Is That Early Holiday Deal or Fake Discount? Our Shopping Expert Chimes In

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are a couple of months away. 

Retailers, like Amazon and Walmart, are just a few of the stores with upcoming early holiday sales to discount popular gifts like tech, kitchen gadgets and toys. But oftentimes, you may wonder whether the sales are really worth it or if retailers are fooling you with fake discounts, inflated original prices and flashy sale badges to make you think you’re getting big savings. 

CNET’s latest holiday shopping survey found that US adults are already bracing themselves for frustrations just like that. In fact, 43% are frustrated by fake or misleading discounts, and 35% are worried about inflated baseline costs. So how do you spot a good deal from fake savings and discounts? Here’s how. 

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Yes, early holiday sales are worth it

James Bricknell, CNET’s managing editor for deals, broke down how some retailers may try to show a deep discount that isn’t quite true — also known as inflating baseline or original prices. 

“Often, retailers will not inflate the price per se, but will inflate the recommended retail price to suggest the product sells for more than it does,” said Bricknell. “This makes the discount feel larger, when it may only be 5% or 10% off.” 

It’s one of the frustrations that over one-third (35%) of US adults expect when holiday shopping this year, according to CNET’s latest findings. Other shopping pains include deals selling out instantly (39%) and higher prices for outdated tech (33%). 

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ignore holiday sales. It could be one way to save on a new device you’re considering, like a laptop or headphones — even if it’s not a deep discount. While some savings may be only 10 or 20%, they could still help shave off some of the cost and avoid paying full price. 

But with some retailers adjusting prices to falsify savings, how do you really know you’re getting a deal? 

How to spot a good deal during holiday sales 

Typically, early holiday sales yield savings on tech but you’ll need to create a plan and do some research before the sales start. 

Over the years, CNET has done the work to determine if sales are worth it and shared the best deals on popular tech items. We use several data sources to see when a product is truly on sale, compare the new price with a 90-day average, and share them during big sales, along with expert insight on some of the most popular gadgets to help you shop confidently.

You can take some of the same steps as our deals team by comparing prices across retailers to find the biggest savings.

“Don’t assume the first place you see has the best sale; shop around to make sure the sale price seems legit,” Bricknell said. 

If you’re worried about secretly higher prices, Bricknell recommends checking the brand’s official website for the base price. Once you find a good deal, use a price tracker like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa to see historical pricing and determine whether it’s worth buying now or waiting. 

Chrome’s Shopping Insights browser extension lets you bookmark a page and track a price. Google says that trackable products are saved to your Shopping list folder by default, too. And now Safari’s Notify Me tool is a built-in tool that can track webpage changes, including price drops. CNET also has a price comparison extension, though it’s probably faster to find what you want through our big roundups of deals during sales. 

Bricknell added that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. “A deep discount of 50% or 75% on something that normally costs hundreds is something to be wary of.”