"Book tickets when the price seems reasonable to you and don't look back" is often advised here -- but how can one not?

Even Ira checks:
<i>We had bought the RT tickets last August for $775 each, and that was as low as they got, except for one day in April when the price dropped to $595. The cost to exchange the tickets was greater than the savings.</i>

I think it's educational to continue monitoring prices, (for the purpose of future reference, not to use to berate oneself!) After all, as Santayana famously said &quot;Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.&quot;

Not me. Since what happend last week or last month really isn't useful for &quot;future reference&quot; - about all I would do is feel sorry for myself if the fares went down a lot.

I book and don't look back . . . . (well maybe a peek now and then )

I'm the same way - I book when I think the prices are as good as they're going to get, and then don't check again. As with janisj, I'd just get depressed if there was a major price drop.

Well, I buy when the price is right and then occasionally check, just out of curiosity and force of habit.
And I figure the price variance of $100 or so that I usually find just means that I've had the peace of mind of having the tickets for quite a while and that's worth something!

You should look back for most cases, because many airlines will give you the difference in fare in the form of a voucher, that can apply to a future ticket within a year.

Some will deduct a fee, some will actually charge you a fee to changet - but if the difference is larger enough, it can still make sense.

Ditto what rkkwan said. I've actually gotten money back before.

Also 24h cancellation policies are becoming more common. In the event that the fare drops within 24h you can even rebook for cheaper.

I've cancelled on Delta and Continental before (but not to rebook).

I'm peeking right now.

I keep checking as I can't resist!
Still it makes sense to me to be aware of sales patterns (even though they are unreliable!) and maybe a refund!

Yup, it went up. Good.

Try the downloadable program from yapta.com. It'll alert you when the price of your specific flight drops. This way, no need to go crazy and check every 5 minutes!