This just made one of our best consumer sites. I hope this turns out to be legitimate/verifiable screenshots

http://consumerist.com/2012/11/01/what-a-difference-a-few-browser-cookies-can-make-when-you-shop/

I've had this happen to me on hotwire and other such sites. I usually check 2 or 3 different days with and without cookies to see what the best rate is.  I've seen this on airlines sites also.

I think this happened to me on Amazon.

That's not a good advert for a reason to accept cookies here in the UK

>amazon

From what I have read previously, Amazon got caught doing this some years ago and they swore they'd never do it again.  All I can say to that is companies have been known to lie. I have been told of one experiment by a hi-tech corporate group that did seem to document this going on in Amazon again. (The product was solar panels.)

>cookies

I think big-dog companies are going to circumvent simple cookies and move into social history dossiers combined with ip and location tracking.  Season that info with some purchase records that they own from their sites and those they buy from the likes of search engines, isps, cell providers, credit cards, etc. and they'll know you ...almost in the biblical sense.

Doesn't worry me. If it becomes too widespread, some bright spark will create a nice little lightweight app that users can grab to manufacture their own cookies, and use against the offending retailers. See how long the "new cookie" thing lasts when *every* cookie is new...