Turns out that shopping online in some retailers might not be worth the convenience anymore. That’s because The Wall Street Journal has discovered that some retailers vary their pricing depending on their buyer’s zip code.

Normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal, because factors like shipping costs can vary depending on your location. But it turns out that retailers like Staples, Home Depot and Discover Financial Services will adjust their pricing based on the income distribution of where your IP address is located. This sort of generalizing puts consumers in the losing end for a variety of reasons, the least of which is not everyone in what is determined to be a “richer” area is rich.

This isn’t the only factor of course, as shipping costs definitely still influence the final price of your purchase. Also, not every retailer that sells online is guilty of the scheme. It’s just something we should be aware about, because a trend like this is something we all don’t wanna see catch on, that’s for sure.

[via WSJ, image via BernardBoyGenius]