Editorial policy
THE REAL DEAL publishes shopping guides, deal explainers and store guides for South African shoppers. This page sets out how they are written, who writes them, how we make money and how to get something corrected.
Who writes the guides
Every guide carries a named author and a review date. Guides are written by Dean, co-founder of THE REAL DEAL, with research support from the team and from AI tools for drafting and checking. The author is responsible for every claim in the piece.
How a guide is researched
Prices and price bands in guides come from the retailer pages we track and are labelled as illustrative and dated. Policy statements (returns, warranties, delivery) are taken from the retailer's own policy pages and from the Consumer Protection Act and the Advertising Regulatory Board code, which are cited in the Sources section of each guide. We do not cite other deal or comparison sites as a price source.
What a guide will not do
Guides do not recommend a specific product in exchange for payment. They describe segments, brands and what to check, and show live deals alongside them from the shops we track. Live deals are ranked by REALRANK™, and the guide text does not change the ranking.
Commission and placement
Some links in guides and on deal pages are affiliate links. If you buy after clicking one, the retailer may pay us a commission. The price you pay is the same. Retailers and brands can pay for placement on the site, which is always labelled. Placement buys visibility, it never touches REALRANK™, and it does not buy coverage in a guide.
Updates and review dates
Guides show the date they were last reviewed. We re-check price bands and policy references at least every six months and sooner when a retailer changes its terms or a category moves (for example a new model year). Material changes are noted at the bottom of the guide.
Corrections
If something in a guide is wrong or out of date, email connect@therealdeal.shop with the guide link and the correction. We aim to respond within two working days, and corrected guides show a new review date.
Contact
Real Deal Technologies (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town, South Africa. connect@therealdeal.shop.
Last reviewed 6 November 2026.