Does Amazon have genuine sales, or is the discount off an inflated price?

It varies by item, and the gap can be wide. Across the 27 Amazon deals we have tracked long enough to judge, the typical badge is 60% off, but measured against the price the item actually holds, the median real saving is R18.78 (10%). The rest of that percentage is calculated off a was-price we have not seen the item reach. We show both numbers on every deal so the badge does not do the deciding.

How many Amazon deals is SaleDrop tracking right now?

We are tracking 158 Amazon deals at 50% or more off, priced from R5.18 to R3,263.77, up to 80% off. Of those, 27 have enough recorded history for us to judge the saving, and 19 are at the lowest price we have on record.

How do I know if a Amazon deal is actually a good price?

Ignore the percentage badge and look at two figures we record: the lowest price we have ever seen the item at, and the price it usually holds. If the current price is at or near that recorded low and clearly below the usual price, the saving is real. Our method is on the how-we-verify page.

Amazon sale, checked

Q: What is the biggest genuine Amazon price drop SaleDrop has recorded?

Right now the deepest genuine Amazon saving we are showing is 50% below the usual price: Klein Tools 53731 Hole Saw, Adjustable Saw Cutter with Dust Shield for Cutting Drywall and Ceiling Tile for Recessed Lights, now R112.95 against the R224.02 it usually sells at. That is measured off the price the item genuinely held, not the advertised was-price.

Amazon sells a rotating selection of discounted stock. Here is how its sales behave while we watch the prices, and every live deal it is running at 50% or more off.

158 deals live27 with judgeable history19 at a recorded lowbadge says 60%, typical real saving 10%

How Amazon sales really work

Amazon is one of the South African retailers we track for genuine markdowns. Like most stores it discounts often, so a sale badge by itself is not much of a signal. What tells you whether a price is actually good is how it compares to what the item has cost before.

That is the gap we fill. For every Amazon deal we keep the lowest and the usual price we have recorded, and we flag any advertised was-price that sits above anything we have genuinely seen, so the headline percentage does not get to decide for you.

Judge each deal against the recorded low and usual price, not the was-price on the badge.
A price with no history behind it yet cannot be verified, so give it time or compare a similar tracked item.
Deeper, more honest cuts tend to land when a range is being cleared rather than at the first markdown.