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Amazon Fake Discounts: Read the Strikethrough Price

Amazon fake discounts start with the crossed-out price. Learn List Price vs. Typical Price, what the FTC says, and six quick checks before you trust a % off.

By SpendHackPublished Updated

Inflated blank price tag about to be popped by a pin, with a smaller flat blank tag beside it.

Short answer: Some Amazon discounts are real and some are a costume. A percent off is only as honest as the crossed-out price it is measured from. Learn which reference price you are looking at, and you can tell the two apart before you pay.

What the strikethrough price actually is

Amazon calls the crossed-out number a reference price. In its own words, a reference price is “a benchmark price that helps customers understand the value of an offer and available savings.” It is not a promise that anyone ever paid it.

Two reference prices show up most often on amazon.com:

  • List Price. The suggested retail price from the manufacturer, supplier or seller. You may know it as MSRP.
  • Typical Price. A number Amazon works out itself: the median price customers paid on Amazon over the past 90 days, leaving out prices paid during limited-time promotions.

Why “List Price” deserves a second look

A suggested price is easy to puff up. The FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing warn that when a list price “is significantly in excess of the highest price at which substantial sales in the trade area are made,” shoppers face “a clear and serious danger” of being misled by the advertised cut.

The same guides name the classic trick in plain terms: an “artificial, inflated price” set up so a seller can later offer “a large reduction.” When that happens, the guides say, the bargain “is a false one.”

How to use Typical Price vs. List Price when deciding

  • The label says Typical Price. Treat the percent off as a real signal, then still compare stores.
  • The label says List Price. Treat the percent off as unproven until other stores and the price history back it up.
  • There is no crossed-out price. Judge the price by comparing stores.
  • Two options show different labels. Compare their final prices, not their percentages. A small cut off a Typical Price can beat a big cut off a List Price.

How to spot a fake discount: six checks

1. Read the label next to the crossed-out price. Does it say “List Price” or “Typical Price”?

2. Ignore the percentage until you know the base. “60% off” sounds loud. Sixty percent off a number nobody pays is just a normal price wearing a party hat.

3. Compare with other big stores. Check two or three other large retailers. If they all sell near Amazon’s “deal” price, the discount is mostly decoration.

4. Look at how the price has moved. Before a big purchase, look the product up on a third-party price-history site such as camelcamelcamel. If today’s price is where it usually sits, the “sale” is the regular price.

5. Notice urgency stacked on top. A countdown, a “limited time” badge and a big percent off can rush you past steps 1 to 4. A real deal survives a two-minute check.

6. Price the whole order. Shipping, the seller and the return window all count. A small discount from a seller you trust beats a big one from a seller you don’t.

Comparing with other stores, in practice

  • Search by model number, not by name. Copy the exact model or part number from the Amazon page.
  • Match the exact version. Size, color, storage, pack count and bundle contents all change the price. A two-pack is not a deal against a single.
  • Check the condition. New, renewed and used are different products. Compare new with new.
  • Compare the total. Add shipping and any membership you’d need at each store.

A worked example

A pair of headphones shows 45% off, with a crossed-out List Price.

  1. Label. It says List Price, so the 45% is unproven.
  2. Other stores. You search the model number at two other big retailers. Both sell the same version at about the same price as Amazon’s “deal.”
  3. Over time. A look on camelcamelcamel shows the price has sat near this level for months.

The verdict: the price is fair, but the discount is decoration. Buy them if you need headphones now. Don’t buy them because of the 45%.

Where real discounts tend to hide

  • Coupons. A clip-to-save coupon takes money off the current price, not off a made-up one. Our guide on how Amazon coupons work covers the rules.
  • Lightning Deals. Amazon’s terms describe them as items “that may be deeply discounted and of limited availability.” They still deserve the same checks. See our Lightning Deals guide.
  • A cut below Typical Price. A discount against Typical Price is a decent first signal.

SpendHack earns from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links on this page.

Want to practice? Open today’s deals on Amazon and run the six checks on the first three items you see.

Sources

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