Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we get most. If yours is not here, email connect@therealdeal.shop.
About THE REAL DEAL
What is THE REAL DEAL?
THE REAL DEAL is a premium deal discovery site for South Africa. We track live deals from the shops we follow, score each one out of 10 with REALRANK™, and rank them so you can see which discounts are worth your time before you buy. We rank deals, not products.
Is THE REAL DEAL a shop?
No. We do not sell anything or hold stock. Every deal links to the retailer, and the purchase, payment, delivery and returns happen with them. Our job is to show you which deal is the real one.
Who runs THE REAL DEAL?
Real Deal Technologies (Pty) Ltd, a South African company based in Cape Town, founded in 2026 by Dean, Chris and Matt. See the About page for the team and company details.
Is THE REAL DEAL legit?
Yes. We are a registered South African company, we link only to retailers we have reviewed, we never take payment from shoppers, and we publish how REALRANK™ works and how we earn money. If anything on the site looks wrong, email connect@therealdeal.shop and we will check it.
How does THE REAL DEAL make money?
Three ways. Retailers pay us a commission on some purchases made after clicking through from our site. Retailers and brands can pay for placement, which is always labelled. And we license deal and pricing data to businesses. Placement buys visibility, it never touches REALRANK™.
REALRANK™
What is REALRANK™?
REALRANK™ is our scoring engine. It gives every deal a score out of 10 based on six signals: discount depth, rand savings, price competitiveness against other tracked stores, brand weight, deal freshness and stock availability. The score is the same whether or not a retailer pays us. The Methodology page explains each signal.
What does a REALRANK™ score of 8 or 9 mean?
That the deal is strong across the six signals: a meaningful discount and rand saving, a price that holds up against other tracked stores, a brand people know, a deal that is fresh, and stock that is available. Scores are shown to one decimal out of 10.
Can a retailer pay for a higher REALRANK™ score?
No. Paid placement is labelled and affects where a deal is displayed, not how it is scored. Placement buys visibility, it never touches REALRANK™.
Does REALRANK™ check if a discount is real?
It weighs the deal's price against what other tracked stores charge for the same product and against the deal's own recent price where we have it, alongside the other signals. That is what the price competitiveness and freshness signals are for. It is a score, not a guarantee; always check the retailer's page before paying.
Why do two similar deals have different scores?
Because the six signals differ. A larger rand saving, a better price against other stores, a stronger brand, a fresher deal or better stock availability will move the score. Two deals with the same percentage off can score very differently.
Deals, prices and freshness
How often are deals updated?
Prices and stock are re-checked every night from the shops we track, and the time of the last check is shown on each page. Deals that end are removed. We are working towards every deal refreshing within a few hours.
Which shops do you track?
A growing list of South African retailers and brand stores across fashion, electronics, sport, beauty, home, DIY, outdoor, baby and jewellery. The full list with live deal counts is on the Stores and Brands page. We show live deals from the shops we track, not all the deals in South Africa.
The price on the retailer's site is different. Which one is right?
The retailer's price always applies. Prices change between our checks, especially during Black Friday and flash sales. If you see a persistent difference, email connect@therealdeal.shop with the deal link and we will look.
Why is a deal I saw yesterday gone?
Either the price went back up, the stock ran out, or the retailer ended the promotion. We remove deals that are no longer live rather than leave stale prices up.
What is the difference between Top 100, New Deals Today and Price Drops?
Top 100 is the highest REALRANK™ scores across the site right now. New Deals Today is everything that appeared since midnight. Price Drops is the deals we found in the last 48 hours, biggest discount first.
Buying, returns and problems
What happens when I click a deal?
You go to the retailer's product page. Some links are affiliate links, which means the retailer may pay us a commission if you buy. It does not change the price you pay.
Who do I contact about delivery or a return?
The retailer. They sold you the product and their returns policy applies. Under the Consumer Protection Act, defective goods must be repaired, replaced or refunded; change-of-mind returns follow the retailer's stated terms.
A deal looks wrong or misleading. What should I do?
Email connect@therealdeal.shop with the deal link and what you saw. We check reported deals and remove or correct them. We also review retailers before adding them and remove those that do not meet our standards.
Can I follow brands or save deals?
Yes. Create a free account to follow brands and categories, like deals, and get a feed that adapts to what you follow. You can also get the daily deals email.