Everyone, regardless of where they reside, should be able to purchase goods at the same price. Unfortunately, there are many digital boundaries, which means that consumers are limited not just in terms of the services and goods they can access and purchase, but also in terms of the prices they pay.
Due to digital boundaries, online merchants may employ geo-blocking to increase the price they charge consumers. Geo-blocking is a method used by businesses to prevent consumers from purchasing goods more cheaply from other countries. Through the use of ISP limitations, internet providers allow online merchants to geo-block content.
The IP address of a shopper, and therefore their geographical location, affects how much they must spend on online shopping. Numerous online merchants, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple, utilize licensing and copyright limitations to price their goods and services differently depending on the shopper’s region. As a result, geo-blocking results in price increases of up to 50% for some consumers.
Of course, internet merchants may have legitimate reasons for not selling to all countries, such as higher delivery costs or unfriendly foreign consumer legislation. However, there are often no significant obstacles to foreign sales, and therefore no need to raise prices. In such instances, the online merchant raises their pricing to increase profits, which is contrary to the purpose of geoblocking and therefore totally unjustified.
Fortunately, there are methods to circumvent geo-blocked websites and therefore save money on your online shopping. By using a VPN when visiting shopping sites, you can conceal your IP address and location, allowing you to access more online content and save money when shopping.
While using a VPN is entirely legal, utilizing a VPN to view prohibited content may be a little murky. Why? Using a VPN to access content may be seen as a violation of copyright law. As a consequence, it is essential to review the rules and legal declarations of online merchants before circumventing geo-blocked content.