News

If Amazon.com shows (and charges) different prices on the same book
to different users, (see story below) is it:

     a valid use of data mining

     discrimination - should stop

     OK, if explained to users

     don't know

Please vote and/or comment on
www.KDnuggets.com

Here is the Computerworld story:

By LINDA ROSENCRANCE (September 05, 2000) Consumers who shop for the
DVD Planet of the Apes -- The Evolution on Amazon.com Inc.'s Web site
today could be charged as much as $10 more than other customers
purchasing the same product at approximately the same time -- a
practice the company described as a periodic test that it runs on the
prices of certain items.

For example, at 2:40 p.m. today, a search for the Planet of the Apes
DVD on the Amazon site that Computerworld conducted using a Netscape
Web browser turned up a quoted price of $64.99 -- 35% off the original
price of $99.98, according to the online retailer. But several seconds
later, a similar search performed with Microsoft Corp.'s Internet
Explorer browser resulted in a price of $74.99 for the same product.

See the rest of the story at
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/frame/0,1213,NAV47_STO49569,00.html