NEW YORK (AP) — Priceline.com — the Internet service that lets shoppers name their own prices for airline tickets, cars and home mortgages — will soon allow them do the same for everything from chicken to cereal to coffee. On Nov. 1, the online merchant will launch WebHouse Club in New York, offering thousands of brand name grocery items which shoppers will buy online, but pick up at participating supermarkets. It plans to expand the service nationally in early 2000.
There is one catch: WebHouse will charge shoppers’ credit cards the moment the price is matched online, regardless of whether the shopper finds a cheaper brand at the store.
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Demand is high for discounts on grocery products. According to a recent survey of 1,002 people by the Food Marketing Institute, more than 45 percent of shoppers use grocery coupons almost every time or fairly often.
On the Internet, many merchants are already allowing shoppers to download coupons rather than clip them from newspapers or magazines.
But WebHouse Club is different. The new service will let shoppers name their price on more than 140 categories of grocery store items, including perishable products — such as ice cream and meats — and non-perishable goods, like snack foods, condiments, drinks, canned foods and pet supplies.
All items are national brands; there are no generic or store brands offered. Additionally, milk and eggs are not available.
To enroll, customers receive a WebHouse Club membership card, which they link to one of their credit cards.
The site includes a directory of products and brand names. For each item, a customer must specify at least two brands they would agree to buy. For example, the site offers four major coffee brands — Chock Full of Nuts, Folgers, Hills Brothers and Maxwell House.
Customers can either name their own price or choose one of the discounted prices recommended. If they choose $2.29 for can of coffee, the Web site says there is an 80 percent chance of getting their price.
Within 60 seconds, a shopper will know if the price is matched. If it is, the price is immediately locked-in and their credit card is charged.
