A discount is only real if you are paying less than you otherwise would have. That sounds obvious, but most of the tricks used to make a price look like a bargain work by changing the reference price, not the price you pay. Once you know where to look, they are easy to spot.
The reference price is the whole game
A "was $199, now $129" label makes two claims: that the product sells for $129 today, and that it recently sold for $199. The first is easy to check. The second is where the trouble is.
Common ways a reference price is inflated:
- The recommended retail price (RRP or MSRP). Manufacturers set list prices that nobody charges. A "saving" against the RRP can be the normal everyday price.
- A price that applied for a few days. Some retailers raise a price briefly so they can advertise a cut from it. Consumer-protection rules in the EU, UK and Australia require that a "was" price is one the retailer actually charged for a meaningful period, but enforcement varies and the rules differ by country.
- A different variant. The reference price belongs to the larger size, the bundle, or last year's model.
Four checks that take two minutes
- Look at the price history. Price-tracking tools and our own price comparison show what a product actually sold for over time. If the "now" price is the same as it was for the last three months, it is not a deal; it is the price.
- Compare across stores. Open the same product at two or three other retailers. A real discount is usually below the lowest competing price, not just below one store's list price.
- Search the exact model number. Retailers sometimes sell near-identical products under slightly different model numbers so that they cannot be price-matched. Search the number printed on the listing, not the marketing name.
- Read what the badge is measuring. "Save 40%" against what? If the page does not say, assume the comparison is to the RRP.
Pressure tactics to ignore
Countdown timers, "only 3 left", and "12 people are looking at this" are designed to make you decide before you check. On many sites the timer restarts when the page reloads. If a deal is real, it will survive the two minutes it takes to compare prices.
When a discount usually is real
- Model-year clearances. When a new version launches, the previous one is often cut for good. The price may drop further, but the cut itself is genuine.
- Open-box and refurbished from the retailer or manufacturer. These come with a warranty and a return window, and the saving against new is real because the reference is the same product, new, from the same store.
- Coupon codes that reduce the checkout total. A code applied at checkout is a saving you can see, on a price you can verify.
How we handle this on NXT.Deals
We show a "was" price only when the retailer displays it or when we hold our own dated record of the higher price. If we cannot substantiate the reference, we show the current price on its own. Every compared price carries the date it was observed. The rules are in our editorial policy.
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