[fpgeek]

I generally agree (especially for startups and other less established / unfamiliar-to-the-user vendors).

That being said, I've seen at least two companies cleverly use the visible coupon code field: Lenovo and Dell. They use it to establish at least 3 tiers of pricing:

1. People who don't use the coupon code at all anyway and get the standard "sale" 2. People who Google for a code and find a 5-10% coupon 3. People who get a better coupon through "less public" means (e.g. newsletter, limited-use coupon, etc.)

On top of that, I suspect Lenovo and Dell have their standard "sales" because they want higher "list" prices that make the corporate volume purchasing discounts look better.

[lurker19]

4. People who buy Apple because they get pissed at Lenovo/Dell's bullshit pricing games and horribly broken webstore pages.