Prices and availability are tracked for France (amazon.fr and French retailers, in euros).
How to spot a fake discount
A crossed-out price is not a discount. It is a reference price chosen by the retailer, and nothing requires that price to have ever been charged. The only question that matters: what does this product usually cost? Here is how to answer in one minute, and the five signs that give away a deal that saves nothing.
The share of fake deals, measured this week
Out of 249 deals displayed in the DeaLynx catalogue (a crossed-out price above today’s price), 139 save nothing compared with the product’s usual price, that is 56%. 80 are real discounts of at least 5%. Median displayed discount: 0.167%. Median real discount: 0%.
See the full barometer, category by category →The five signs of a fake discount
1. The crossed-out price is one nobody ever paid
The most common case. The retailer shows the manufacturer’s recommended price, or a two-year-old launch price, as the reference, while the product has sold well below it for months. The discount is computed against a theoretical price. On a price history it shows instantly: the curve never went through the crossed-out price.
2. The deal comes back every week
A discount that reappears every two weeks is not a promotion, it is the product’s normal price with a label. Retailers alternate “full” and “deal” prices to create urgency. If the deal price is the one the product sells at half the time, that is the usual price.
3. The price went up just before
A classic of big events: Black Friday, French Days, sales. The price climbs two or three weeks earlier, then “drops” on the day to land back at its previous level, sometimes above. Without a history the discount looks real. With one, you see the bump.
4. The discount is huge, the final price is ordinary
“-60%” on a product sold everywhere else at the same final price. The percentage is computed against an inflated reference. The reflex: ignore the percentage and compare the final price with the product’s usual price, at this retailer and at the others.
5. The offer comes from a third-party seller
On marketplaces (Amazon, Cdiscount, Rakuten, Fnac), a third-party seller can set a crossed-out price freely. Some list a product at a very high price for a few days, then show a spectacular discount on it. A usual price computed across several sellers and several months neutralises the trick.
The method in three steps
Look at the history, not the label
Open the product page on DeaLynx, or install the extension, which shows the curve directly on the retailer page. At a glance: the usual price over six months, the floor already reached, and where today’s price sits.
Compare with the usual price, never with the crossed-out one
The usual price is the median of prices actually recorded over six months, weighted by how long each price stayed displayed. It is what the product ordinarily costs. A discount only exists if today’s price goes clearly below it: DeaLynx counts a real deal from 5%, a real drop from 15%.
Set an alert rather than buying under pressure
If today’s price is not a real low, follow the product. DeaLynx notifies you when the price falls under your threshold or under the usual price, and when an out-of-stock product comes back. The urgency displayed by the retailer does not hold against an alert.
What the law says
Since May 2022, a retailer announcing a price reduction in France must show the lowest price it charged during the previous thirty days, and that price is the reference for the discount (article L112-1-1 of the Consumer Code, from the European Omnibus directive). Two limits: the rule does not apply to comparisons with a recommended price, nor to third-party sellers on marketplaces, and thirty days are not enough to see a hike prepared two months ahead. A six-month history goes beyond what the law requires.
Frequently asked questions
Is a crossed-out price always a fake deal?
No. Many discounts are real, especially at the end of a line or when a new model comes out. The DeaLynx barometer measures every week the share of displayed deals that save nothing: it varies by category and period. This guide gives you the means to decide product by product.
How do I find a product’s usual price?
On DeaLynx, every product page shows it: the median of prices recorded over six months, outliers removed. If the product is not in the catalogue yet, paste its address into the home page bar, or install the extension: it shows the history on the retailer page, at Amazon, Fnac, Cdiscount, Darty, Boulanger and ten other retailers.
Is Black Friday a fake-deal season?
It is the period when prior price hikes are most frequent, because everyone expects a discount. It is not a season without real deals either: the barometer’s monthly reports list real drops of at least 15%, product by product.
What is a price alert for, if the deal is fake?
Precisely for not buying that day. The alert fires when the price genuinely falls under your chosen threshold or under the usual price, not when the retailer displays a discount. You buy when the price is low, not when the label says so.