A "40% off" badge tells you what a retailer wants you to believe. A price history tells you what the item actually sold for. Here is how to use one to tell a real deal from a fake sale.
Free tool: check any product's price history before you buy, so you only pay a real low at kritdeals.com/price-check, or in the free KritDeals app for iPhone and Android.
What a fake sale looks like
- An inflated "was" price. The discount is measured against a list price the item rarely or never sold at, so "40% off" is really the normal price.
- A price raised before a sale. The price goes up for a few weeks, then comes "down" to where it was before.
- A permanent sale. The item has carried the same "limited-time" badge for months.
None of these are visible on the product page. All of them are obvious on a price history chart.
How to read a price history
- Find the lowest recorded price. If today's price is at or near it, it is a genuine low.
- Look at the typical price. Where the line usually sits is the real "regular" price, not the crossed-out one.
- Check how often it drops. A product that dips every few weeks will dip again; you can wait.
- Mind the time span. A history of a few days says little. Months of history are what make a "lowest price" claim meaningful.
Tools that show price history
- KritDeals Price Check: paste an Amazon or eBay link, or type a product, for the lowest price we have tracked, live prices elsewhere and a buy-or-wait verdict.
- The KritDeals deal feed: every tracked deal is listed only while it is at the lowest price we have recorded, so the checking is done for you. See this week's verified price drops.
- CamelCamelCamel and Keepa: free Amazon price history lookups. See KritDeals vs CamelCamelCamel vs Keepa.
When a price really is good
A price is worth acting on when it is at or below the lowest you can find in its history, the history covers a meaningful stretch of time, and the item is something you were going to buy anyway. If any of those is missing, waiting usually costs nothing; set a price alert and let the price come to you.
FAQ
How can I tell if a sale is fake? Compare the sale price with the product's price history. If the item regularly sold at the "sale" price, or the "was" price is one it rarely sold at, the discount is not real.
What is a price history? A record of the prices an item has sold at over time. It shows the real typical price and the lowest recorded price, which is what a discount should be measured against.
Is the lowest price ever always the best time to buy? It is a strong signal, but only if the history covers a meaningful period. A "lowest price" over a few days means much less than one over several months.
