Some online retailers base their
prices on factors such as location and browsing history. They’ll use this
information to craft customized deals and artificially raise the price if they
see that you’ve searched the same item multiple times. This is an age-old trick
to urge you to make the purchase.
Streaming services have discriminatory pricing tactics, too. For instance, the
cost of a Netflix subscription is the same for everybody, but the content
varies by region. Netflix subscribers in Europe, for instance, get less content
than their American counterparts for the same price. That doesn’t seem fair.
Online retailers display prices
based on your profile. Retailers use personal information to create these
profiles. They may collect this data themselves via browser cookies, mobile GPS
tracking, wifi, and IP address — or get it from third parties. If you can keep
them from obtaining this information, you can effectively keep them from using
it to jack up your prices.
Read on to learn how to get around
price discrimination whether you are shopping online, paying for subscription
services, booking a flight, et cetera.
Save With a VPN
A VPN or Virtual Private Network is an app you can use to maintain
your online security and privacy. It makes it possible to browse the internet
without giving away your IP address or location. Thus, you can be in Sidney,
Australia, and appear like you are surfing the internet from New York. But this
high level of anonymity isn’t just for your privacy – it can also help you to
save money. Here are ways to save money with a VPN.
Subscriptions for Software
If you use software such as Office
365, you need a VPN to save some money. That is because software vendors
determine their prices on a regional basis. With a dedicated VPN, you can save
a substantial amount of money on your subscription. You may want to know all
about a VPN before using it whenever you browse.
Flight Tickets
Have you ever used a flight booking
site? The prices are never the same. Instead, passengers pay according to the
location from which they book the flight. For example, did you know that buying a plane ticket from New Delhi to New
York while in Hungary could save you at least $1000 than someone booking from
the US? That is one way to pay a lower reservation price. The second is a hotel
reservation, which is our next point.
Hotel Reservation
One of the reasons to download a VPN
is to use it when making hotel reservations. It works the same way a flight
ticket reservation works. As such, it is cheaper to book a hotel room from one
location to another. You could save as much as $90 by booking from the US
rather than the UK. It may not make sense, but that’s how it is.
Content Streaming
There are specific locations from
which you may not be able to stream your favorite content. Say, you want to
watch a movie on Netflix, but your area doesn’t allow it. A VPN is good to
unblock it. Due to the differential pricing regimes provided by movie streaming
service providers, you may also pay less.
Bandwidth Compression
Looking for a way to extend the
limit provided by your bandwidth provider? You can use a VPN on your mobile
phone to compress your MBs and extend usage time. The longer the time you get
from a set of MBs, the lower it will cost for you. Besides, you will download,
stream live videos, and do virtually anything you want using compressed
bandwidth.
Time-Restricted Content
Not all content is accessible to
you. For example, you may not be allowed to watch content from the Olympics,
English Premier League, PGA Championships, and so on. A VPN will unlock this
content for you. It is also possible for you to watch the content beyond the
time you are allowed to. That can save you a lot of money in terms of cable TV
subscriptions.
Online Gaming
Most likely, you play online games
during your free time. But, the price you pay in your location might be much
higher than elsewhere. People accessing gaming sites from India may pay less
than those in the US or UK by more than half. After you have identified your
preferred VPN, install it on your phone or laptop, and start browsing. But
first you may want to know how a VPN works.
Car Rentals
You have just arrived at your
destination abroad, and you need to rent a car. To save a couple of bucks, you
will have to use a VPN. Depending on the location, car rentals may be subject
to different surcharges and taxes. If anything, the cost of insurance tends to
vary from one place to another. Save by using a VPN to switch to a fake
location.
Online Shopping
The ability to do your shopping from
the comfort of your couch or bed or office is one of the most exciting benefits
of the internet. However, spending a lot of time online not only exposes you to
a wide range of cybersecurity threats but may also show you higher prices for
online purchases. Online shoppers see different prices when shopping online
depending on their location.
This pricing system is known as
dynamic pricing. Online retailers will change the prices of items or services
based on how much they anticipate shoppers in that particular location are
willing to pay. You can use a reliable VPN service to change your location to
areas with favorable prices when shopping online. Using a VPN will help you
secure the best possible prices for items and services when shopping
online.
As you can see, a VPN can save you a
lot of money by accessing cheaper prices. A VPN hides your IP address and
encrypts your internet connection, meaning that no one can see your location or
browsing history. Simply download your preferred VPN, choose servers at
different locations to surf with until you discover the lowest price of the
product or service.
