In the weeks before Prime Day, a lot of Amazon product prices quietly go up. Then on Prime Day, those same products go "on sale" — often landing right back where they were before the run-up. The "40% off" badge is accurate. The savings aren't.

This isn't speculation. Journalists, consumer advocates, and the FTC have all documented the practice. It's called reference price manipulation, and Prime Day is its busiest season. Understanding it takes about five minutes. Those five minutes will save you more than any deal Amazon puts in front of you.

What the "Was" Price Actually Means

When you see "Was $199, Now $129," that $199 is the reference price — Amazon's anchor. The FTC requires that a "was" price reflect a price the product actually sold at for a meaningful period. Amazon has historically listed items at inflated prices briefly before Prime Day, which technically satisfies the rule while defeating its purpose entirely.

The strikethrough makes $129 look like a steal. Whether $129 is actually a good price depends on the real price history — not the number Amazon decided to put next to "Was."

The 30-Day Rule (and How Sellers Game It)

There's a policy meant to protect you here. Amazon requires sellers to have offered an item at the "was" price for at least 30 consecutive days before displaying a strikethrough discount. That sounds solid.

The problem: a seller can set an inflated price, leave it up for 30 days with zero sales, then slash it on Prime Day and call it a deal. The rule is technically met. The savings are fictional. The "before" price reflects a number almost no one paid, because almost no one was buying at that price to begin with.

On Prime Day, hundreds of products carry strikethroughs built exactly this way.

5 Things to Check Before You Buy on Prime Day

Run through this before hitting "Buy Now":

1. Check the price history. Has this product actually been cheaper before? A price history chart shows the real range — not just the number Amazon chose to anchor against. PriceTrail's Prime Day tracker pulls this automatically for any product you add.

2. Ignore the "was" price. Use the lowest historical price as your benchmark, not the strikethrough. If today's "sale price" is above the historical low, you're not getting the best price this product has ever seen.

3. Compare across retailers. Amazon's Prime Day price might look good compared to its own inflated history, but Walmart, Target, or Best Buy may have the same product cheaper — today, no Prime membership required. Multi-retailer comparison is a step most people skip in the excitement.

4. Check if the urgency is real. Some "Prime Day" deals hold the same price for days or weeks after the event ends. The countdown timer adds pressure that often isn't there.

5. Set up a price drop alert before Prime Day starts. If the price drops on Prime Day — actually drops, not just loses a fake markup — you'll know immediately without refreshing anything.

The Simplest Fix: Track Before Prime Day Starts

Every check above is easier if you've been watching the product for a few weeks already. You know the real price range. You've seen whether it was cheaper last month. When Prime Day arrives, you're not scrambling to verify anything — you're either buying at a price you know is actually good, or you're skipping a "deal" that doesn't hold up.

That's the edge price tracking gives you. Add any product from Amazon, Walmart, or Target to PriceTrail's Prime Day tracker, set a target price, and you'll get an email if the price actually drops. No guessing. No fake markdowns slipping past you.

Prime Day starts mid-July. The best time to start tracking was three weeks ago. The second best time is now.

Start tracking for free — no credit card required.