I see “70% off” all the time, and honestly, it barely gets my attention anymore.
I’ve been a frugal shopper for about 30 years. I was coupon shopping before coupon shopping was cool. 😂 And now that I look at online deals every single day for Online at the Lake, I’ve learned that the percentage in big red letters doesn’t necessarily tell you whether you’re getting a good deal.
How can you tell if an online deal is good? I look at what the product normally sells for, today’s final price, the listing and seller, and whether it’s something my audience would actually want or need—not just the percentage off.
The number I care about most is the one you’re actually going to pay.
Is 70% Off Actually a Good Deal?
Not necessarily. Sometimes an inflated “regular price” makes the discount look much better than it actually is.
When I see a deal, one of the first things I look at is the product’s price history. I want to know what it has actually been selling for, not just what the retailer says the regular or list price is.
There’s a big difference between a product that normally sells for $20 dropping to $12 and a product claiming to be marked down from $100 to $20 when it has rarely, if ever, sold for $100.
That doesn’t mean I automatically reject a deal because the advertised percentage doesn’t reflect the usual selling price.
For example, if something normally sells for $17 to $20 and I can get it for $11.99 today, I may still share it. Maybe the retailer is advertising 70% off based on a higher list price, but I’m looking past that.
$11.99 is still legitimately cheaper than the price people normally pay.
It’s when the numbers become ridiculous that I get suspicious.
I’ve seen products supposedly marked down from more than $1,000 to a little over $100. I’ve seen newly listed products claiming enormous 80% discounts based on “list prices” that don’t make much sense.
Those don’t make me want to yell, “RUN!”
They make me want to investigate the seller.
The Final Price Matters More to Me Than the Headline
After looking at thousands and thousands of deals, I have a pretty good feel for what things normally cost.
There are certain categories, especially some electronics, jewelry and cell phone accessories, where I’ve learned to mostly ignore the advertised retail price. I’ve seen enough of those products to have a general idea of their normal selling prices.
So instead of asking:
“Is 70% off a good deal?”
I’d rather ask:
“Is $11.99 a good price for this particular product?”
Those are two very different questions.
And sometimes a smaller discount is much more interesting.
If an ordinary product is 25% off and goes on sale all the time, I’m probably not very excited. But if a viral or highly sought-after product that rarely gets discounted suddenly drops 25%? That’s different.
Part of finding good deals is knowing what people are actually shopping for and what’s trending, not simply sorting products by the biggest percentage-off number.
I Don’t Only Share Things I Would Personally Buy
This is an important part of how I choose the deals I personally share on Online at the Lake. You can see some of those selections in Stacey’s Top Picks.
I don’t ask myself, “Would I buy this?”
I ask, “Is this actually a good price for what it is, and is it something my audience might want?”
My personal taste shouldn’t determine what somebody else needs or likes.
If it’s a good deal on a legitimate product and I think it could appeal to the people who follow me, I’ll share it even if I’d never buy one myself.
On the other hand, if something is extremely niche, I may pass simply because I’m trying to spend my time finding deals that will be useful to more people.
Reviews Matter, but I Don’t Just Look at the Stars
I don’t read through hundreds of reviews for every product I share.
If something about a product or listing makes me pause, though, reviews are one of the places I’ll investigate.
And I’m not necessarily looking for someone who says, “I love it! Five stars!”
I’m checking whether the reviews even appear to be for the product I’m looking at.
Sometimes you’ll find a listing where the reviews clearly don’t match the current product. If I’m looking at an electronic gadget and people in the reviews are talking about something completely unrelated, that’s a red flag.
A high star rating doesn’t mean much to me if the reviews don’t appear to belong to the product being sold.
The Brand and Seller Matter Too
A large discount on a recognizable brand gets my attention quickly—especially when it’s one I don’t often see discounted.
I’m also more comfortable with a new listing when I already know the brand.
There are Amazon clothing brands I’m familiar with that release new styles all the time. A new listing from one of those brands doesn’t automatically concern me.
A brand-new listing for a generic electronic product is different. With little price history and an unfamiliar brand, I’m going to be much more cautious.
With Amazon deals, fulfillment and Prime eligibility matter to me, too.
One distinction worth knowing: Prime eligibility doesn’t always mean Amazon ships the order. Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime program lets sellers handle fulfillment themselves. Check the seller, shipping details and return policy for the specific item before buying.
Price isn’t the only part of a deal that matters. If somebody buys something I shared and then has to jump through hoops to return it, that cheap price suddenly isn’t such a bargain.
I don’t want to save someone $10 and give them a $50 headache.
Promo-Code Deals Are a Little Different
Online promo codes can produce some fantastic prices, but there’s something shoppers don’t always realize about them:
A promo code can stop working before you expect it to.
I’ve watched great codes disappear quickly.
That’s why I encourage people to check the latest deals on Online at the Lake early and, when they see a promo-code deal they really want, not to leave it sitting in their cart forever.
With a promo-code deal, make sure the code applies and the final price is what you expect before you pay.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should buy something you don’t need because you’re afraid the code might end. A discount isn’t saving you money if it convinces you to buy something you never wanted in the first place.
But if it’s already on your list and the price checks out, waiting can mean missing it.
What Makes Me Share a Deal Immediately
There are a few things that still get me excited after seeing deals all day, every day.
A genuine price mistake will do it.
A really low price on LEGO will definitely do it.
A big discount on a recognizable brand will get my attention. So will an unusually good price on something that’s viral or hard to find.
But honestly, some of my favorite deals are much less exciting than that.
Everyday products. Snacks. Things people were going to buy anyway.
If you’re already going to spend $20 on something and I can help you get it for $12, that matters to me.
And then there’s Christmas.
Over the years, I’ve had so many people tell me that the deals I’ve shared helped them stretch their Christmas budget and give their family a Christmas they didn’t think they’d be able to afford.
Those messages stick with me.
Finding an incredible price on a toy isn’t just exciting because a number dropped on Amazon. Somewhere, that might mean a parent can put another present under the tree without putting another $40 on a credit card.
That’s when deal hunting feels like more than just finding cheap stuff on the internet.
I’ve Learned to Listen to My Audience
I’ve also learned that experience doesn’t mean I get everything right.
Tools are a good example.
I used to get excited when I’d see what looked like a huge discount on a tool. Then some of the men who follow me started letting me know that some of those “amazing deals” were really just amazing prices on junk. 😂
Message received.
I’m much pickier about tool deals now.
That’s another reason I don’t think finding good deals can be reduced to a formula. Price history and data are incredibly useful, but so are experience, product knowledge and listening to the people actually buying these things.
My Personal Checklist Before I Share a Deal
I don’t literally sit with a checklist beside me for every product. After doing this for so long, much of it happens pretty quickly.
But these are the questions I’m essentially asking:
- What does this product normally sell for? I look at price history rather than automatically trusting the advertised retail price.
- Is today’s final price actually good? The amount you’re paying matters more to me than a giant percentage printed beside it.
- Is the listing trustworthy? I look at things like the age of the listing, sales activity, category ranking, seller and fulfillment.
- Does anything look suspicious? Wildly inflated comparison prices, questionable sellers or reviews that don’t match the product will make me stop.
- Do I know the brand? A new product from a brand I’m familiar with is very different from a brand-new generic product with no history.
- Is it relevant to my audience? It doesn’t have to be something I personally want, but I do want the deals I spend time sharing to be useful to the people who follow me.
- Is there something unusual happening? Maybe it’s an all-time low, a price mistake, a rarely discounted brand, a trending product or an especially good promo code.
No single one of those automatically determines whether I’ll share something. I look at the whole picture.
How Can You Tell If Something Is a Good Deal in 60 Seconds?
Most shoppers don’t have deal-tracking tools open all day, and you don’t need them just to make a smarter purchase.
If a friend called me and said, “Stacey, I’m about to buy this. How do I know whether it’s really a good deal?” I’d tell her to do something very simple:
Google the product.
See what other stores are actually selling the same item for right now. Make sure you’re comparing the same model, size or quantity, and condition—not just something that looks similar.
Don’t compare the sale price only to the crossed-out “retail price” on the page you’re shopping. Compare it with what you’d have to pay somewhere else, and include shipping, taxes and any other fees in the total.
If it’s a product you can’t find at other retailers, slow down and look more closely at the product ratings, reviews and seller ratings.
This is a starting check, not a guarantee that a product or seller is trustworthy. If something looks strange, trust that instinct enough to investigate before you hit Buy Now.
A Good Deal Isn’t Always the Biggest Discount
Thirty years of frugal shopping and years of looking at online deals professionally have taught me that there isn’t one magic percentage that turns something into a bargain.
Sometimes 70% off is incredible.
Sometimes it’s mostly marketing.
Sometimes 25% off is the deal I’d tell everyone about.
And sometimes saving $2 or $3 on something your family buys every week is more valuable than saving $100 on something you never needed in the first place.
For me, a good deal comes down to a pretty simple question: Is this a genuinely good price on something people actually want or need?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out before I share it.