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§ 01 / ARTICLE

Reading a Discount Sign. Without Getting Fooled.

CATEGORY NUMBERSREAD 3 MINPUBLISHED APR 21, 2026

"Up to 70% off" rarely means what the font size implies. Three retail tricks to watch for, and how to check whether a sale is real.

"Up to" is a ceiling

A sign saying up to 70% off sets the floor at $0 and the ceiling at 70%. The average across items is almost always in the 20–40% range, with a few loss-leaders at the claimed max to support the sign. The big number on the sign advertises the minority.

Anchor prices

The "was $200, now $99" play. If the item only sold at $200 for a token period — or never — the $99 isn't a discount, it's the real price dressed up. Clothing retailers do this aggressively; some have been sued over it.

MSRP ≠ actual price

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is rarely what anyone sells at. When a product shows "30% off MSRP", you're looking at normal retail, not a deal. Compare against what competitors actually charge, not against MSRP.

How to verify

  • CamelCamelCamel / Keepa — Amazon price history. See if the "sale" is real.
  • Honey / Rakuten — price tracking across general retailers.
  • Google Shopping — instant comparison across merchants.
  • Your calendar memory — was this item "on sale" last month too? Perpetual sales are price lists.
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Original price + discount %. Get the real sale price and your savings.

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§ 02 / FAQ

Questions. Answered.

What does "up to X% off" really mean?+
Up to = ceiling, not average. "Up to 70% off" typically means a handful of items at 70%, while the majority are at 20–30%. Average discount across the sale is usually much lower than the sign suggests.
What’s an anchor price?+
A "was" price that’s been inflated to make the "now" price look better. Common in clothing and online retail. The FTC investigates egregious cases but most of it flies under the radar because proving the anchor was never-sold is hard.
What about MSRP?+
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Virtually no one sells at MSRP — the "discount" from MSRP is baked into normal retail. Ignore MSRP in your mental math; compare to what a competitor actually charges.
How do I check a real discount?+
CamelCamelCamel (Amazon), Honey (general), Keepa. They show price history. If the "was" price only existed for a week before the sale, the discount is fiction.
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