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Black Friday checker: spot a fake 'was' price

Checked 14 November 2026. Black Friday is Friday 27 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

The five-minute check

Shortlist now. Which? checked 175 popular products advertised on Black Friday 2024 and found every one was the same price or cheaper at some point in the six months either side. So decide what you want first, then look at the price history rather than the shop's banner.
Look at the price history. PriceSpy UK shows price-history graphs across many shops (it excludes Amazon prices). For Amazon.co.uk, use CamelCamelCamel or Keepa. If the "deal" price has been seen before, it is not new.
Compare shops. Search the exact model number and compare the total price, not the discount percentage.
Check the total. Add delivery and any other charges before you compare.
Pause on urgency. A countdown clock or "only 2 left" does not prove a deal. A Which? check of 1,617 TVs with was/now prices found 56% had at least one price between the sale price and the "was" price, so the real saving was smaller than shown.

What 'was' prices and RRPs actually mean

RRP is only the manufacturer's suggested price. A shop may never have sold at it. Amazon's own product pages say this: "The RRP is the suggested or recommended retail price of a product set by the manufacturer".
Amazon's 'was' price is, in Amazon's words, "the median selling price paid by customers for a product on Amazon.co.uk (excluding prices when the product has been on promotion for a limited time ...)". So it is a typical price, not a price on a particular date, and a long run of discounts can still look like a deal against it.
Other shops set their own rules, and many do not say how long the 'was' price applied.

What the law says (as of 14 November 2026)

Drip pricing is banned. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) consumer rules have applied since 6 April 2025. The headline price must include mandatory charges, and extras that are optional must be clearly shown as optional. The CMA can now fine firms directly, and said it would start with clear, egregious cases.
'Was/now' pricing is allowed if it is genuine. A reference price must not mislead. Relevant factors include how long and when the item was on sale at the higher price and how many sales were made at it.
No fixed sales ratio. The CMA had suggested, for mattresses, that one product should be sold at the higher price for every two sold at the discount. In August 2026 the High Court, in the CMA's case against Emma Sleep, refused to impose that 1:2 ratio, so low sales at the higher price does not automatically make a claim misleading. The court also said the longer a discount runs, the weaker the reference price becomes. That case is not fully resolved, and this is law-firm commentary, not the judgment itself.
What that means for you. A big 'was' price is not proof of a fraud, and not proof of a deal either. Use price history, not the claim. If you think a price claim is misleading, you can report it to Citizens Advice's consumer service, Trading Standards or the ASA.

Your rights if it goes wrong

14-day right to cancel. For most online orders you can cancel up to 14 days after delivery without giving a reason (GOV.UK). Exceptions include goods or services worth £42 or less under the distance-selling information rules, and passenger travel tickets, so check the seller's terms.
Section 75. If you pay by credit card, your card provider is equally responsible with the seller if something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000 is faulty, misrepresented or never arrives, even if you only pay part by card. It does not apply to debit cards, which have the separate chargeback process (MoneyHelper).
Keep evidence. Screenshot the price and the 'was' price on the day you buy.

On this site, 'was' and RRP prices are shown as the retailer states them, labelled as such, and we say where a retailer does not give a date for the 'was' price.

Sources

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