Amazon Upends Discount Pricing with New Reference Price Rule

prices used to be easy for retailers to determine: take the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), discount it, and advertise the discount percentage and sale price. But pricing is not so clearcut anymore, and this month, Amazon is making significant changes that will upend prices sellers are allowed to advertise as discounts.

Amazon is updating its requirement for reference prices known as List Price (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) and Typical Price, which were designed to “make it easy for customers to understand the value they’re getting when purchasing products in Amazon’s store.”

One reason buyers and sellers may applaud the change is due to a perception that Amazon sellers run promotions that aren’t really giving shoppers a true discount – especially during events like Amazon Prime Day.

Amazon explained it is making the following changes to List Price and Typical Price: List Price Effective April 23, 2026, the List Price you provide must meet one of the following criteria to be validated: The product has been offered at this List Price at another retailer recently The product has been purchased by customers as the Featured Offer on Amazon at this List Price Typical Price Typical Price is the median non-promotional price customers paid for a product over the last 90 days.

Effective May 18, 2026, if more than half of the days in a product’s 90-day Price history are below the non-promotional median price, we’ll calculate Typical Price using all sales, including promotional sales. Price discounts that are not advertised to customers as promotions are treated as non-promotional sales and are included in Typical Price.

Sellers retain the same ability to set prices that they have now, but may lose the ability to advertise them as discounts. One person suggested that as a result of the change, brands should look for sellers selling below MSRP, since it affects the “typical price” amount.

The seller also said they feared that deep discounts during Prime Day would set new price floors for 90 days. However, one of Amazon’s FAQs states, “Sales that occur during peak events are always excluded from the Typical Price calculation.”

One seller who commented on a LinkedIn post by Vanessa Hung, CEO of Online Seller Solutions, wrote about the impact the change could have on buyer behavior: “Another thing sellers might notice is the impact on conversions. That strikethrough price and “you save X%” message really influences how customers perceive the deal.

Even if the actual price stays the same, removing that visual discount can make the offer feel less attractive. Sellers who rely on constant discounts might need to rethink their pricing strategy a bit, because the perceived value at the moment of purchase could change.” A seller on SellersAskSellers.

com said they believed Amazon made the change because it was afraid of price-gouging lawsuits. Reporter Ann Gehan at The Information had noted that two buyers had filed a lawsuit last fall alleging that Amazon sellers used “fictional” list prices to calculate misleading Prime Day discounts and pressure shoppers to make purchases during the sale.

The crackdown also comes after Amazon’s AI agent Rufus made prices very transparent to shoppers who can click “Price history” on the product detail page. Whether sellers sell through Amazon or not, they can use it as a research tool to check on items’ 90-day price history.