diff --git a/shared.sh b/shared.sh
index e1624ce..c4bfb11 100644
--- a/shared.sh
+++ b/shared.sh
@@ -20,19 +20,13 @@ pcre_old_calver='^(?P<major>0|[1-9]\d*)-0{0,1}(?P<minor>0|[0-9]\d*)-R(?P<patch>0
 remove_prefix() {
     local tag="$1"
     if [[ -n "${tag_prefix:-}" ]]; then
-        # Escape special characters in tag_prefix
-        local escaped_prefix
-        escaped_prefix=$(printf '%s\n' "$tag_prefix" | sed 's/[][\/.^$*]/\\&/g')  # special chars matched by sed: ] [ / . ^ $ *
-
-	# shellcheck disable=SC2143
-        if [[ -z "$(echo "${tag}" | grep "^${tag_prefix}")" ]] ; then
-            echo ""
-            return
+        if [[ "${tag}" == "${tag_prefix}"* ]]; then
+            printf '%s\n' "${tag:${#tag_prefix}}"
+        else
+            printf '\n'
         fi
-	# shellcheck disable=SC2001
-        echo "${tag}" | sed "s|^${escaped_prefix}||"  # Use | as the delimiter to avoid conflicts with /
     else
-        echo "${tag}"
+        printf '%s\n' "${tag}"
     fi
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/test_version-lookup.bats b/tests/test_version-lookup.bats
index ebb03f1..ff6082d 100644
--- a/tests/test_version-lookup.bats
+++ b/tests/test_version-lookup.bats
@@ -103,6 +103,35 @@ function init_repo {
     [[ "$output" = *"CURRENT_V_VERSION=v0.1.2"* ]]
 }
 
+@test "treats tag_prefix as a literal string" {
+    init_repo
+
+    export tag_prefix="v."
+
+    git tag v.1.2.3
+    git tag v1.9.9
+
+    run version-lookup.sh
+
+    print_run_info
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ] &&
+    [[ "$output" = *"CURRENT_VERSION=1.2.3"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "supports a tag_prefix containing a sed delimiter" {
+    init_repo
+
+    export tag_prefix="foo|bar@"
+
+    git tag "foo|bar@1.2.3"
+
+    run version-lookup.sh
+
+    print_run_info
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ] &&
+    [[ "$output" = *"CURRENT_VERSION=1.2.3"* ]]
+}
+
 @test "finds the current normal version even if there's a newer pre-release version" {
     init_repo