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Comment by gene91 | Hacker News Reader

They could also increase the online price (for websites they own) to be the same as the in-store price.

I've seen something similar to this at Target. Target.com is often cheaper than Target stores. And Target store matches Target.com prices. However, if you use Target app (not Target mobile/desktop website) in a Target store, the price shown will be the in-store price instead of online price. The Target Android app requests permissions to access precise location, pair with Bluetooth devices, and view WiFi connection.

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In fairness, the opposite happens sometimes too. If the store price is lower, it will show the lower store price. This happens regularly with store-specific clearance items.

In either case, starting an order with the app will show you the online price.

Walmart does something similar. I recently bought a generic desktop power cable from them, which when I checked online was listed at ~$5. In store, it rang up as $20. They price matched, but it's kind of ridiculous that they're preying on consumers like this.

There are overheads to running a bricks and mortar store. This, plus the price will be whatever people will pay for it.

Another viewpoint here.

I was at a Target recently and noticed that the website price of an item was about two dollars cheaper than in-store. The clerks I spoke to at first wouldn't do the price-match, which was a bit frustrating. Eventually they did it, though so maybe it was just that store/clerk.

> They could also increase the online price (for websites they own) to be the same as the in-store price.

That seems like the wrong way around. If you're in a store, and checking Amazon, Amazon would want you to think the product is cheaper on Amazon, so you don't buy it from the store you're in.

This is a technology to be deployed in Amazon's brick-and-mortar stores, which used to be an oxymoron in the past but is increasingly no longer the case.

This is for people who are in stores owned by Amazon.

See? The first word that comes to my mind after finding this out is extortion. I'm sure someone can tell me that somehow this is legal. But it's unethical.

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