- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@derp.foo
- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@derp.foo
The rent is too damn algorithmic — DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating RealPage, a company that helps landlords set rent prices, for potential antitrust violations::Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating RealPage, a company that helps landlords set rent prices, for potential antitrust violations.
What about them?
They commonly don’t reflect the actual price at checkout. It’s difficult for consumers to track and catch, and be if apathy (they didn’t get around to changing the prices which are sometimes volatile) or malevolence, it’s still an issue.
Just wait until you use that stores phone app for “discounts” and the wifi/mac address sensors stores already use to track generic customer habits also dynamically updates the price based on your past purchases and public data about you as a person.
Some stores have moved to scanner guns/pick it up and go checkout so once you pick it up it gets easy to leave, reducing price checking/indecison.
Bundle all this together and you can have dynamic, person to person gouging based on socio-economic level.
Ooof, wow. That would be illegal in my country.