How to Spot Fake Amazon Deals
Amazon shows strike-through prices on many products — but not every "discount" is real. No-name products from overseas sellers frequently use inflated MSRPs to fake high discounts. Here's how to tell real deals from fake ones.
The Most Common Tricks
1. Inflated MSRP
The most common trick: A product has an "MSRP" of $99.99 but permanently sells for $29.99. The displayed 70% discount is completely fake — the product was never worth $99.99.
How to spot it:
- Use price tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa
- Has the price been stable for the last 3 months? Then the "discount" is fake
- Dealblob filters automatically: we only show deals where the strike price is a real previous selling price
2. "Bestseller" Label Without Real Sales
Amazon awards the "Bestseller" badge per subcategory. In a niche category with little competition, almost any product can become a "Bestseller."
How to spot it:
- Fewer than 50 reviews? Then "Bestseller" doesn't mean much
- Look at the main category, not the subcategory
3. Fake or Purchased Reviews
Some sellers use review agencies or give away products in exchange for 5-star reviews.
Warning signs:
- Tons of 5-star reviews with no details
- Reviews all posted in the same time period
- Unnaturally positive language ("BEST PRODUCT EVER!!!")
- Tools like ReviewMeta can detect suspicious reviews
4. Variant Pricing
A seller offers a product in multiple variants. The cheapest variant (e.g., "Cable only") is shown as the starting price, even though most buyers want the more expensive version.
Our Quality Filters
At Dealblob we use automatic filters to weed out fake deals:
- Minimum reviews: Only products with at least 10 genuine reviews
- Minimum rating: Only products with 3.5+ stars
- Brand recognition: Over 100 known brands are prioritized
- Minimum price: Deals under $10 (usually junk with fake MSRPs) are filtered out
- Title blacklist: Typical low-quality products (phone cases, charging cables, LED strips) are excluded
- Discount cap: Unrealistic discounts over 85% from no-name brands are blocked
5 Rules for Real Bargains
- Brand > No-name: Samsung, JBL, Anker — known brands have real prices
- Check reviews: At least 100 reviews and 4+ stars
- Check price history: Was the price actually higher before?
- Too good = too bad: 80% off a no-name product? Almost always fake
- Use Dealblob: We filter automatically and only show real deals
Current Top Deals with Real Discounts
Bottom Line
Not every bargain is one. With a bit of awareness and the right tools, you can quickly spot fake deals. Or just use Dealblob — we do the work for you and only show deals with real, verified discounts.