I tracked Amazon's Prime Day prices. We've been played

Amazon price tracking and opaque “deals”

• Many commenters rely on Keepa and CamelCamelCamel to see price history and expose “fake” Prime Day discounts where prices spike just before the sale, then “drop” back to normal.
• However, trackers increasingly miss real prices: they often don’t capture fast day‑scale changes, coupon/voucher discounts at checkout, or some temporary deals.
• Some reported Amazon blocking or limiting trackers in the past, and speculate that incomplete data plus complex discount structures make third‑party tracking inherently unreliable.

Coupons, vouchers, and behavioral tricks

• A recurring pattern: overpricing items and pairing them with big coupons or vouchers (sometimes ~50% off) to generate a sense of winning or exclusivity.
• Several participants frame this as exploiting cognitive biases: focus on “% off” and FOMO instead of absolute price or need.
• There’s speculation that one‑time coupons also help ration limited stock and deter bulk buyers.

EU rules and “fake discount” legality

• Commenters note that in the EU it’s illegal to advertise a discount relative to a price you just artificially inflated; the reference must be the lowest price in the prior 30 days.
• Others point out that raising prices a month in advance to lift the 30‑day baseline still results in worse prices overall and seems to be happening regardless.
• Some argue enforcement is weak; others urge reporting violations to consumer protection authorities.

Consumer strategies and attitudes

• Common advice:
  • Track prices (or manually log them, or leave items in cart) and only buy when they hit a personally acceptable level.
  • Ignore “% off” and judge only the current price vs your needs.
  • Keep a list of genuinely needed items; don’t browse “deals” recreationally.
• Several people emphasize that the best saving on Prime Day is often to buy nothing, or to use competing retailers’ counter‑sales instead.

Amazon convenience vs. backlash

• Many still find Amazon uniquely valuable for selection, speed, and last‑minute or hard‑to‑find items.
• Others describe Amazon as worse than it used to be (more junk, higher prices, weaker service) and are moving to local shops or alternative sites.
• Ethical concerns include worker treatment, market power, and unsafe/low‑quality products, with some seeing Prime and fake sales as mechanisms for extracting maximum consumer surplus.