Notes on deals & honest prices
Guides and explainers on fake discounts, price history and when a deal is really worth it. BUY / WAIT / SKIP / FAIR come only from a product Check, never from a blog post.
Examples of Inflated Reference Prices to Watch
See examples of inflated reference prices and learn how price history exposes fake savings before a retail sale label costs you more at checkout online.
November 1, 2026
What Does Fair Verdict Mean When You Shop?
What does fair verdict mean? See how a fair price compares with a true deal, when buying makes sense, and why retailer list prices can mislead shoppers.
October 30, 2026We checked 24,690 Amazon deals over 15 weeks. Nearly 1 in 5 weren’t real.
Fifteen weekly samples of advertised Amazon deals, compared with what each product usually sells for. Here is how often the discount was real, and what changed during Prime Big Deal Days.
October 23, 2026Which Amazon categories have the most fake discounts? 15 weeks of data
Computers, office supplies and furniture carried the most fake discounts in our weekly samples. Shoes and sporting goods carried the fewest. Here is the full ranking and why it looks the way it does.
October 23, 2026Were Prime Big Deal Days 2026 deals real? What we measured during the event
We checked 1,750 advertised deals while Prime Big Deal Days 2026 was live. Only 6% were not real discounts, against about 19% in an ordinary week. Office supplies and furniture were the exceptions.
October 23, 2026When the “deal” costs more than usual: real Amazon examples and how to spot them
Some products shown with a discount badge cost more than they normally do. Real examples from our weekly data, the three patterns behind them, and a two-minute check you can do yourself.
October 23, 2026Black Friday 2026: which deal categories to trust, and which to check every time
Black Friday is November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is November 30. Our weekly data shows which categories carry the most fake discounts in ordinary weeks and during a big sale event.
October 23, 2026“Early Black Friday” deals are where the fake discounts hide
In our data, ordinary weeks carried about three times as many fake discounts as a big sale event. The “early Black Friday” weeks of November are likely to look like ordinary weeks. Here is why, and how to handle them.
October 23, 2026A week-by-week Black Friday 2026 plan that avoids fake deals
Black Friday is November 27 and Cyber Monday November 30. A simple plan from now until then: what to do each week so you buy real discounts and skip the padded ones.
October 23, 2026
How to Verify Online Deals Before You Buy
Learn how to verify online deals with price history, seller checks, and smart comparisons so you can spot real savings and skip retail hype for good.
September 28, 2026