How to Spot Fake Discounts in Indian Online Shopping — A No-Fluff Guide
The 'Original Price' Problem — How It Works
The single most common deceptive practice in Indian e-commerce is the inflated MRP. A product lists a 'Maximum Retail Price' of ₹4,999 and shows a discounted price of ₹1,999. The discount banner says '60% off'. The problem: this product has never actually sold at ₹4,999. The MRP was set artificially high specifically to make the 'discount' look impressive. The real market price has always been around ₹2,000.
This is legal in India. FMCG and consumer goods regulations require that products display an MRP, but there's no rule about what percentage of the time a product must be sold at MRP before listing it as the 'original price' in a sale. Sellers exploit this routinely, especially during festive season sales when every product needs to appear 'on sale'.
The pattern is most visible in: unbranded Chinese electronics (USB cables, phone stands, basic earbuds), homeware on Meesho and Flipkart's marketplace, fashion accessories, and some branded electronics where the official MRP is set high to give retailers flexibility to 'discount'. Branded products from established manufacturers — Samsung, Bosch, Philips, LG — are much less likely to have inflated MRPs.
The 60-Second Verification Method
Before buying anything above ₹1,000 online, take 60 seconds to check its price history. The best free tool for Indian products is Smartprix Price History (smartprix.com) — paste the Amazon product URL and it shows you a chart of the price over the past 12 months. If the 'original price' has never actually appeared in the price history chart, it's a fabricated MRP.