How to Tell If a 'Was' Price Was Ever Real

Key data point: Several consumer protection frameworks require a 'was' price to reflect a price the item genuinely sold at for a sustained period, not a price shown for a single day before a markdown.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it illegal for a retailer to use a fake 'was' price?

A: Rules vary by region, but several consumer protection frameworks specifically require a reference price to reflect a real, sustained prior selling price rather than a one-day anchor; enforcement and definitions differ by jurisdiction.

Q: What is the fastest way to sanity-check a 'was' price myself?

A: Compare the discount depth to what is typical for that product's category — a discount far beyond the category's usual ceiling is the clearest single warning sign.

Why 'Was' Prices Became So Common

A crossed-out reference price gives a shopper an instant anchor to judge the current price against, and anchoring bias research consistently shows that this single visual cue changes how fair a lower price feels — even when the shopper has no independent way to verify the higher number was ever real.

The One-Day Anchor Problem

A retailer can legally, in many jurisdictions, list an item at a temporarily high price for a single day and then advertise a markdown against that number the next day. The resulting 'discount' is mathematically accurate but practically meaningless, since the higher price was never a normal selling price to begin with.

Signals a 'Was' Price May Not Be Real

Warning signs include a discount depth well beyond what is typical for the product category, a sale that reappears at the identical discount every week, and an inability to find the item listed anywhere else near the claimed 'original' price.

A Simple Three-Step Check

First, identify the product category and its typical realistic discount range. Second, check whether the exact same 'sale' price has appeared in the past on the same page. Third, search for the item on one or two other retailers to see whether the 'original' price is anywhere close to reality.