How Strikethrough Pricing Works (and How to Read It)
By the Run Run Deals editorial team Published May 3, 2026 Updated May 7, 2026 5 min read
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We may earn a commission when you buy through other partner links at no extra cost to you.
The crossed-out number next to a sale price has a formal name in retail and law: the reference price. The label "$199.99" with a strikethrough next to "now $99.99" is supposed to communicate that the item used to cost $199.99 and you are saving $100. Sometimes that is true. Often it is not.
US law lets retailers use almost any reasonable benchmark as the reference price, with very loose enforcement. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance technically requires the reference price to be the "regular" price the item sold for in the recent past, but "regular" is interpreted generously. In practice, the reference price can be:
- The price the item sold for at any point in the past year
- The price the item sells for at a different store
- The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), which is itself a number set by the manufacturer with little oversight
- The "competitor matrix price" the retailer believes a similar item would cost elsewhere
This means a strikethrough is not a guarantee that the item ever sold at the higher price to actual customers. It is a marketing number with legal cover.
The four kinds of strikethrough you will see
1. The legitimate "was/now"
Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Costco for established branded products: the reference price is usually the actual recent selling price. If a Samsung TV was $599 last week and it's $499 this week, the $599 strikethrough is real.
How to verify: the reference price should match what shows up in price-history tools (Honey, CamelCamelCamel) for the past 30 days. If yes, the discount is genuine.
2. The MSRP strikethrough
Most common pattern. The strikethrough is the manufacturer's list price, not the actual selling price. The item may have never sold at MSRP — the brand sets MSRP high so retailers can advertise large discounts.
Example: a Vizio 65" 4K TV listed at "$799.99" MSRP, "now $499.99 — save $300!" In reality, that TV sold at $499 to $549 every week of the year. The $300 strikethrough is mathematically false from a customer perspective.
How to spot: if the reference price exceeds the current price by more than 50%, suspect MSRP inflation. Check price history.
3. The "anchor" strikethrough
The reference price is artificially raised in the days before the sale to make the discount look bigger. Documented FTC concern; widespread practice on Amazon third-party listings.
Example: a household product sells at $25 for months, gets bumped to $39.99 list price the week of Black Friday, then "discounted" to $24.99 — appearing as 38% off when the real discount is 4%.
How to spot: short price history showing a recent jump in list price right before the sale. Honey and Keepa flag this directly with warnings.
4. The "lowest competitor" strikethrough
The reference price is what a different retailer charges, not what the current store charged. Common at warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's Club) and outlet stores. Often labeled "comparable elsewhere."
How to spot: read the fine print. Phrases like "comparable retail value," "elsewhere," or "in similar stores" indicate this is a competitor benchmark rather than an own-store price.
What to actually do when you see a strikethrough
- Ignore the strikethrough number. Read only the current selling price.
- Check the rolling 30-day average. Honey, CamelCamelCamel, Keepa for free.
- Cross-shop one competitor. If three retailers all sit at roughly the current price, the strikethrough is fictional. If they sit at the strikethrough number, the discount is genuine.
- Decide based on whether the current price is good for you, not on whether the strikethrough math is impressive.
Categories where strikethroughs are most misleading
- Mattresses. Almost universally fictional. Every mattress sells at "30 to 50% off MSRP" year-round; the actual price barely moves.
- Jewelry. MSRP markups in jewelry retail are 200 to 500%, so a "60% off" tag often reflects roughly the actual retail value of the piece.
- Mid-range TVs. Common MSRP inflation, especially TCL and Hisense.
- Cookware sets. "$300 set on sale for $89!" — the set probably never sold above $99.
- Generic-brand kitchen appliances. Mid-tier air fryers, blenders, coffee makers from less-recognized brands. The strikethrough is usually a paper number.
Categories where strikethroughs are usually real
- Apple products. Apple controls MSRP tightly. When a retailer (especially Costco or Best Buy) prints a strikethrough on Apple, the discount is usually genuine.
- Premium OLED TVs. LG C-series, Sony Bravia OLED, Samsung S95. The MSRPs are reasonably accurate.
- Costco overall. Their pricing model does not use much fictional MSRP; the reference prices on Costco tags are typically real.
- Major appliances at Lowes and Home Depot. Refrigerators, washers, dryers from Whirlpool, GE, Samsung. List prices tend to reflect actual recent selling prices.
One pattern to watch — the "save XX%" badge
Some retailers replace or augment the strikethrough with a percentage badge ("Save 40%!"). This is the same number as the strikethrough, just rendered differently. Same rules apply: the percentage is calculated against the reference price, not against any guaranteed real benchmark. Treat it as marketing, not as math you can rely on.
