[telecom] Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users' Information

Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users' Information

By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES, JEREMY SINGER-VINE and ASHKAN SOLTANI December 24, 2012

It was the same Swingline stapler, on the same Staples.com website. But for Kim Wamble, the price was $15.79, while the price on Trude Frizzell's screen, just a few miles away, was $14.29.

A key difference: where Staples seemed to think they were located.

A Wall Street Journal investigation found that the Staples Inc. website displays different prices to people after estimating their locations. More than that, Staples appeared to consider the person's distance from a rival brick-and-mortar store, either OfficeMax Inc. or Office Depot Inc. If rival stores were within 20 miles or so, Staples.com usually showed a discounted price.

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***** Moderator's Note *****

It may be that the best online deals are to be had while standing in the parking lot of a discount store in an economically depressed area of a city in the rustbelt.

Or, perhaps, to have an app that makes online stores /think/ you're their. Let the games begin!

Bill Horne Moderator

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