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Black Friday 2026 · eBay

The "was" price only lasted a few hours

Real eBay listings that were marked up and then dropped back, so the lower price looked like a big discount. Here are their price histories.

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A discount is only as honest as the price it's measured against. On Amazon you can check a product's price history with CamelCamelCamel or Keepa. On eBay, most shoppers have nothing to check against, so a listing can raise its price for a few hours or days and then “drop” it back, and the drop looks like a sale.

Snagly checks the eBay listings people track every 4 hours, through eBay's official API, and keeps each listing's price history. These are listings where that history shows a markup followed by a “drop”. We picked them as clear examples; they aren't a sample, and we make no claim about how common this is.

eBay listing

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Buds

Sold out on eBay right now

It was $33.00. On Oct 12 the price went up, peaking at $122.00 for about 20 hours. Then it came back down to $33.00 (Oct 13), which against that $122.00 looks like 73% off. That's the price it had before the markup: a "73% off" deal on a price that only just went up. This listing has been marked up and dropped back 5 times since we started tracking it.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

eBay listing

Optoma Photon Life PK31 4K UHD 3LED

Now $399.00 on eBay

It was $447.00. On Oct 5 the price went up, peaking at $935.94 for a few hours. Then it came back down to $399.00 (Oct 6), which against that $935.94 looks like 57% off. That was lower than before the markup, so part of this drop was real, just not 57%. This listing has been marked up and dropped back 3 times since we started tracking it.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

eBay listing

Sony WH-1000XM4

Sold out on eBay right now

It was $164.50. On Sep 29 the price went up, peaking at $349.99 for about 7 days. Then it came back down to $164.50 (Oct 7), which against that $349.99 looks like 53% off. That's the price it had before the markup: a "53% off" deal on a price that only just went up.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

eBay listing

LG C6 65" Class 4K OLED HDR10 120Hz

Now $1,399.99 on eBay

It was $1,499.99. On Oct 5 the price went up, peaking at $2,343.74 for a few hours. Then it came back down to $1,499.99 (Oct 6), which against that $2,343.74 looks like 36% off. That's the price it had before the markup: a "36% off" deal on a price that only just went up. This listing has been marked up and dropped back 2 times since we started tracking it.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

eBay listing

Bose QuietComfort 45 QC45

Sold out on eBay right now

It was $149.92. On Oct 1 the price went up, peaking at $199.90 for about 20 hours. Then it came back down to $139.93 (Oct 2), which against that $199.90 looks like 30% off. That was lower than before the markup, so part of this drop was real, just not 30%. This listing has been marked up and dropped back 3 times since we started tracking it.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

eBay listing

Nvidia Shield Remote Control

Now $30.99 on eBay

It was $30.99. On Oct 4 the price went up, peaking at $38.74 for a few hours. Then it came back down to $30.99 (Oct 4), which against that $38.74 looks like 20% off. That's the price it had before the markup: a "20% off" deal on a price that only just went up. This listing has been marked up and dropped back 2 times since we started tracking it.

Full price history and price-drop alerts →

How to check an eBay deal yourself

  • Ignore the crossed-out “was” price. Ask what the listing usually sells for, not what it cost yesterday afternoon.
  • Watch the listing for a week or two before a sale. A price that jumps just before a big shopping day and then “drops” is the pattern above.
  • Compare against the price it has sat at most of the time. A drop from that price is a real discount; a drop from a short spike is not.
  • If you're waiting for a specific price, set it as a target and let something watch for you, so you don't have to refresh the listing.

How these were found

Each example comes from one listing's own price history, recorded by Snagly from eBay's official API. We count a markup as a price at least 20% above the price just before it that falls back to that level (or lower) within 10 days. Prices are checked every 4 hours, so “a few hours” means the higher price showed up at one check and was gone by the next; the real duration could be a little shorter or longer. Past prices are history, not current offers; prices change, so check the listing on eBay before you buy. If a listing ends, it comes off this page.

See any eBay listing's real price

Paste an eBay listing, set the price you'd pay, and Snagly checks it every 4 hours and emails you once when it gets there. Every tracked listing gets a price history like the ones above.

Start tracking — it's free

Last updated October 25, 2026. Snagly earns a commission from eBay Partner Network links; see our disclosure.

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