My issue with such opaque pricing methods is that there are substantial economic externalities. If you charge students a different rate, no big deal. You are either a student or you are not a student. But once you get into more complex price discrimination, you force the user to expend time and effort to understand how the company is price discriminating, and to spend time trying to figure out how to counteract it.
For example, airline pricing is a clusterfuck of opaque pricing. I spend literally hours whenever I book a ticket, trying to figure out the optimal flight. Other flyers also spend similar amounts of time trying to figure out the pricing algorithms and not get screwed. Overall then, thousands upon thousands of man hours are wasted just trying to figure out how to get charged a decent price.
Frankly, I think such bullshit should be illegal. The airlines may earn a few extra bucks, but no one considers how much time and effort is wasted by the user.
”no one considers how much time and effort is wasted by the user”
It depends on how you valuate your own time. The CEO of a Fortune 500 company would probably not spend hours for a gain that is so low compared to his salary.
This is what I was thinking. It doesn't take a CEO's wage to decide it's worth paying $50 to not spend hours optimizing your flight or compromising on a connection or whatever.
Any pricing system where jumping through more hoops will save you money itself a form of price discrimination. The less you're willing to pay, the more time you'll spend trying to get the best deal.
It's the same reason why coupons exist. Someone who is willing to pay more is less willing to spend the time to clip coupons out from the paper.
For example, airline pricing is a clusterfuck of opaque pricing. I spend literally hours whenever I book a ticket, trying to figure out the optimal flight. Other flyers also spend similar amounts of time trying to figure out the pricing algorithms and not get screwed. Overall then, thousands upon thousands of man hours are wasted just trying to figure out how to get charged a decent price.
Frankly, I think such bullshit should be illegal. The airlines may earn a few extra bucks, but no one considers how much time and effort is wasted by the user.