How We Verify Deal Discounts

Not all discounts are created equal. A "50% off" label means nothing if the original price was inflated. Here's how we approach verification.

The Discount Verification Challenge

Retailers have sophisticated pricing strategies. A product might be "on sale" for 340 days a year. The "original price" might have only existed for a brief period. Some products are priced higher specifically to make the discount percentage look impressive.

Our Verification Methods

1. Historical Price Analysis

When available, we check price history from multiple sources. This helps us identify:

• Products that are genuinely at their lowest price
• Items where the "original" price is inflated
• Seasonal pricing patterns

2. Cross-Retailer Comparison

We compare prices across Amazon, eBay, and Newegg. If a "deal" is actually higher than competitors' regular prices, it's not really a deal.

3. Observed Price Context

Each item gets a context label based on:

• Observed price range during your tracking period
• Current price position within that range
• Retailer reliability and listing quality
• Last-checked timestamps

What We Can't Verify

We're honest about our limitations:

• Some products don't have enough price history
• Private label products are harder to compare
• Flash sales may expire before we can verify them

The Result

You see clearer context for the items you track, without guesswork or inflated claims.