How to spot a fake discount
A -80% badge means nothing without a reference price you can verify. Three checks that take ten seconds.
A discount percentage is calculated against a reference price the seller chooses. Inflate the reference, and any price becomes a bargain. This is legal in most markets and extremely common.
Check one: is the RRP real
Compare the struck-through price against the official store's list price, not against the seller's own. If a marketplace shows $79.99 struck through and the publisher's store says $59.99, the discount is being measured from a number that never existed.
Check two: has it been cheaper
Compare the struck-through reference price against the publisher RRP we show on every game page. If the two disagree, the discount is being measured from a number the game never sold at.
The only honest reference price is the one the game has actually sold at.
Check three: what is the total
A -80% badge on a listing that adds $1.60 at checkout is not -80%. On anything under $10 the fee moves the real discount by ten percentage points or more.
