Is the discount real?

A crossed-out “before” price on a tag does not show that the discount is real. In Germany, as in the rest of the EU, a discount is counted from the lowest price the store charged for the item in the 30 days before the reduction. You can check this yourself in a few minutes.

What the rule says

Under EU law (Directive 98/6/EC, Article 6a, applied since 28 May 2022), a store that announces a price reduction must show its prior price: the lowest price it charged for the item in at least the 30 days before the reduction.

In September 2024 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled (case C-330/23) that a percentage reduction must also be counted from that lowest price, not from a higher price charged just before the sale.

In Germany the rule is in section 11 of the Price Indication Ordinance (Preisangabenverordnung, PAngV).

„Wer zur Angabe eines Gesamtpreises verpflichtet ist, hat gegenüber Verbrauchern bei jeder Bekanntgabe einer Preisermäßigung für eine Ware den niedrigsten Gesamtpreis anzugeben, den er innerhalb der letzten 30 Tage vor der Anwendung der Preisermäßigung gegenüber Verbrauchern angewendet hat.“

Text of the rule, read October 21, 2026: www.gesetze-im-internet.de

The exceptions in section 11: when a reduction grows in steps without a break, the store may show the lowest price from before the first step. The rule does not apply to individual reductions, or to goods that spoil quickly or are close to their expiry date and are reduced for that reason.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

An example

The numbers below are a round example, not a real product.

• Crossed-out price on the tag: €1,500. Today's price: €1,200. The tag says “20% off”.
• If the lowest price the store charged for the item in the last 30 days was €1,250, that is the rule's prior price. The real discount is the drop from €1,250 to €1,200: €50, or 4%.
• The difference is €50, not €300. The crossed-out price may be one the store did not charge in that period.

Calculation: real discount = 1 − today's price ÷ lowest price of the last 30 days.

How to check it yourself

1. Write down today's price and the prior price the store shows with the reduction, or take a screenshot.
2. Find what the store charged for the item in the last 30 days: if you added it to your favourites or a watch list a week ago, look at the price history there, or use a tracking site that shows price history.
3. Find the lowest price and do the calculation above.
4. Also look at the same item's price in other stores. The product code or model name must be the same; a different colour or size changes the price.
5. If you cannot find the price history, you have not been able to check the discount. The decision is yours, but do not rely on the discount figure alone.

What we measure

We do not measure store discounts in Germany. What we do measure, the costs and official prices of furniture and major appliances month by month, is on this month's page.