Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users’ Information - WSJ.com
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By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES, JEREMY SINGER-VINE and ASHKAN SOLTANI
It was the same Swingline stapler, on the same Staples.com SPLS +0.22% 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. OMX +0.96% or Office Depot Inc. ODP -3.60% If rival stores were within 20 miles or so, Staples.com usually showed a discounted price.