0:00:01.450,0:00:02.700
The phone you use,[br][dramatic music]

0:00:02.700,0:00:04.150
the computer you own,

0:00:04.150,0:00:05.780
the zip code you live in.

0:00:05.780,0:00:08.170
These can all be factors[br]in the price you see

0:00:08.170,0:00:10.503
when you're searching for[br]items on the internet.

0:00:13.230,0:00:15.993
Welcome to the world[br]of mass customization.

0:00:21.380,0:00:22.340
For example,

0:00:22.340,0:00:24.270
you probably know that logging on

0:00:24.270,0:00:25.620
on different days and times

0:00:25.620,0:00:28.253
can give you different[br]prices for airline flights,

0:00:29.950,0:00:30.860
but you might not know

0:00:30.860,0:00:33.360
that Amazon can change[br]its prices for everything,

0:00:33.360,0:00:37.090
from dustpans to televisions[br]every 15 minutes,

0:00:37.090,0:00:39.360
even more often than airlines.

0:00:39.360,0:00:41.420
Researchers have tried[br]to study this phenomenon,

0:00:41.420,0:00:44.560
but the world of ever-changing[br]prices is a black box,

0:00:44.560,0:00:46.630
that is difficult to test.

0:00:46.630,0:00:48.930
Even so, here are some findings:

0:00:48.930,0:00:51.650
Orbitz was found to be[br]showing higher priced hotels

0:00:51.650,0:00:54.660
to Mac users than PC users.

0:00:54.660,0:00:58.140
Staples was found to sell most[br]everything on its website,

0:00:58.140,0:00:59.950
from staplers to duct tape,

0:00:59.950,0:01:02.260
at different prices in[br]different zip codes.

0:01:02.260,0:01:04.330
The zip codes being charged higher prices

0:01:04.330,0:01:06.113
were more likely to be low income.

0:01:07.110,0:01:09.550
Princeton Review charges different prices

0:01:09.550,0:01:13.020
for its online SAT tutoring[br]in different zip codes.

0:01:13.020,0:01:16.030
We found that Asians were[br]almost twice as likely,

0:01:16.030,0:01:19.670
to be offered a higher[br]price than non-Asians.

0:01:19.670,0:01:21.090
In the European union,

0:01:21.090,0:01:23.810
variable pricing is regulated.

0:01:23.810,0:01:24.850
In the United States,

0:01:24.850,0:01:26.650
it's legal to sell the same product

0:01:26.650,0:01:28.630
to different people for different prices.

0:01:28.630,0:01:30.330
That means, in the U.S.,

0:01:30.330,0:01:34.791
mass customization can[br]mean mass discrimination.

0:01:34.791,0:01:37.708
[music continues]