Black Friday price rules: showing the right earlier price.
"Was 100, now 70" is only allowed if 100 really was the earlier price the law means. Here is the EU's rule on the lowest price of the last 30 days, a worked example, what it does not cover, and how Germany, the Netherlands and the United States set the earlier price.
Updated 16 October 2026
The rule in one sentence.
In the EU, when you announce that the price of a product is reduced, you must show the earlier price, and that earlier price is the lowest price you charged for it in at least the 30 days before the reduction. The rule has applied since 28 May 2022 and comes from the EU's Price Indication Directive.
It covers "20% off", "10 euros off", "was 100, now 70", a crossed-out price, and "Black Friday deals" or "sale prices" that give the impression of a reduction. The EU's Court of Justice confirmed in 2024 that a percentage must be worked out from that earlier price too.
Not covered by the EU rule
- Services and digital content
- Comparing your price with other sellers'
- Personal loyalty rewards, such as a birthday voucher
A code open to most customers ("20% off with code XYZ") is covered. Other rules against misleading prices still apply to everything.
A worked example.
A jacket sells for 100 euros for months. Two weeks before Black Friday it is on offer for a week at 80, then back to 100. On Black Friday you sell it for 70.
- Right: "Was 80, now 70", or "12.5% off". The lowest price in the 30 days before was 80, and an earlier offer counts.
- Wrong: "Was 100, now 70", or "30% off". The 100 was not the lowest price of the last 30 days.
Once a reduction is running, its earlier price stays the same however long it lasts. And each sales channel counts its own prices: your shop's lowest price is not your website's.
Country by country.
| Where | The earlier price | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | The lowest total price of the last 30 days, for goods (Preisangabenverordnung, § 11) | A reduction that grows step by step without a break may keep the price from before it began. Individual price reductions are exempt, and so are goods reduced because they are about to spoil or expire, if you say so to customers |
| Netherlands | The lowest price of at least the last 30 days | A step-by-step reduction may keep its earlier price for up to three months; a product on the market for less than 30 days shows its lowest price over a period you state. The ACM, the market regulator, considers a discount campaign of more than three months excessive |
| United States | A former price must be one you offered openly and actively, for a reasonably substantial period, in the recent regular course of business (FTC Guides Against Deceptive Pricing) | The federal guides set no fixed number of days |
Before you announce a sale.
- Look up each product's lowest price in the period your country sets, earlier offers included.
- Show that price as the earlier one, and work out any percentage from it.
- Say when the offer runs, and if the quantity is limited, how many.
- Keep the numbers: your prices over the period, in case anyone asks.
- No offer, no "deal". A "Black Friday" post that suggests a reduction is treated as one.
Where Neaion helps
- A post names an offer only from your own offer form
- The form asks for the earlier price and your word on it
- A shopping day gets a post only when you have an offer
- The post shows only the figures you entered
Offers in your posts, the safe way.
Your office plans a post for each shopping day only inside an offer of yours. The offer comes from a short form: what, how much, from when to when, and the earlier price with your word that it is the lowest of the period. The post's picture shows only those figures, and every post is checked against your country's advertising rules before it waits for your OK. See how your office makes your posts, and the 2027 calendar of shopping days.
Asked before you start.
What is the 30-day lowest price rule?
In the EU, an announced price reduction must show the earlier price, which is the lowest price the seller charged in at least the 30 days before the reduction.
Does the rule apply to services?
Not the EU rule: it covers goods, not services or digital content. Rules against misleading prices still apply to everything.
Does an earlier sale count?
Yes. The lowest price of the 30 days includes any earlier reduced price in that period.
Sources
The rules and dates on this page come from these sources, read on the day shown. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice: rules change and your case may differ, so ask your adviser before you rely on it. If something here is out of date, write to us at hello@neaion.com and we will correct it.
- Directive (EU) 2019/2161, article 2, inserting article 6a into Directive 98/6/EC, checked 16 October 2026
- European Commission: guidance on article 6a of Directive 98/6/EC (2021/C 526/02), checked 16 October 2026
- Court of Justice of the EU, 26 September 2024, C-330/23, Aldi Süd, checked 16 October 2026
- § 11 PAngV: price reductions (Germany), checked 16 October 2026
- Besluit prijsaanduiding producten, article 5a (Netherlands), checked 16 October 2026
- ACM: guideline on showing and comparing prices (Netherlands), checked 16 October 2026
- 16 CFR § 233.1: former price comparisons (United States), checked 16 October 2026
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