A product marked 60% off sounds exciting. But 60% off what? A product nobody wants? Something with a 2.8-star rating? An item whose "regular price" was inflated last week to make the discount look dramatic?
The Five Factors
Product quality. A deal on a bad product is not a deal. We look at rating (minimum 4.0 stars), review count (minimum 100), and recent review trends.
Discount legitimacy. We check price history. If a product has sold at $49.99 for months and is now "on sale" for $49.99 from a "regular" $79.99, that's marketing, not a deal.
Buyer demand. A 50% discount on something nobody searches for doesn't save anyone money. We weight deals higher when they involve products with strong organic demand.
Price rarity. AirPods rarely drop below MSRP, so $30 off is significant. A Ninja blender goes on sale constantly, so 20% off is routine.
Freshness. A deal found today is worth more than one found a week ago. Our scoring applies freshness decay because availability decreases with every hour.
The Anti-Deal
The most important thing a framework does is tell you when NOT to buy. If price history shows a deeper discount every Black Friday, the right move is to wait. A framework doesn't just find good deals — it protects you from bad ones dressed up to look good.