The compare price is the original or 'was' price, shown with a strikethrough. The discount percentage is calculated as (compare - sale) / compare. A listing with no compare price carries no verified discount — treat it as a normal price, not a deal. Some sellers inflate the original price to make a discount look bigger than it is. We guard against this by only counting deals where the numbers come from the real catalog, and by never inventing compare prices. Flash sales produce the steepest price drops but end quickly. If a deal is genuinely good, check the marketplace page directly and decide before it expires. Price drops on stable products often repeat, so patience can pay off.