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The phone you use,
[dramatic music]

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the computer you own,

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the zip code you live in.

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These can all be factors
in the price you see

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when you're searching for
items on the internet.

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Welcome to the world
of mass customization.

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For example,

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you probably know that logging on

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on different days and times

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can give you different
prices for airline flights,

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but you might not know

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that Amazon can change
its prices for everything,

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from dustpans to televisions
every 15 minutes,

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even more often than airlines.

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Researchers have tried
to study this phenomenon,

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but the world of ever-changing
prices is a black box,

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that is difficult to test.

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Even so, here are some findings:

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Orbitz was found to be
showing higher priced hotels

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to Mac users than PC users.

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Staples was found to sell most
everything on its website,

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from staplers to duct tape,

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at different prices in
different zip codes.

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The zip codes being charged higher prices

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were more likely to be low income.

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Princeton Review charges different prices

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for its online SAT tutoring
in different zip codes.

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We found that Asians were
almost twice as likely,

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to be offered a higher
price than non-Asians.

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In the European union,

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variable pricing is regulated.

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In the United States,

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it's legal to sell the same product

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to different people for different prices.

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That means, in the U.S.,

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mass customization can
mean mass discrimination.

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[music continues]