FairSoleHow to spot a fake shoe discount
Nesim Yılmaz · 19.10.2026
A big red "-50%" tells you very little. What matters is the price the discount is calculated from. Some retailers inflate the "was" price, or compare against an RRP the shoe never actually sold at.
What the rules say
UK guidance from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute says a "was" price should be one the item was genuinely sold at for a reasonable period, and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lets the CMA fine retailers directly for misleading pricing. In practice there are still grey areas:
- RRP comparisons ("RRP £150") are allowed if clearly labelled.
- "Up to" offers may apply to only a handful of items or sizes.
- Marketplace sellers are less consistent than big retailers.
Five quick checks
- Read the reference price. Is it a real previous price or just "RRP"?
- Compare other retailers. If the shoe costs the same elsewhere at full price, the discount is meaningless.
- Check your size. A deal only in UK 3 and UK 13 is a clearance line, not a deal for you.
- Ignore countdown timers. "Ends in 2 hours" is usually just pressure.
- Add delivery and returns. £4.99 delivery plus paid returns can wipe out a 10% saving.
How FairSole checks
We store every product's price every day and measure the discount against its 30-day average. If the retailer's advertised discount is much bigger than the one we measure, the deal is labelled "Inflated discount" and moves down the list.
| Retailer shows | We measure | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| -50% | -45% | Real discount |
| -50% | -10% | Inflated discount |
| no discount | 20% cheaper than other shops | Cheapest shop |