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    [OC] Amazon Discounts vs. Reality: Insights from Tracking 500 Products for 30 Days
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    [OC] Amazon Discounts vs. Reality: Insights from Tracking 500 Products for 30 Days


    I’ve always been a bit skeptical about limited-time Amazon deals, so I decided to track over 500 products for 30 days to see how genuine the discounts are. I used tools like Keepa, DealSeek, and several alerts I set up through CamelCamelCamel.

    • Keepa: for spotting price bumps before discounts
    • DealSeek: for surfacing hidden coupons + 90-day lows
    • CamelCamelCamel: for longer-term tracking (but a bit slower to update)

    Key Insights:

    • 45% of deals advertised as "40% off" were actually only 10–15% below the average price over the last 30 days.

    • Inflated Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices (MSRPs) are very common. Some products had their “original” prices increased just days before the sale.

    • Hidden discounts, such as checkbox coupons or code-based promotions, did not
      appear in search results; you had to click on the listing to uncover them.

    Posted by CalligrapherRare6962

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    11 Comments

    1. Affectionate_Cell954 on

      Damn, I knew some of those lightning deals felt sketchy now i got the confirmation thank you for sharing man

    6. DeusCygnusEx on

      Annual Prime Day sales are the same “sale” = “business as usual” game. The most recent one was documented somewhere on Reddit focusing on Govee products doing the “Hidden discounts……..” shuffle noted by OP.

    7. Kantoterrorizz on

      I have never seen someone comparing the price onn amazon and collecting this kind of data, its so unique good work!!

    9. Brwdr on

      Been using Amazon to find products, then buying either directly or elsewhere and saving nearly every time. Amazon is good for finding things sometimes, but little else.

    10. MatthewBakke on

      Changing the price right before a sale is a huge no-no in retail. It’s a fireable offense if it’s on purpose and manipulative to the shopper.

    11. hyperblaster on

      Wish dealseek was available for Canada. We do have Keepa though. But most things I want to buy have hidden coupons now