A sale tag does not always mean you are getting a bargain. UK consumer group Which? reviewed 175 Black Friday deals from eight major retailers in 2025 and reported that 83% were available for the same price or less at other times during the year. None of the products reached their lowest price of the year specifically on Black Friday.
One tactic behind this is known as reference pricing. A retailer may keep an item listed at $130 for several weeks, then reduce it to $85 during a major shopping event and promote the offer as 35% off. However, if the product normally sold for around $90, the advertised discount can give shoppers a very different impression of the actual saving.
Price tracking tools can provide a clearer picture. Instead of relying on the original price shown beside a sale price, these services record how much a product has actually cost over time. Looking at that history can reveal whether today’s offer is genuinely unusual or simply being presented that way. If an item normally sells for about $90, an $85 price represents only a small reduction, even if the retailer claims a much larger percentage discount.
For Amazon purchases, CamelCamelCamel offers free price tracking. You can enter a product URL, review historical pricing and create an alert for the price you are willing to pay. Keepa provides similar information through a browser extension, displaying historical price charts directly on Amazon product pages. For shoppers using multiple retailers, tools such as Karma can monitor prices across a wide range of stores and notify you when prices fall.
Consider checking the price history before making purchases above $50. When the current price is close to the product’s lowest recorded price over the past year, the offer may deserve more attention. If the price is still close to its typical level, setting an alert and waiting could be worthwhile.
Price history can also reveal recurring patterns. Some products regularly become cheaper at particular times, making it easier to identify when another price reduction might occur. This can be especially useful during major shopping events, when large discounts and countdown timers are designed to encourage quick decisions.
A discount label tells you what the retailer wants you to notice. A price history chart shows you what the product actually cost over time.
