RANT WARNING: freakin' stupid login to buy crap

[Rick]

I'd call them from inside the store and ask them to tell me the price of an item. Not the store workers fault I know, but this sort of junk is ridiculous. If they get sick of people calling in and asking for prices then they can take it to the management.

It's the latest thing, apparently. I have a burger franchise opened up just round the corner from me - they don't have a menu anywhere, just a website. You're supposed to order and pay online then pick it up at the counter - a shop that doesn't cater for walk in customers is not one I'll buy from.

[Elbows]

That's also probably tied to the practice now that local fast food restaurants have different prices at different times of day.  So busiers times of day = higher prices, etc.  I know there's a term for it, but I can't think of it right now.

Apps make that easier too.

[zemjw]

Demand pricing seems to be the term, although they are not the words I would use 

[Rick]

Demand pricing seems to be the term, although they are not the words I would use 

Not the words I'd use either - I'd likely get chucked off the site if I used the words that spring to mind! 

[Cerdic]

I think they call it ‘dynamic pricing’…

[zemjw]

Of course it has its own Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_pricing

[Dolnikan]

Another 'advantage' of not displaying prices is that you can then tailor prices to individual customers. So if you have someone you know will pay more (based on the data you've gathered on them), you can charge them more. Which of course will never ever backfire on a company.

[Elbows]

Yep, heard even Amazon, etc. are getting in on that gig.  Basically if you pay more, they'll charge more.  Seems like it'll work out fine...

[Tactalvanic]

travel websites have "not" been doing that for years.

Do remember if your looking at booking flights, holidays etc to frequently flush cookies and browser history, as you may find that the prices increase the more you search..

[Rick]

Travel companies have always done something like that with season/off-season pricing; season depending on location and popularity. It doesn't surprise me in the least that they're using internet algorithms to work out how to charge more for the same thing.