Jeff Key

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Add to cart to see low price

Can someone please explain to me why this is necessary? The only thing I can think of is that they're betting on some genius forgetting that the 57" HDTV they price-checked two weeks ago is still in their basket when they buy the latest NASCAR Soundtrack CD.

Am I wrong?
Posted: Oct 13 2004, 05:34 PM by jeffreykey | with 13 comment(s)
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Comments

john said:

I wonder if they are worried about some competitor or third party screen scraping or somebody gathering that data..... I don't know.
I don't really understand it myself.
# October 13, 2004 7:12 PM

Nat said:

Protect screen scraping might be one reason. I can add a couple more reasons:
- They can show different prices for different persons without making it too obvious
- They can keep track who the serious buyers are and can survey hiddenly whether the promotion works or not
# October 13, 2004 7:38 PM

Scott said:

I've always wondered that myself. And the site I'm thinking of isn't doing it to prevent screen scraping since it's just as easy to add the product and scrap the response.
# October 13, 2004 7:39 PM

David Burton said:

I agree, this practice is very annoying. I will never purchase a product from a website that does this.
# October 13, 2004 8:11 PM

Chris said:

I always figured it was similar to the "prices too low to advertise" schtick that brick-and-mortar stores do. And they do it for three reasons:

1) To get you into the store (obviously)
2) You think you're getting a deal, even when you're not.
3) (The only good reason I know of) Some manufacters/distributors get real cranky if they find out you're doing a firesale on their goods. They're afraid that it can harm their reputation. How this applies to a web-store though, I have no idea....

But, what really irritates me is minimum puchases on credit cards. According to a FAQ on Visa's web-site, they're not allowed to do that. Check it out:

http://usa.visa.com/about_visa/ask_visa/index.html?lt=search#anchor_4
# October 13, 2004 9:24 PM

Jeff Key said:

I initially thought about scraping, too, but getting around that hurdle is pretty easy. I have heard about the manufacturer thing, though. Oy.

What's up with the Visa thing, Chris? Have you seen companies do that? Insane!
# October 13, 2004 10:00 PM

john said:

I hadn't even thought about different prices. I bet it has more to do with adjusting the price of items based on their popularity. If they start getting a bunch of purchases they could raise the price behind the scenes.
Didn't Amazon get accused of that a while ago?
# October 14, 2004 10:37 AM

David Grant said:

I get that "$5 minimum" semi-frequently. It's usually at a gas station in a shady part of town. I did not, however, know that this was against Visa's rules.
# October 14, 2004 11:00 AM

Amazon Developer said:

1. Screen Scraping
2. Screen Scraping
3. Screen Scraping
# October 14, 2004 12:23 PM

Michael Teper said:

It is very common for large consumer electronics manufacturers to set minimum advertised price levels for their goods. For a retailer to stay in that company's good graces (i.e. be able to qualify as an authorised dealer or to even have decent access to inventory), they absolutely can't advertise a price below that limit. The "add to cart to see price" scheme gets around that stipulation. Yes, I realize one can argue that since a consumer will see the price in the cart, thay may still be considered advertising, but apparently the manufacturers have not yet pushed logic in that direction.
# October 23, 2004 11:30 PM

Kyle said:

^^^ What Michael said. Amazon does this for some products, and if you read the explanation, it's precisely for this reason (the price is below the minimum for advertising). So if you're going to be irritated, be irritated with the manufacturers.
# November 1, 2004 12:05 PM

Jeff Key said:

Thanks, guys, good info!
# November 1, 2004 8:12 PM

fs09fdasfd said:

If they're going to do that, at least give me the option to IMMEDIATELY delete or undo the item. Instead you're forced to jump through another hoop by clicking "Edit Shopping Cart", deleting the item, and returning to shopping. What a complete waste of time when trying to compare prices.

# October 29, 2009 7:34 PM