Avoiding Fake Discounts
April 18, 2026
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tips
fraud-prevention
Not all discounts are what they seem. A common tactic on e-commerce platforms is to inflate the original price before applying a discount — making a 20% markup look like a 50% sale. Mart exists partly to expose this practice.
How fake discounts work:
A seller lists a product at 2,000 BDT for weeks. Before a sale event, they quietly change the price to 4,000 BDT. On sale day, they offer 50% off — bringing it back to 2,000 BDT. You think you saved 2,000 BDT. You saved nothing.
How Mart catches this:
Because we track prices daily for 90 days, we can see exactly when a price was changed. Our system automatically flags products where the listed original price is higher than any actual selling price in the past 90 days. These products get a red warning badge on Mart.
The traffic light system:
- Green badge: The current price is genuinely below the 90-day average. This is a real deal.
- Yellow badge: The discount exists but is smaller than advertised. The product was recently available at a similar price.
- Red badge: Price inflation detected. The original price was artificially raised before the discount.
Which platforms have the most fake discounts?
Our data from 2025-2026 shows that marketplace platforms (where third-party sellers list products) have higher rates of price manipulation than platforms with their own inventory. This makes sense — platforms with their own stock have reputational incentives to price honestly.
Tips for shoppers:
- Always check the price history graph before buying during a sale
- Compare the sale price against prices on other platforms using Mart
- Be skeptical of discounts above 60% on branded products
- Read reviews to see if other buyers mention pricing concerns
- Set price alerts on Mart to get notified when a product hits a genuine low price
Mart's mission is to bring transparency to e-commerce pricing in Bangladesh. Every fake discount we expose makes the market a little more honest for everyone.
How fake discounts work:
A seller lists a product at 2,000 BDT for weeks. Before a sale event, they quietly change the price to 4,000 BDT. On sale day, they offer 50% off — bringing it back to 2,000 BDT. You think you saved 2,000 BDT. You saved nothing.
How Mart catches this:
Because we track prices daily for 90 days, we can see exactly when a price was changed. Our system automatically flags products where the listed original price is higher than any actual selling price in the past 90 days. These products get a red warning badge on Mart.
The traffic light system:
- Green badge: The current price is genuinely below the 90-day average. This is a real deal.
- Yellow badge: The discount exists but is smaller than advertised. The product was recently available at a similar price.
- Red badge: Price inflation detected. The original price was artificially raised before the discount.
Which platforms have the most fake discounts?
Our data from 2025-2026 shows that marketplace platforms (where third-party sellers list products) have higher rates of price manipulation than platforms with their own inventory. This makes sense — platforms with their own stock have reputational incentives to price honestly.
Tips for shoppers:
- Always check the price history graph before buying during a sale
- Compare the sale price against prices on other platforms using Mart
- Be skeptical of discounts above 60% on branded products
- Read reviews to see if other buyers mention pricing concerns
- Set price alerts on Mart to get notified when a product hits a genuine low price
Mart's mission is to bring transparency to e-commerce pricing in Bangladesh. Every fake discount we expose makes the market a little more honest for everyone.
