What's the deal with this?

San Diego, ca December 31, 2012.  Wow, this is an interesting story, and not one I'm all that excited about.  Being taken advantage of because of my IP address is something I started noticing a few months ago, when I would search for something on "Google" and then with the next click I would get tons of advertisements and banner ads for the word I searched. 

For example, I remember searching for rums of Puerto Rico, and then within minutes, I was being bombarded with ads from resorts, airlines etc, that all were in Puerto Rico. 

Now, in this article, the location of the computer is determining what price you'll pay - yikes!  Here's the story, check it out: 

Why would Staples.com offer a stapler at $15.79 to one online customer but advertise the same stapler at $14.29 to another who lives just miles away? It appears that customers who live close to a brick-and-mortar store operated by a Staples competitor are presented with a lower price online, The Wall Street Journal reports.


The Journal has done a marvelous job explaining how our online activities -- including how we connect to the Internet and what we look at -- are used by companies to target ads at us. For instance, it reported last summer that Orbitz was showing rooms in higher-priced hotels to Mac users because they're inclined to spend more than PC users on accommodations.



In the latest report, the Journal says Staples.com appears to change online prices based on what it believes your proximity is to its own and major competitors' stores, as indicated by your computer's "address."



The Journal did exhaustive testing of online prices displayed to customers of Staples.com across the U.S. It said:

"In the Journal's tests, ZIP codes whose center was farther than 20 miles from a Staples competitor saw higher prices 67% of the time. By contrast, ZIP codes within 20 miles of a rival saw the high price least often, only 12% of the time.

"Staples.com showed higher prices most often -- 86% of the time -- when the ZIP code actually had a brick-and-mortar Staples store in it, but was also far from a competitor's store."

Not only that, but the Journal's study showed that those who live in higher-income areas are most often being shown the lower price. The Journal explained:

"In what appears to be an unintended side effect of Staples' pricing methods -- likely a function of retail competition with its rivals -- the Journal's testing also showed that areas that tended to see the discounted prices had a higher average income than areas that tended to see higher prices."
 

Here is a link to the story:  http://money.msn.com/how-to-budget/article.aspx?post=13c1e966-0339-4cf2-b3bb-1d93cb3c7398