Fake discounts: how to tell if a sale is real (2026 checklist)

To tell whether a discount is real, answer one question: is today's price lower than what the product actually sold for over the past weeks and months? The percentage on the banner is not enough. In France and across the EU, a struck-through "was" price must be the lowest price the seller charged in the 30 days before the reduction, yet plenty of traps remain, some legal and some not.

This is not a fringe problem. In a 2024 investigation covering nearly 5,300 establishments and 350 websites, France's consumer protection authority, the DGCCRF, reports that a third of the businesses offering price reductions had irregularities, with discounts that were exaggerated or did not exist at all. Here is the full checklist so it does not happen to you.

What exactly is a fake discount?

A fake discount is any offer that makes you believe you are saving money when you are not, or far less than claimed. There are two families:

• Illegal fake discounts: an invented reference price, or one higher than the 30-day low, a non-existent reduction, a false time limit. These can amount to a misleading commercial practice.
• Misleading but legal discounts: a price raised more than 30 days before the event, a comparison with a "recommended retail price" nobody charges, a bundle that makes comparison impossible. The law is respected; your wallet gains nothing.

The second family catches the most people, because nothing on the page gives it away. Only a price history reveals it.

The 10 fake-discount traps: a checklist

Trap	What it looks like	How to check
1. Inflated was-price	"€499" struck through when the product sold for €429 last week	Compare with the lowest price of the last 30 days
2. Early price hike	Price raised two months before the event, then "cut"	Look at several months of history
3. Recommended price	"Manufacturer's RRP" or "typical price" struck through	Read the exact wording under the price
4. Wrong percentage	"-30%" calculated from a price above the reference price	Redo the maths yourself
5. Permanent was-price	The same "deal" shown all year round	Come back to the page a few weeks later
6. "Up to -70%" shop window	Big headline discount, very few products actually included	Check the price of the product you actually want
7. Multi-buys	"3 for 2", "second one half price"	Work out the unit price and whether you need 2 or 3
8. Bundle or exclusive model	Product sold with an accessory or under a retailer-only reference	Compare the spec sheet, not the product name
9. Lower-spec version	Same name, but less storage, older chip, refurbished	Check model, capacity, year and condition
10. False urgency	Countdown that resets, "only 2 left"	Reload later and ignore the timer

Was-price vs recommended price: how to read the label

Since May 28, 2022, article L112-1-1 of the French Consumer Code, which transposes the EU "Omnibus" directive, requires every price-reduction announcement to show the prior price, meaning the lowest price the business charged all consumers in the 30 days before the reduction. The details, exceptions and worked examples are in our guide to the 30-day rule.

Still, look closely at what is struck through. The rule does not apply when a seller compares its price with other businesses' prices. In that case, the DGCCRF says shoppers must be clearly told that it is a price comparison, not a reduction, and what kind of comparison price it is (manufacturer's recommended price, usual market price and so on). The authority also notes that some retailers blur the line between comparison prices and genuine reductions.

In practice, a struck-through RRP tells you nothing about what the product really cost at that retailer. A TV can show "-40% off RRP" while having sold at that exact price for months.

Bundles, multi-buys and exclusive models: the tech traps

With electronics, the trick is not always in the price: it is often in the product itself. A few cases worth knowing:

• The bundle: a console with a game, a phone with earbuds. The "was" price adds up individual prices that may never have been charged together, and you may not want the extra item.
• The exclusive model: some devices come in a retailer-specific version with a slightly different product code, which makes direct comparison with another store impossible. Compare the spec sheets line by line.
• The cut-down version: same marketing name, but less memory, an older-generation chip or a lower-resolution screen. The "deal" sometimes implicitly compares it with the higher-spec model.
• Refurbished or third-party sellers: on a marketplace, the cheapest offer may be refurbished, imported or sold by a third party with different return terms.

Multi-buy and conditional offers ("3 for 2") are generally considered outside the scope of the 30-day rule, according to an FAQ drawn up by French employers' body MEDEF in consultation with the DGCCRF. They are still banned if misleading, but doing the unit-price maths is up to you.

Fake countdowns and "almost sold out": are they legal?

Not when they are false. The French Consumer Code lists among practices deemed misleading falsely stating that a product will only be available for a very limited time in order to push an immediate decision (article L121-4). A timer that restarts on every visit or a "last day" that lasts two weeks falls into that logic.

The right reflex is simple: a good deal is judged on price, not pressure. If the countdown is the only reason to buy now, close the tab and come back later. You will often find the same offer at the same price.

How to check a discount is real in 5 steps

1. Pin down the exact product: reference, capacity, colour, year, new or refurbished, and seller.
2. Read what is struck through: the seller's own prior price (30-day rule) or a comparison price (RRP, price seen elsewhere)?
3. Redo the maths: the advertised reduction must be calculated from the reference price. The Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed this on September 26, 2024 (Aldi Süd, case C-330/23).
4. Look at the price history over several months: it is the only way to spot an early price hike. Our guide to Amazon price history shows where to find it.
5. Compare the total price with at least one other retailer, delivery included.

By hand, these checks take several minutes per product, and step 4 is often impossible: most online stores show no price history at all. That is exactly where legal fake discounts hide.

Where to report a fake discount in France

If you believe a reduction is fictitious or a reference price is false, you can report it on SignalConso (signal.conso.gouv.fr), the free public service run by the DGCCRF. Reports can be passed on to the business concerned, and the DGCCRF can use them to target inspections: it says its 2024 investigation into price reductions was carried out partly in response to consumer reports filed on the platform.

To make your report useful:

• take a dated screenshot of the offer (was-price, discount, small print);
• keep any record of the price charged before the event (screenshot, email, price history);
• note the exact page address and the seller's name, especially on a marketplace.

A report is not a refund request. If you have already bought and dispute the sale, contact customer service first, then the consumer mediator whose details the seller must provide. For online purchases in the EU, the 14-day withdrawal period generally applies, with some exceptions.

Why price history is the only real defence

The 30-day rule stops the crudest abuses, but it has a built-in limit: it only looks back one month. A price raised before that window, then "cut" during a sales event, can produce a perfectly legal was-price and zero saving. That is especially true in the run-up to Black Friday.

The only reliable defence is to know the product's price before the event. Either you log it weekly in a spreadsheet, or you let a tool do it. With UniverTrack, you paste a product link (Amazon, Cdiscount or another online store): the price is checked automatically, a dated history builds up from the day you start tracking (on Amazon, past history can also be shown), and an indicator tells you whether it is a good time to buy. For more on the dedicated feature, see our page on the fake discount detector.

Put it into practice: stop paying for fake discounts

1. Paste into UniverTrack the link of each product you plan to buy over the coming months: the longer the history, the easier a fake drop is to spot.
2. Set a realistic target price based on the history rather than on a banner's percentage.
3. Get an email alert when the price hits your target, then buy with confidence. See how to set up a price drop alert.

If you watch lots of products or hunt deals during big sales events, the Malin plan (€6.99/month) fits best: up to 50 products, fake-discount detection and an AI shopping assistant. For a single big purchase, the Découverte plan is enough. Compare plans on the pricing page: every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no commitment.