When Your Vendor Is Lying: Unmasking Fake Price Hikes

Prices go up sometimes. Prices on the market rise. Supply chains get tighter. But what about other times? Your seller is not telling the truth.

A lot of vendors use changes in the market as an excuse to raise prices without reason, thinking you won't notice, ask questions, or check them. These phony price increases can slowly eat away at your profits—and if you're not careful, you could be paying too much.

What Does It Mean When a Vendor Raises Their Prices?

A phony price hike is when a provider raises your pricing without a good reason and without your permission under contract.

They might say that the cost of raw materials or shipping has gone up—but the math doesn't always work out.

Here’s how they do it:

• Add a 3–5% increase to your bill

• Ignore price protection agreements

• Apply price hikes across unrelated SKUs

• Add vague “adjustments” or “surcharges”

And you won’t catch it unless you have a system in place.

Why You Should Do a Vendor Price Audit

A vendor price audit lets you look at supplier prices over time to find:

• Unfair price hikes

• Breaches of contract terms

• Differences between SKUs, regions, or timelines

• Discounts or fees that don't make sense

If your business spends millions of dollars a year with suppliers, even a 2–3% overcharge could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost profit.

For example: A supplier secretly raises the price of a $5 million contract by 4%.That’s $200,000 in profit—gone, with no additional value delivered.

Why People Don’t Notice Fake Price Hikes

Even experienced procurement and accounts payable teams sometimes miss price increases. Why?

• Invoices only reflect the current rate—not pricing history

• Teams are busy, and full audits take time

• Contracts contain hidden pricing provisions

• No one is directly responsible for enforcing pricing accuracy

Many businesses just accept vendor price hikes—especially in high-trust relationships. But that trust can be very expensive.

How to Check Vendor Prices (and Find Out the Truth)

Here’s how to uncover false pricing increases and stop them before they hurt your business:

1. Look at Past Prices

Get data from the last 6 to 12 months and search for surges in SKUs or categories. Are the increases in line with real changes in the market?

2. Go Over the Contract Terms

Many contracts include:

• Price restrictions

• Limits on increases

• Notice periods

If your seller didn’t follow those rules, they breached the contract.

3. Request Proof

Vendors should provide thorough confirmation of what caused the price increase—like changes in material indexes or fuel surcharges. If they can’t, press them for answers.

4. Compare to the Market

Look at pricing from other providers or reliable index data. If your vendor’s prices are 10–15% higher than the market, that’s a red flag.

5. Get a Third-Party Vendor Price Audit

Companies like 3rd Armor specialize in forensic vendor audits. We examine your contracts, invoices, and pricing data to find:

• Overcharges

• Contract violations

• Duplicate billing

• Line-item errors

We don’t just uncover the faults—we help you recover the money you’ve lost.

Don’t Let Your Vendor Change the Deal

There was a reason you negotiated your contract. If your supplier is raising rates without justification, they’re not just damaging your trust—they’re taking your margin.

It’s time to bring clarity, enforce your agreements, and take back control.

Are You Ready to Check the Prices of Your Vendors?

[Book a vendor price audit with 3rd Armor] to find fraudulent price increases, enforce your contracts, and recover your lost profits—quickly.