How to Spot Fake Discounts and Check Price History (2026)

Q: How do I know if a discount is real?

Check the price history with a free tool like Keepa for Amazon or Idealo for EU multi-shop comparison. In the EU, a genuine discount must be measured against the lowest price from the previous 30 days, so compare the sale price to that recent low.

Q: How can I check price history without a tool?

Compare the price across two or three retailers, screenshot prices before major sales, and use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to see what a product page charged earlier.

Q: Are Black Friday discounts usually real?

Often not. Independent tracking finds many before prices are inflated ahead of Black Friday and Prime Day. Always verify against the 30-day low.

Last updated: July 2026

Short answer: a real discount is measured against the product's lowest price in the previous 30 days — and in the EU that is the law, not a courtesy. If a shop shows a "was" price the item was never actually sold at, the discount is fake. The good news is you can verify almost any deal in under a minute with a free price-history tool.

This guide explains the rule that protects you, the tools that show the real history, and the red flags that give a fake sale away.

The rule that is on your side (EU)

Since May 2022, EU law (the Price Indication Directive as amended by the Omnibus Directive) requires that whenever a trader announces a price reduction, the reference "was" price must be the lowest price the trader applied in at least the 30 days before the reduction. The point is exactly to stop shops inflating a "before" price to fake a bigger saving.

In 2024 the EU Court of Justice tightened this further: even a percentage discount ("−30%") must be calculated from that 30-day low, not from a price quietly raised the day before the sale. So "−40% off €100" is only honest if €100 was genuinely the lowest price in the past month.

This has teeth. In 2025 France fined Shein €40 million after finding that most of its "sale" items had no real reduction — and some were actually price increases dressed up as discounts. Penalties under these rules can reach up to 4% of a retailer's annual turnover.

The US has a parallel principle: the FTC's rules on deceptive pricing say a "was" price is only legitimate if the item was actually offered at that price, openly, for a reasonable recent period — not invented to create a bigger-looking markdown.

Free tools that show the real price history

Keepa (Amazon): free price-history charts going back years, across Amazon's EU marketplaces (UK, DE, FR, IT, ES and more). The single best check for any Amazon deal.
CamelCamelCamel (Amazon, free): paste a product link and see its full price history plus drop alerts. Amazon-only.
Idealo (EU): Europe's largest comparison site (strong in DE, AT, FR, ES, IT), with price history across thousands of shops.
PriceSpy / PriceRunner: multi-retailer comparison, strong on electronics, good in the UK and Nordics.
Google Shopping offers price tracking and drop alerts. Browser extensions like Honey show history too, but they are affiliate-funded — treat them as a hint, not proof.

How to verify a discount without any tools

Compare across 2–3 shops. If the "sale" price matches what rivals charge every day, it is not a real cut.
Screenshot before the big events. Note prices a few weeks before Black Friday or Prime Day so you can see whether the "before" price was inflated.
Check the past page. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) often shows what a product page charged weeks or months ago.

Red flags of a fake discount

An inflated "RRP" or "MSRP" the product is never actually sold at.
A permanent or weekly-resetting "sale" — if it is always on sale, it is just the price.
Countdown timers and "only 2 left" pressure designed to stop you checking.
A strikethrough "was" price you cannot find anywhere in the item's history.
Implausible 70–90% off on desirable goods.

Independent tracking around Black Friday repeatedly finds that most markdowns are not genuine savings — at some retailers, more than half of tracked items showed false discounts almost every week. The reference-price rule and a 30-second history check are your defence.

Related reading: our comparison guides list current, verified deals — see comparisons. Some links on our site are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a discount is real?

Check the price history with a free tool like Keepa (Amazon) or Idealo (EU multi-shop). In the EU, a genuine discount must be measured against the lowest price from the previous 30 days, so compare the "sale" price to that recent low.

What is the EU 30-day price rule?

Since May 2022, EU law requires that any announced discount use the lowest price from at least the previous 30 days as the reference "was" price. A 2024 court ruling extended this to percentage discounts too.

What is the best free price-history tool?

For Amazon, Keepa and CamelCamelCamel are free and show full history. For multi-shop comparison in the EU, Idealo and PriceSpy are strong choices.

How can I check price history without a tool?

Compare the price across 2–3 retailers, screenshot prices before major sales, and use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to see what a product page charged earlier.

Are Black Friday discounts usually real?

Often not. Independent tracking finds many "before" prices are inflated ahead of Black Friday and Prime Day. Always verify against the 30-day low.