DARMSTADT, Germany — It’s one of those deals that seems so good it must be a joke.

Or at least that’s what it seemed like to Spc. Antwain Stephens when he learned Tuesday about the Army and Air Force Exchange Service verbal discount policy.

Stephens, 21, found out that he could get $10 off any of the X-Box games he was shopping for at PowerZone — or any other item offered in an AAFES store — simply by saying he saw it $10 cheaper somewhere else. No proof needed, no questions asked.

Stephens’ head shot toward the ceiling.

“I’m looking for the cameras,” Stephens said. “This can’t be real.”

But it is.

AAFES will match the price of any product found cheaper at a local store. If the price difference is $10 or less, the only proof required is the customer’s word.

The policy has actually been around for years, but AAFES recently bumped up the dollar amount for verbal challenges to $10 from $5.

“We just wanted to make it more competitive and more advantageous for our customers to come in and not have to worry about bringing in an ad,” said Phil Holifield, vice president of store operations for AAFES in Dallas.

Holifield said stateside customers tend to use the verbal challenge more than ones overseas because the policy requires that the items be identical.

He said he did not believe customers would abuse the system by lying about cheaper products elsewhere just to get a discount.

“We feel our customers are customers of integrity,” Holifield said.

But some soldiers weren’t so sure.

“That’s crazy to do something like that,” said Sgt. Keith Henson, 41st Field Artillery Brigade while shopping at the PowerZone in Darmstadt. “People can abuse that.”

Asked if he thought his friends might lie to save $10 on a purchase, Henson said, “I’ve seen people do crazier things.”

Sgt. Willy Lane said price-matching based on advertisements or other proof made sense. But “with the verbal, you’re going on people’s integrity,” Lane said shaking his head.

Lane wouldn’t do it, he said. But he knows others who would.

“A whole lot of others,” he said.

Diana Fries, a military wife who was browsing the shoe section of the post exchange in Darmstadt with her 3-year-old daughter, Leah, on Tuesday, offered a confused expression when told about the verbal challenge policy.

“That is weird,” Fries said. “It’s probably nice for the customer. But it doesn’t make any sense for the business.”

Asked if she would consider a little white lie to chop $10 off a pair of sandals, Fries said she would not. After all, she said, she is a police officer for the Darmstadt Polizei.

As he browsed the current X-Box titles in PowerZone, Stephens estimated he could have saved $400 on the 40 games he bought if he had used the verbal challenge.

Asked if he would consider using it in the future, Stephens again scanned the ceiling for the “candid” camera.

“I still believe I’m on camera,” he said. “I’m not saying a word.”