Price Research II. Same product + different name = different price.

Copyright 2010 Conan L. Hom

I hope you've read and found useful my previous posts on price research:  "Price variations on the internet - bigger than you think" (Jan 1, 2010) and "Buying things... even a little bit of price research can help" (March 2,2010). 

I'm returning to the situation when a vendor sells the exact same product under different names.  This is done to position the product in different markets (read: target consumers).  The vendor hopes to sell the product at different prices according to how much the average consumer in each target group is willing to pay.  This is a form of price discrimination.  This name changing is bad news for you because it can interfere with your price comparison search:  If you search for the product under one name, the places where it is listed under the other name(s) may not come up.  The vendors probably love this - so much for economic efficient world of perfect information. 

There's no guarantee that you'll be able to stumble upon all the possible names a product is sold under.  If the amount at money at stake is small, it might not be worth doing an extensive search (e.g. searching under product categories, product function, etc.).  However, if you are about to fork over some serious cash, and you do happen to chance upon two or more products that seem to do the same thing, check the product specifications, and try to see who makes products.  Don't be afraid ask for the information you need.  If the product specifications match and they turn out to be made by the same manufacturer, you might seriously consider going for the lower price