We checked the was-prices, and most are inflated
The strikethrough price is the number a shop wants you to anchor to. It is also the easiest number on the page to make up. So we did the obvious test: for every deal we track, we compared the retailer's was-price against the highest price we have actually recorded for that item.
Of the 1 224 deals where a retailer shows a was-price right now, 91% carry a was-price higher than we have ever recorded the item selling for. Figures from 19 Jun 2026.
What a was-price is supposed to mean
A was-price should be the price the item genuinely sold at before the markdown. Read that way, a R1,000 item dropped to R500 is a real R500 saving. The trouble is that nothing forces the was-price to be true. A shop can set it to a figure the item never sold at, and the percentage badge inflates to match. The discount looks bigger, the saving does not.
What we found
Across the deals we follow, an inflated was-price is the norm, not the exception. These are some of the clearest current examples, ranked by how far the was-price sits above anything we have ever recorded for the item.
- Granny Goose Cotton Linen Pillowcase 2 Pack Granny Goose Was-price R1,299, but never above R500 in our records. Selling now at R449.
- Cuisine::pro Le Connoisseur Epicure Knife Block Set 7Pc @home Was-price R5,199, but never above R2,100 in our records. Selling now at R1,999.
- Dinner Candle Holder Tiered Aluminium 33cm @home Was-price R449, but never above R200 in our records. Selling now at R149.
- Robert Welch Professional Kitchen Utility Knife 14cm @home Was-price R1,499, but never above R700 in our records. Selling now at R689.
- Guest House The Cool Crisp Flat Sheet 200tc @home Was-price R1,149, but never above R550 in our records. Selling now at R499.
- Granny Goose Cotton Linen Flat Sheet Granny Goose Was-price R2,699, but never above R1,300 in our records. Selling now at R1,199.
- Yellow Gold 0.50ct Diamond Marquise Illusion Ring Sterns Was-price R64,999, but never above R32,500 in our records. Selling now at R32,499.
- Anatomy Ladies Textured Grey Shirt Sportscene Was-price R1,099.95, but never above R550 in our records. Selling now at R439.
None of these are illegal, and the current price can still be fair. The point is narrower: the saving on the badge is not the saving you are getting, because the starting number was never real.
How to protect yourself in thirty seconds
Ignore the was-price and the percentage. Ask two questions instead:
- What has this item actually sold for over the past weeks and months?
- Is today's price at or near the lowest end of that real range?
If the answer to the second one is yes, it is a genuine deal whatever the badge says. If the was-price towers over the real history, the markdown is mostly theatre.
How we check
We record the price of each item over time and keep the full history. On every deal page we show the lowest and highest we have recorded, the price the item usually sells at, and a chart of how the price moved, so you can judge a discount on real numbers rather than the marketing. When a was-price sits above anything we have ever seen, we say so on the page.