Online purchasing has really changed the way people do their buying. However, there are definitely a few quirks that need to be ironed out. Case in point:
On Friday, I decided I wanted to get a book. So, first off I go and find out who has it, what the prices are, etc, online. Of course, I hit up amazon.com to begin with. It turns out they have the book for $35.99 with free shipping (and no tax). Then I remembered that there’s a Borders just down the street from my office. Not remember who Amazon was parnered with, I do a search for Borders, and turns out they were the large B&M store with the Amazon partnership. As you can see, it’s the same price at Borders as it is at Amazon.
I head down after work, not even sure if they’ll have the book, to find out that at the B&M store, it’s $59.99. I ask if they pricematch their own online store. They do not. So I leave with no book in hand. As soon as I got home, I went and ordered it online. The instore experience wasn’t that great either, with overcrowded aisles and unhelpful staff.
How can a store not keep the same price throughout? Is instant-gratification worth a 50% (including tax) markup to people? What, other than being able to thumb-through a book which wasn’t necissary in my purchase, do people think justifies this 50% markup?