How to Spot a Fake Discount

The inflated “was” price

The oldest trick in retail: show a high “original” price next to the real price so the difference looks like a saving. The €99 was never a genuine selling price — it exists only to make €49 look generous. The crossed-out number is marketing, not history. The only number that matters is the price you’ll actually pay, compared against what the same product costs elsewhere.

The law is on your side — the 30-day rule

Since the EU’s Omnibus Directive came into force, any shop advertising a price reduction must show, as the reference price, the lowest price it charged in the 30 days before the discount. In other words, a retailer can’t legally jack the price up for a week and then “discount” back to normal. If a “sale” price equals or beats that 30-day low, it’s probably real. If the shop is vague about the reference price, be suspicious.

Fake urgency: countdown timers

“Offer ends in 09:58… 09:57…” A ticking clock is designed to switch off the part of your brain that compares prices. Notice how often that timer resets when you reload the page, or how the “deal” is still there tomorrow. Genuine, time-limited sales exist — but a permanent countdown is a permanent lie.

Phantom scarcity

“Only 2 left in stock!” · “17 people are viewing this right now.” These numbers are frequently invented or randomised — pure pressure. Real scarcity is possible, but if every product on a site is “almost gone”, none of them are. Don’t let a scarcity message rush a decision you’d otherwise take time over.

The bundle and the decoy

Two more to know. A bundle (“save 30% on the set!”) can hide the fact that you only wanted one item — and the per-item price isn’t actually low. A decoy is a deliberately bad-value option placed next to the one the shop wants you to buy, to make that one look smart. Always ask: do I want this, and is this price good — not is this better than the option next to it.

The one check that defeats all of it

Every trick above works by stopping you from comparing. So the counter is simple: compare. Take the product and check what it costs at several other retailers. If three other shops sell it for less than the “50% off” price, the discount was fiction. If the “deal” really is the lowest across the market, buy with confidence. The crossed-out price tells you nothing; the competition tells you everything.

How Marketiq helps

This is exactly what a price comparison is for. Instead of trusting one shop’s badge, Marketiq searches eBay’s six EU marketplaces, the Awin retailer network and more in one query, and shows you the real range of prices for a product. A “discount” only means something when you can see what everyone else charges — so let the market, not the marketing, tell you if it’s a bargain.