Is that Black Friday deal real?

What the rules say about “was” prices

General consumer information, not legal advice. The checker only works from the prices you enter: it can’t know what a shop charged when you weren’t looking, and it never says a shop has broken a rule.

• EU A shop announcing a price reduction must show the prior price: the lowest price it applied in at least the 30 days before the reduction, and any percentage off is measured from it (Article 6a of Directive 98/6/EC, applied since 28 May 2022).
• UK Misleading price claims are unfair commercial practices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA says a higher comparison price must be a genuine, usual selling price: not a short-lived hike, an old price, or one at which few items sold.
• US Under the FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing, a former price must be one the item was openly and actively offered at, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period in the recent regular course of business (16 CFR 233.1).
• Australia The ACCC says a “was” price can mislead if the item was not sold at that price for a reasonable period right before the sale, or only a very small share sold at it.
• Canada The Competition Bureau tests ordinary price claims by volume (more than half of sales at or above the price, generally within 12 months) or time (offered in good faith for more than half of a period, generally 6 months).