I had to buy some memory cards for a camera recently and found what I thought was a great deal at Best Buy – a 16GB card for $19.99, normally $42.99. I bought two. A few days later, while flipping through some ads from the Sunday paper, I saw that Office Max was selling the same card for $16.99.
Okay, so I overspent by $6. Not that big a deal, right? But wait a minute – I overspent by $6!
I grabbed my computer, went to the Best Buy web site and found that it has a Price Match Guarantee. If you buy something from them and then see the same item advertised at a lower price by a local retailer during the return or exchange period (which varies by product), they’ll refund the difference. So, I took the ad and my receipt to Best Buy and got $6 put back on my credit card.
Lots of Stores Have Price Matching Guarantees
Especially at this time of year, when we’re all dutifully bringing the nation’s retailers out of the red and into the black, and when just about everything’s on sale, price-matching policies can come in handy.
Stores that offer price-matching guarantees usually have certain limitations, so be sure to read the fine print. For example, they probably won’t match prices offered by online competitors. Some exclude items that are part of a limited quantity sale, promoted items that are out of stock, and items sold on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday. However, some (including Best Buuy) do include their own future promotions – both in-store and online.
Here’s a listing of some of the most popular retailers’ price matching policies.
Mass Merchandisers
Sears offers a Price Match Plus Policy. If you buy something at Sears and then find an identical item promoted for a lower price by a local competitor, Sears will not only refund the difference; it’ll give you another 10 percent back. Just bring your receipt and the competitor’s ad within 14 days of purchase.
Target has a Low Price Promise. If you buy something at Target and then find an identical item in a local competitor’s current printed ad, bring your receipt and the ad to Target within 7 days of purchase and the store will refund the difference.
Walmart is offering a limited time Christmas Price Guarantee. If you buy an “eligible item” at Wal-Mart and then find an identical item offered at a lower price by a local competitor, bring your receipt and an ad from the competitor to Wal-Mart by December 25th and you’ll get a gift card for the difference.
Home Improvement Stores
Home Depot offers a 10% Price Guarantee, where the retailer promises to beat any competitor’s price on an identical in-stock item by 10 percent. However, I called a local Home Depot and was told that the guarantee is only for items you have not yet purchased. It does not apply if you buy something from Home Depot and then find it advertised for a lower price.
Lowe’s policy of Everyday Low Prices, Guaranteed is the same as Home Depot’s 10% Price Guarantee. It only pertains to items you have not yet purchased.
Menards Low Price Guarantee states that the store will match competitors’ prices on identical items. I called a local store to clarify the policy and was told if you buy something at Menards and then find it at a lower price somewhere else, if you bring your receipt and the competitor’s ad to Menards within 14 days of purchase, you will receive store credit for the difference.
Office Supply Stores
Office Depot has a Price Match Policy. If you buy something at Office Depot and then find the same item on sale for a lower price at another store, bring your receipt and the ad within 14 days of purchase and the company will refund the difference.
Office Max has a Price Match Policy that says you need to fill out a form online if you find a better deal on something you bought at Office Max. However, the customer service rep at a local store told me you just need to bring your receipt and the competitor’s ad to Office Max within 14 days and you’ll receive a refund for the difference.
Staples has a Price Match Guarantee. If you buy an item from Staples and then find the same item offered at a lower price by a brick-n-mortar retail store, Staples.com, or any of several other retailers’ web sites, bring your receipt and the ad within 14 days of your purchase and it will refund the difference.
There lots of ways to get discounts these days, especially when shopping online. However, when you factor in a store’s price matching policy, sometimes the best deals can still be found at a local store.
What other stores do you know of with price matching policies? How have you saved money this Christmas season? Meet us in the comments!
Image by ekler/Shutterstock
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I recently made an online purchase from Land’s End, using their promotion of 40% off any 1 Regular-priced item. The next day that same item went on sale for 50% off so I called their Customer Service. Without hesitation they refunded the difference (including tax) to my credit card and said if it hadn’t already shipped they’d have simply changed the price before even charging it, at my request. Land’s End has a reputation for outstanding Customer Service and this cemented it for me!
Good for you for noticing and then making the call, Joolie. And great to hear that Land’s End does so well with customer service. Someone should put together a customer service hall of fame and a customer service hall of shame, publicizing stories of companies that do an especially good job and those that don’t.
There are also grocery stores who offer this guarantee. Here in northern California, one of those stores is Food Maxx (an off-shoot, low-budget store from the Lucky chain owned by Save-Mart Corporation). Hubby and I shop this store and Winco for the best prices in groceries. They say they will match prices and they do! Bring in the ad from the competing store (any chain) and they’ll refund your money or only charge what the other store advertises. Also they two stores say you have to bag your own groceries…since Food Maxx is across the street from a senior mobile home park, they make sure they have baggers for their senior customers. When I broke my arm, I didn’t even have to ask! They have decent meat and fresh produce as well as Winco. I don’t understand why people insist on shopping at the expensive chains such as Safeway!
Steph – Good to hear about Food Maxx. Sounds similar to Aldi, which is the best low-price grocery store I know of here in the Chicago area, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen an Aldi employee bagging a customer’s groceries!
Thanks for putting this article together. Price matching can definitely save the consumer money. The only downside is if it takes you a lot of extra time and gas money to go back to the original store. For me, time is much more valuable than money so if I find myself spending a lot of time just to save a couple of dollars then it is not worth it for me.
That’s a great point, Pam. While I cashed in on Best Buy’s policy only to the tune of $6, I actually needed to be there for something else anyway, so it made sense to stop by customer service and get that $6 back. I might not have bothered otherwise.
But I’ve seen it work online as well. I recently made an online purchase related to my blog – some landing page software – and when it went on sale within a week of making the purchase, I sent an e-mail and they processed a fairly hefty refund.
Thanks for listing all of these price matching stores conditions! My girlfriend recently bought a bunch of home theater equipment from Best Buy. I knew of their price match policy, so I checked out the Sunday ad’s for the next few weeks. I found lower prices on items she bought twice and ended up saving her over $200!