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Seattle City Council votes to ban surveillance pricing in sale of groceries

395 points · 229 comments · ortusdux

  1. flowerlad · · focus · HN ↗
    Why is this limited to groceries? I don't want to pay a different price than others for any category of item, not just groceries.

    Should gyms be able to charge me more based on my weight? Should airlines charge me more because they know I need to travel urgently? Should pharmacies charge me more for medication because they know I have a chronic condition? Should an online retailer charge me more because my browsing history suggests I'm willing to pay a premium? Should insurance companies charge me more because they know I'm unlikely to shop around?

    1. BeetleB · · focus · HN ↗
      If I'm selling to the wealthiest zip code, where the median house price is over $10M, should I be disallowed to charge higher prices? (Not for selling a house, but selling ordinary stuff to them).

      If I'm posting something for sale on Craigslist, and I don't put a price, is it OK if I quote different prices to different people who text me?

      I can see arguments both ways.

      1. ericmay · · focus · HN ↗
        > If I'm selling to the wealthiest zip code, where the median house price is over $10M, should I be disallowed to charge higher prices?

        I think so, because perhaps your costs to distribute those products is more too. But what I don't think you should be able to do is say, well your house was $50mm and your house was $1mm so you pay much more. Or you're wearing Air Force Ones so maybe your price is just a little more wink wink. It's a bit like hyper-targeted advertising versus general advertising.

        > If I'm posting something for sale on Craigslist, and I don't put a price, is it OK if I quote different prices to different people who text me?

        I think so as well. I don't see a problem with this - you don't know anything (maybe besides a green/blue text) anything about the buyer, how much they make, &c.

        1. BeetleB · · focus · HN ↗
          > I think so as well. I don't see a problem with this - you don't know anything (maybe besides a green/blue text) anything about the buyer, how much they make, &c.

          Going with the Craigslist scenario, what if I do? What if I quote different prices depending on the area code of their phone number? So I quote higher prices for people with a California number?

          I'm not asking about morality or ethics. Does it make sense to make this scenario (Craigslist ad) illegal?

          1. fwip · · focus · HN ↗
            > I'm not asking about morality or ethics. Does it make sense to make this scenario (Craigslist ad) illegal?

            Why shouldn't we consider morality or ethics in what we decide is illegal?

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