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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 23h

But - as Lee Hepner writes for the BIG newsletter - Expedia has figured out ways to out-Amazon Amazon. They've copied one of Amazon's sleaziest businesses, and *made it worse*: www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-expedi...

thebignewsletter.com

How Expedia Rigs Travel Markets and Raises Your Hotel Prices

A new lawsuit against online booking service Expedia alleges the popular travel agent is hiking hotel prices by as much as 30%. It’s one of many layers of a rigged market.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 23h

Here's Amazon's sleaziest commercial practice: when you search Amazon, the top results for your search aren't the best matches for your queries; they're products sold by the companies willing to pay the most for search placement, in a "real-time auction" that runs every time you search.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 23h

The cost of winning that auction comes out of your pocket through higher prices: the first result for an Amazon query is, on average, 29% more expensive than the best match. The top row is *25% more* expensive.

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