Some things really are too good to be true
The thrill of getting a good deal is exciting year-round, but it feels especially great when you’re holiday shopping. Amazon, in particular, has a way of making us feel like they are giving us the price of the century on just about everything, from household staples to luxe gifts. But with Black Friday coming up, it’s really important to know what’s actually a deal and what’s a lot of smoke and mirrors.
Because, yes, Amazon does employ strategies that in some cases make it look like you’re saving a whole lot more than you actually are. Here to help you sniff out the real deals are a panel of shopping and pricing experts who know a true markdown when they see one—so keep reading.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more shopping, humor, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.
How big of a discount does Amazon typically offer during its big sales?
It depends on the product, but Andrea Woroch, a nationally recognized consumer and money-saving expert, says for Amazon branded items, “typically they range from 25% to 65% off.”
“During big sales events, you can find deals on popular Amazon-owned products as well as national brands,” she says. “The biggest discounts tend to be on their own line of products,” such as tech like Amazon Fire devices and Kindle e-Readers, clothing and everyday goods from Amazon Essentials and Amazon Basics. She says you’ll also see other brands on sale, generally with a little less of a discount—around 20% to 40% off.
Super big promotions where you can expect these deals include Black Friday in November, Prime Day in July and Prime Big Deal Days in October. Amazon touts these as their lowest prices of the year, creating a shopper frenzy with everyone expecting to score “doorbuster” deals on hot products.
And of course, Amazon offers regular old sales on items every single day. You’ll typically see the list price, Amazon’s current price, the percentage discount and whether there will be extra discounts applied at checkout. Discounts vary on these run-of-the-mill Amazon deals.
What sneaky thing does Amazon do before these sales?
“The most common tactic shoppers need to be aware of is artificial price inflation and fake discounts,” says Serge Salager, CEO of Visualping, an AI-powered website monitoring tool that helps track price changes. “Lots of retailers, including Amazon, will often raise the price of a product in the weeks before a big sale, like Black Friday or Prime Day.” Then, they “discount” the item to a lower price so it looks like a better deal than it actually is.
Strategic movements in price can make it hard to know if you’ve lucked into a bargain—or just think you did. Take a look at the Dyson V9 Motorbar vacuum. At the time of publication, it’s listed as a $269.99 limited-time deal with a list price of $599.99—a 55% discount. But according to Amazon price monitoring site CamelCamelCamel.com, its average price on Amazon is $454.99. Still a good deal, but not nearly as good a deal as the current list price indicates.
Artificial price inflation also creates a sense of unneeded urgency. For example, a 2-Quart Mini Air Fryer by Chefman is hyped as being 25% off its list price of $59.99 at the time of publication. That’s about $15 off, and you’d pay roughly $45 if you bought it today. Sounds great, right? But according to CamelCamelCamel, its average regular price is $46.56! A “$1.50-off sale” doesn’t have the same ring, does it? To add insult to injury, last year around this time they were selling it for $39.99.
How can you tell if Amazon has done this with an item?
The biggest red flag: If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
“If the seller is boasting a 70% off discount with an unimpressive price, they likely just hiked the original price to trick you into believing you’re paying less,” says Bobby Ghoshal, CEO of Dupe.com, an AI-powered website that helps shoppers find lower prices.
Price-comparison websites can help. Salager, of course, recommends Visualping, which tracks prices by monitoring website changes, while Woroch has her own favorite: “The best way to determine if you’re getting a good deal is to use a site that offers historical pricing data such as CamelCamelCamel.com or their web extension called Camelizer,” say says. “This will let you know if a deal you’re eyeing is real.”
Check the reviews too. “A seller with limited reviews is always one to tread carefully with,” Ghoshal says. “And this is obvious, but if a seller has several negative reviews, just avoid them at all costs.”
How, exactly, do you use these price-tracking sites?
It really depends on the site, as each works slightly differently than the other. Woroch’s go-to site, CamelCamelCamel, operates with a simple search bar. You just copy and paste the Amazon link into their search bar to pull up the data on a particular item.
Salager says Visualping operates similarly. “It’s really simple to set up,” he says. “Shoppers just copy and paste the URL of a product they want to keep an eye on, set a criteria for what they want to be alerted of using an AI prompt and select how often they want Visualping to check the page, from every day to every minute.” Once Visualping detects a change that meets the shopper’s criteria, the shopper gets an alert so they can snag the deal.
“Being able to set a condition for alerts with AI is incredibly powerful because shoppers can get really specific with the exact change they want to be notified of,” Salager says. And you don’t have to worry about getting a million alerts because “shoppers can set very clear conditions like, ‘Alert me only if this product drops below $100,’ or ‘Alert me of a 25% or greater discount.'” Shoppers can even set an alert for a specific color or size that’s on sale.
How else can you make sure you’re getting a good deal on Amazon?
No one wants to feel like they’re getting bamboozled around the holidays, or any time of year, for that matter. Here’s how to get the best deals.
- Try to avoid third-party sellers. “You have to ensure that you’re purchasing from a trusted seller,” says Ghoshal. “You can tell this by the number of reviews each seller has and the variety of language each reviewer shares. If there are 10 reviews using all the same language, you can almost guarantee that it’s fake.”
- Set sale alerts. “Prices are constantly fluctuating on Amazon, even between big sales events, so if you don’t see something on sale now and you don’t need it immediately, you’re best waiting for a price drop,” Woroch says. She suggests using deal-tracking tools like Keepa to know the right moment to buy.
- Look for extra coupon discounts. “Sometimes you can find extra coupon savings for money off or a percent discount, but you have to select to apply the deal for it to qualify, so don’t miss this,” she adds.
One final note: Woroch says it’s important to buy judiciously. “Some products are a better deal on Amazon than others,” she says. “In fact, Amazon keeps prices cheap on a range of items that people often associate with the online giant in order to create the impression that everything is a good deal on their site.”
The expert says while Amazon products and tech goods can be a good bet, “you can often find better deals on daily essentials like personal-care items, toiletries, paper products for your home and makeup by shopping sales at other sites.”
RELATED:
- This Is Why You Should Never Buy Costco’s Kirkland Products on Amazon
- McDonald’s Just Made a Major New Payment Change, and It’s Good News—Sometimes
- It’s Going to Be a Lot More Expensive to Ship Your Holiday Gifts This Year—And the Price Hike Is Kicking in Sooner Than You Think
About the experts
|
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Andrea Woroch, consumer-savings and smart-shopping expert; interviewed, November 2025
- Serge Salager, CEO of Visualping; interviewed, November 2025
- Bobby Ghoshal, CEO of Dupe.com; interviewed, November 2025
- Keepa: “Price History Charts”
- CamelCamelCamel: “Save money on your next Amazon purchase”
- Amazon: “CHEFMAN 2 Qt Mini Air Fryer”
- Amazon: “Dyson V9 Motorbar Cordless Vacuum”
