Black Friday: how to tell a real price drop from a fake one
By the HelpFindGifts editors · Updated
Short answer
A drop is real when the higher price is one the shop actually charged, openly and for a reasonable time, not a list price nobody paid. Check the price history, compare the same product at another shop, and be wary of 'compare at' prices.
What the rules say a 'was' price must be
In the United States, the FTC's Guides Against Deceptive Pricing say a former price is a fair basis for a comparison only if the product was openly and actively offered at that price, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period in the recent regular course of business.
In Canada, the Competition Act bans misleading claims about an ordinary selling price. The Competition Bureau describes two tests: most sales happened at that price or higher within a reasonable period, or the product was offered at that price or higher, in good faith, for a substantial period.
Three checks that take a minute
You do not need a spreadsheet to spot most inflated discounts.
- Look for a date. A drop with no 'since when' is a claim, not evidence.
- Search the exact product at a second shop. If everyone sells it at the 'sale' price, the 'was' price was never the going rate.
- Treat 'compare at' and 'RRP' prices with care: they can be a price no one in your country ever charged.
How we decide what counts as a drop
We read each gift's price on the shop's own product page once a day, and every four hours in Black Friday week. A gift appears on our price drops page only when today's price is at least 5% below the highest price we ourselves saw on that same page in the last 30 days, and we show both prices and both dates.
We never use the shop's own 'was' or 'compare at' figure, and we never call something a deal because a banner says so.