How deals are verified
Our deal score, explained without the jargon.
One score, out of 10
DotWorth™ turns the evidence we hold into one number and shows every point of it on the deal page (the 8.4 here is only an example). 8 and above is excellent value, 6.5 to 8 is good and 5 to 6.5 is fair. Below 5, we do not have enough evidence to back the deal.
What goes into the score
How much cheaper than the normal price, with full marks at about 40% off (a little less in a department where deals are usually shallow). A saving we have proven counts in full: the store's old price backed by prices we recorded, another store's price today, or a drop we watched happen. A saving only the store claims counts for less until we can check it.
Is today's price the lowest we have recorded, and how far below the item's usual price is it? Judged once we have watched the item for 21 days.
The same product elsewhere, matched by barcode or by brand, size and name. The cheapest scores most.
Was the price read from the store's own site in the last 36 hours, is the saving proven, and does the store's record with us hold up?
In stock, and seen in the last day or so.
Each check that raises a warning takes off up to half a point (at most one and a half), and a deal that fails a check can never score above 4.
The checks behind it
A deal is not shown at all when:
- the store's old price is contradicted by our own records (we never saw it that high), or the discount is over 90%;
- the title says it is a replica, fake or counterfeit;
- it is sold out, has no picture, or has no saving we can prove (an offer the store advertises, such as “2 for R250”, is shown as the store worded it).
A deal is shown but cannot earn the badge, and loses points, when:
- its price was not confirmed on the store's site in the last 36 hours, or it was only found by our AI helper and has not been re-checked on the store's own page;
- we have not watched it long enough to check the old price (21 days are needed);
- the discount is unusually deep (over 80%), or the price fell by more than 60% overnight (we wait for a second day's sighting);
- the same “sale” has gone back to full price and down again three or more times;
- we have not watched the store long enough to rate it, or some of its deals have failed our checks.
The Verified by DotWorth™ badge means every one of those checks passed and the saving is proven by prices we recorded ourselves. If we are unsure, there is no badge.
What DotWorth™ is not
It is not a product review or skin advice. It tells you whether the price is genuinely good. Stores and brands cannot pay to change a score. (A store can pay to be featured; that is always labelled and only changes where a deal sits in a list, never its score.)