Is it really a sale?

Twenty per cent off, then an extra ten, is not thirty. A was price may never have been paid by anyone. Three for ten is a saving only if you wanted three. Three small calculators for the three tricks, each with the real number.

Stacked discounts

Price before any discount

First discount %

Then another %

And another %

Was and now

Was

Now

Multi-buy

How many in the deal

For how much

One on its own

Why stacked discounts do not add

Each discount is taken from the price left after the one before. Twenty per cent off 80.00 leaves 64.00, and ten per cent off 64.00 is 6.40, not 8.00. Together that is 16.00 off, which is 20 per cent plus 10 per cent of the remaining 80 per cent: 28 per cent. The more discounts are stacked, the further the total falls short of the sum.

Why a was price proves little

A reference price is only as honest as the history behind it. An item that is always on sale has a sale price that is simply its price, and a was price set briefly high exists to make the discount look larger. In Canada the Competition Act allows a regular price claim only if a substantial volume of the product was sold at that price or higher within a reasonable period, or it was offered in good faith at that price or higher for a substantial period. A shopper rarely has the history to check either, so watching the same item for a few weeks is the practical test.

Questions people ask

Is 20% off plus 10% off the same as 30% off?

No. The second discount is taken from the already reduced price, so 20% then 10% comes to 28% off in total. On a 100.00 item that is 72.00, not 70.00.

How do I calculate the percentage off from a was and now price?

Subtract the new price from the old one and divide by the old price. From 129.99 to 89.99 is 40.00 off, which is 30.8% of 129.99.

Is "3 for 10" a good deal?

Divide 10 by 3 to get 3.33 each and compare it with the price of one. If one costs 3.79, you save 0.46 each, but only if you wanted three.

Sources

Competition Bureau Canada: Ordinary price claims, the enforcement guidelines for subsections 74.01(2) and (3) of the Competition Act

Fake urgencyA deadline that is not real. Bait and switchThe price that brought you here belongs to something else. Which one is actually cheaperCompare packs of different sizes.

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Free, and staying that way. If it stopped a sale that was not one, that is the whole point.

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