5. You can beat Web retailers at their own game.
Check how a site is filtering search results, and choose the option to sort from lowest to highest price. But don’t stop there. If a site offers the option to log in, check prices before you log in and again after entering your username and password. Look up prices on your personal computer as well as your smartphone and tablet. View prices on different Web browsers—say, Safari and Chrome. Run a search with “cookies” enabled (cookies provide data about your online activities to Web sites), then open a new window and turn on private, or incognito, browsing, which won’t save browser history. Search again.
6. Use all the tools at your disposal.
If you have a choice, compare prices on several sites and apply coupon codes. Tools such as the Honey browser add-on, CouponSherpa.com and RetailMeNot.com will help you find coupons. PriceGrabber.com and the InvisibleHand browser add-on can help you compare prices across sites.
-
I'm want to give my 3 grandkids $5K each for Christmas.You're comfortably retired and want to give your grandkids a big Christmas check, but their parents are worried they might spend it all. We ask the pros for help.
-
If You're Not Doing Roth Conversions, You Need to Read ThisRoth conversions and other Roth strategies can be complex, but don't dismiss these tax planning tools outright. They could really work for you and your heirs.
-
Could Traditional Retirement Expectations Be Killing Us?A retirement psychologist makes the case: A fulfilling retirement begins with a blueprint for living, rather than simply the accumulation of a large nest egg.
-
21 Last-Minute Gifts for Grandparents Day 2025 to Give Right NowHoliday Tips Last-minute gifting is never easy. But here are some ideas to celebrate Grandparents Day.
-
Texas Sales Tax-Free Weekend 2025Tax Holiday Here's what you needed to know about the Texas sales tax holiday.
-
Alabama Tax-Free Weekend 2025Tax Holiday Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 back-to-school Alabama sales tax holiday.
-
Amazon Resale: Where Amazon Prime Returns Become Your Online BargainsFeature Amazon Resale products may have some imperfections, but that often leads to wildly discounted prices.
-
The Sweet 23: States Where Twix and Kit Kat Avoid the ‘Candy Tax’State Taxes There’s something spooky this Halloween, and it’s not just the ghouls. Find out if your state’s sales tax takes a bite out of sweet savings.
-
Florida Back-to-School Tax-Free Holiday 2025Sales Taxes The new tax-free holiday in Florida brought month-long savings on computers, clothing and other school supplies.
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2026Roth IRAs Roth IRAs allow you to save for retirement with after-tax dollars while you're working, and then withdraw those contributions and earnings tax-free when you retire. Here's a look at 2026 limits and income-based phaseouts.
-
Four Tips for Renting Out Your Home on Airbnbreal estate Here's what you should know before listing your home on Airbnb.
