Strikethrough pricing

Strikethrough pricing is the crossed-out number shoppers see next to a sale price. It signals a discount. Whether that signal is honest depends on one thing: was the crossed-out number ever really the price?

What the strike-through legally represents

The crossed-out number is a reference price. In California, a reference price must have been the item's prevailing market price during the three months immediately before the ad ran (BPC §17501). A strike-through applied to a price the item never actually sold at is deceptive on its face.

Common strike-through variants

• • Was / Regular / Original — implies the item recently sold at that price. Must meet the 90-day rule.
• • MSRP — the manufacturer's suggested price. Only a valid reference price if the retailer actually charged it recently.
• • Compare at / List — often marketing labels for numbers no store charges. High risk of being deceptive.
• • Estimated retail — a red flag phrase. If no one sells the item at that price, the strike-through is fiction.

When strikethrough pricing is fine

A retailer that charged $180 for a jacket every day in April and May can strike through $180 in a June sale without any issue. The reference price was the real prevailing price within 90 days. Strike-through pricing is only a problem when the higher number isn't grounded in a recent selling history.