Originally Posted by
imalawyer
But if you buy an item in a store, and three months later the price drops, you wouldn't be entitled to the difference. IMO, same thing with airline tix. Frankly, for some of my flights, the fare increases as it gets closer. Wouldn't want them banging on my door for more $$$.
Exactly. The fact that CO (and NW and UA and others) allow you to re-price a ticket at all (net of a fee) is atypical of other industries.
- If you ate a Big Mac one week and the next week it goes on sale, McDonald's doesn't refund you for the price difference;
- If you buy something from Macy's and it drops in price the following week, you don't get a refund (although I've heard of people returning and re-buying the item after the price has dropped, ... could be why some retailers give you only the dropped price as a refund, although you could argue the point)
- If you buy a Ford car and a day after, they announce a rebate, you're S.O.L.
- If you trade a stock one day and the price changes the next day, you don't get a credit for the delta.
There are, however, examples where at a wholesale or B2B level, you get "price protection" for 30 or 90 days ... this tends to coincide with the desire for the channel to stock your product. This is uncommon at the retail level.
Mind you, you have a 24-hour grace period to refund your co.com tickets, so if the price drops within 24 hours, you can cancel the ticket free and buy a new one at the lower price.