Keep evidence for the price a discount is compared with

Name the comparison before gathering its history

Capture the exact words, numbers and price styling that the buyer sees, with the public URL and observation date. Include a crossed-out amount even if the page never labels it. Ask what the presentation communicates about that amount: a previous price at this store, a suggested price, a competitor comparison or another stated basis. If the business has not decided which basis it means, it cannot select evidence consistently.

Use the comparison the promotion actually makes. A supplier’s price list does not establish your store’s former selling price. A record of a different pack size or product variation does not establish the history of the displayed item. Changing the label after gathering mismatched evidence is not enough unless the new wording accurately explains the comparison the business can support.

Read price settings, public offers and sales as different records

The current administrative price field shows the value stored now. A dated change log can show when a value was edited. A retained public-page capture can show what was displayed at its recorded time. Actual order records can show amounts agreed for completed purchases, including any adjustments shown there. None of those records automatically proves what the others would show across the whole promotion period.

Gather the records that exist and retain their dates and source locations. Use an identifiable product or variant reference internally, together with the quantity, currency, sales channel and any audience or offer restriction. Where tax, shipping, bundles or coupons change what the recorded amount describes, note the difference before treating two amounts as comparable. This is a check on the claim’s scope, not a determination of tax obligations.

Do not infer a continuous history from a single screenshot or assume the absence of sales means a price was never offered. Those are different evidential limits. Likewise, a completed sale at a particular amount does not establish how long that amount was generally available. Mark the specific missing period or scope instead of manufacturing a history to fit the promotion.

Check the reduction against the same comparison basis

Read the advertised savings alongside the supported reference amount and the current offer amount for the same item and scope. Recalculate any stated reduction from those records, but keep arithmetic and substantiation separate: a correct subtraction or percentage cannot establish that the higher price is an appropriate comparison.

The FTC’s truth-in-advertising guidance says advertising across media, including websites, must be truthful, nonmisleading and substantiated. It provides the general basis for checking the claim, not a universal period of price history, a required number of sales or a ruling on a particular crossed-out price. Do not turn a period your business happens to retain into a legal safe harbor.

Record the markets in which the promotion is shown and the uncertainty you need qualified advice to address. That question may concern the comparison basis, the period used or how a qualification is presented. The useful handoff includes the exact wording and the actual records; an unsupported assertion that the discount is compliant would obscure those questions.

Choose wording the retained evidence can support

If the comparison basis, item scope and relevant history align, keep the dated evidence attached to the promotion’s internal record and identify any legal question still open. If the record covers only a narrower claim, revise the wording only to that supported scope. If the business cannot establish what the higher amount represents, remove the unsupported savings presentation while retaining the underlying records. Showing the current price alone does not make an unproven historical claim necessary.

Assign the person who owns the offer and note which public placements use it. A product price can change while a category card or banner keeps a savings claim derived from an earlier amount. Record the corrected wording and observation date on each affected surface. This page addresses evidence for the reference price; confirming the eventual checkout total is a separate comparison.

For a scoped Prism website-review consultation, provide the public URLs, the research-only products and a summary of the unsupported or ambiguous price claim. Scope, fees and terms are discussed before work. Legal pricing interpretation belongs with qualified advice, and processing eligibility stays with the provider. The inquiry receives email follow-up and does not book an appointment, buy a review or submit an application.

Reference-price evidence

Use one sheet for one advertised reduction on one defined item or offer group. Enter evidence locations and dates in the final column. Mark whether each record shows a setting, a displayed offer or an actual sale. A missing history row means the comparison remains unsupported in that respect; it is not permission to invent a prior price.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.