The Economics Behind "Basic Economy" – A Masterclass in Price Discrimination
#HackerNews #Economics #PriceDiscrimination #BasicEconomy #Masterclass #Jetback #Insights
#PriceDiscrimination
"The nation's three largest airlines have begun charging some solo travelers higher fares than groups of two travelers or more.
It's not a widespread phenomenon – currently, we're only seeing it on a handful of one-way domestic flights. And it's unclear whether whether this began just recently or weeks, even months ago. Maybe airlines are testing this new pricing tactic out on a smaller scale before expanding.
We don't know. But we can say one thing for sure: Solo travelers – whether they're flying on a corporate account or not – will be the ones who pay the price."
https://thriftytraveler.com/news/airlines/airlines-charging-solo-travelers-higher-fares/
#USA #AirTravel #PriceDiscrimination #Oligopolies #Competition #Antitrust #Airlines
1/4
Can I just randomly rant about price discrimination for a minute? I sometimes work with trade secret law and some of the most closely guarded trade secrets I run across are pricing structures. I suppose you can tell some other stories about why you’d want to keep prices a secret, but I’m pretty sure that the main reason is price discrimination.
#economics
#policy
#pricediscrimination
#rentSeeking
#corporations
#corporategreed
#rant
Price discrimination is getting smarter — and low-income consumers are paying the price
#AI #PriceDiscrimination #ConsumerRights #DigitalDivide #LowIncomeStruggles #Ethics #DynamicPricing #TechJustice #RetailEthics #AffordableGoods #ConsumerProtection
https://the-14.com/price-discrimination-is-getting-smarter-and-low-income-consumers-are-paying-the-price/
Many companies collect consumer data and use it for discriminatory pricing. EPIC joined other groups in a letter to the California Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee supporting A.B. 446, which would ban surveillance pricing. #SurveillancePricing #PriceDiscrimination #ConsumerPrivacy
"Hotel booking sites caught overcharging travelers from Bay Area
In an investigative column, SFGATE contributor Keith A. Spencer exposes online price discrimination targeting San Francisco travelers"
By Keith A. Spencer, Freelance Writer
Jan 13, 2025
"...
In one shocking case, the Bay Area test user was offered a nightly rate for a Manhattan hotel room that was $500 more per night than the rate offered to consumers in the less affluent cities for the exact same room and dates.
..."
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/hotel-booking-sites-overcharge-bay-area-travelers-20025145.php
"Price discrimination, then, is a Bizarro-world flavor of cod-Marxism. Rather than having a democratically accountable state that sets wages and prices based on need and ability, price discrimination gives this authority to large firms with pricing power, no regulatory constraints, and unlimited access to surveillance data. You couldn't ask for a neater example of the maxim that "What matters isn't what technology does. What matters is who it does it for; and who it does it to.""
https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor
@protonprivacy @davidbombal the easiest way for me to get people to try #privacy tools is to take advantage of the fact that most people really don't like #priceDiscrimination and will try to avoid getting classified into the group that gets offered a higher price or not offered a discount ("you're right, those tickets look expensive, did you try your search in Firefox?")
#Economics #Economy #PriceDiscrimination #DynamicPricing: "Ultimately, preventing the dystopia of perfect price discrimination—or some more realistic approximation of it—means cutting off companies’ access to the data they use to determine how much to charge us. This isn’t complicated; it’s just a politically heavy lift. Getting Americans fired up about their personal data has been notoriously difficult, which helps explain why we still have no federal digital-privacy law. Perhaps if more voters understood that strong privacy protections would also protect them from price discrimination, Congress would feel more pressure to get something done. (A glimmer of hope appeared earlier this month when lawmakers announced a bipartisan bill that would limit the user data that companies can collect.)
Near-term solutions might depend on the companies themselves. If prices become too complex, that creates an opening for a firm to commit itself to clear, simple pricing, Bentley University’s Shelle Santana says. For example, Southwest Airlines allows two free checked bags. Mark Cuban’s pharmaceutical wholesaler, Cost Plus Drugs, markets itself as a transparent alternative to the usual stress of buying medicine. Boring Mattress Co. promises to help customers “escape mattress hell” by offering a simple flat-rate mattress with free shipping. Santana cited JetBlue’s early marketing. “Their whole campaign was, We like our customers,” she said. “As a flier, you’re like, You don’t even have to love me. Just don’t make me feel like I’m in hell.” In a world of constantly shuffling prices, could predictability become a competitive advantage?" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/surge-pricing-fees-economy/678078/
🛍️ Price discrimination is real and it can affect your online shopping experience! 🚫
Did you know using a proxy can help you avoid location-based price discrimination? 💡 Researchers from Northeastern University & University of Maryland found that proxies can help you find better deals on products and services, no matter where you are! 🌍
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@TechNews no thank you #AMCTheaters. I recently cancelled my #StubAList membership because there's NOTHING TO SEE!! I paid all of 2022 and 2021 despite this problem with hopes that it would change......Guess what, I got used to streaming my movies and I'll just wait.
A price hike isn't going to change that. 🤨
#pricediscrimination #assignedseats #movietheaters #competition #hollywood #movies #amc #1
Is government #antitrust #enforcement of a nearly 90 year-old law back? If it is, manufacturers/suppliers need to be mindful of their channel #pricing policies. More on this in our #polsinelli update. #pricediscrimination #robinsonpatman
https://www.polsinelli.com/publications/whats-old-is-new-again-reviving-fairness-with-renewed-ftc-price-discrimination-enforcement-and-what-that-means-for-companies
The #FTC had indicated that it was going to re-embrace #pricediscrimination claims under the Robinson Patman Act as part of its ever expanding #antitrust #enforcement regime. Well, folks, here it is. More to come from the #Polsinelli team. https://politi.co/3GtmO5A
Interesting piece by Mark Poe, who was on a great panel at last year's ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting. With the FTC's renewed vigor and emphasis in #enforcement (FTC Act and beyond), is the Robinson-Patman Act next? #antitrust #pricediscrimination #Polsinelli
https://www.thesling.org/as-the-ftc-hints-at-renewed-enforcement-of-therobinson-patman-act-the-usual-dull-knives-come-out/
‘Twitter Blue may relaunch at two different price points depending on where you subscribe from.. The premium subscription could cost $11 when purchased via Twitter’s iOS app, or a reduced $7 per month if users subscribe via Twitter’s website. The price disparity is likely an attempt to circumvent the 30 percent commission Apple charges on many in-app purchases.’ https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/8/23499696/twitter-blue-relaunch-7-11-dollars-apple-tax-30-percent-commission #pricediscrimination #price #consumerlaw
"How Online Shopping Makes Suckers Of Us All" [2017], The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/how-online-shopping-makes-suckers-of-us-all/521448/).
#Shopping #OnlineShopping #Price #PriceDiscrimination #TruthInAdvertising #Amazon #Walmart #Boomerang #Economics #Profit #MachineLearning #Psychology #BehavioralEconomics #Targeting
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