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Price Matching & Coupon Matching Policy Roundup

10,853 20,652 November 19, 2007 at 03:26 AM in Brick & Mortar (B&M) (19) Get Rakuten coupons Coupons
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Last Edited by uscpsycho October 2, 2009 at 01:21 PM
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I've noticed that people often have questions about price/coupon matching, or have trouble executing price matches. I'm hoping to provide all the resources you need for successful price matches. Some of these policies are hard to find so I hope this list is helpful to noobs and veterans alike.

My first rule of price matching is to bring a printout of the store's PM policy with you. Before you, go have the relevant sections highlighted, this includes anything having to do with rebates, coupons, etc. This puts them on notice that you are serious and have done your homework. Nothing beats the feeling of having a manager contradict the PM policy, then pulling the PM policy out of your pocket and pointing to a section (already highlighted) that negates what he said. When that happens, you'll get your PM 100% of the time, and the manager will feel like a tool. Hopefully there will be lots of other customers nearby when this happens Grin

These are the price matching policies of the most popular SD retailers, in alphabetical order. If you can think of any that I missed please add them to the wiki.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/cus...=1-1#match
http://bedbathandbeyond.custhelp...._topview=1
http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olsp...d=cat12098
bodybuilding.com - you have to call to get a price match but they will match competitor prices
http://www.buy.com/corp/support/g...rantee.asp
http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/c...okLearn.do sayonara CC
http://www.compusa.com/help/terms.asp?#pricing (thank you luv2save! - repped)
http://www.deepdiscount.com/helpp...ailability
http://www.endless.com/help/200104720/ (thanks wookiewoo - repped)
http://www.jr.com/information/pop...hnote.html
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?ac...olicy.html
http://www.officedepot.com/render...merService
http://www.officemax.com/omax/cus...ct=Pricing
http://onlineshoes.custhelp.com/c...p_faqid=21
https://help.overstock.com/cgi-bi...OOT_QH_L2& (thanks wookiewoo - repped)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_101...?adCell=AF
http://www.shoes.com/shop.asp?Sho..._guarantee
http://www.staples.com/sbd/conten...match.html
Target.com - http://www.target.com/b/ref=br_bx...e=10824271
Target B&M - https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1441205
http://www.zappos.com/price_protection.zhtml RIP
http://www.tigerdirect.com/sector....asp#price

Wal Mart - According to fine print on TV commercial "Our stores will match the price of any local competitor's printed ad for an identical product. Not applicable to Walmart.com. Restrictions apply. See store for details." (see also: https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=151514&p=14677159#post14677159)


Home Depot - See post #22 - diff policy for Online & B&M

Toys R Us - Does not PM according to rtalber1 in post #9. Or maybe they do? See post #32.


Can anyone find:
Frys - See Wiki
FYE
LNT sayonara

Others?

One thing to note is that some of the retailers above do not PM other stores but it's still helpful to know what their PM policy is. For instance, Amazon will give you a price adjustment within 30 days if they lower their price. I've been told at least twice that they cannot adjust the price once the product has been shipped. Then I respond with the blurb about price adjustments, along with a direct link to that section, and viola, I've got my price adjustment and an apology. (Amazon no longer offers price protection.)
Good Deal?

Community Wiki

Last Edited by rj123456 January 12, 2014 at 02:25 AM
STAPLES

STAPLES also has a competitor coupon acceptance policy that is not mentioned in detail on Staples.com's price guarantee page. STAPLES's in-store price guarantee policy is also broader than is what's posted there as well. In-store corporate intranet has access to more aspects of the program, but even it is not up to date with current corporate policy for in-store price matching/comeptitor coupon acceptance. (Which is even broader)

Quote :
STAPLES retail stores accept printed or circular/newspaper coupons from other competing office supply and electronics retailers. Known retailers are: Office Depot, OfficeMax, Circuit City, Best Buy, Microcenter and Fry's among others.
According tothis [staples.com] Staples does not accept competitor, manufacturer or any other third party coupons.


Acceptance is by manager discretion according to how "local" the competitor store is (another state may not be accepted), but according to corporate the policy is firm.
If you have a valid coupon from a competitor for an item they stock, it should be accepted under their price match policy. If you encounter a clerk who doesn't know of the policy, take the issue to the manager, and if even she/he doesn't know (happens) feel free to note his/her name and the store number (usually at the top of a receipt). Then call the Staples "Office Of The President" toll free number. Ask them if the policy is in effect nationwide, and when they say yes (current as of this post), give them that name and number, and inform them of what occurred and the names of those involved. Say you'd still like to use it now, and they may keep you on the line while they reprimand them, and tell you to go back in and make your purchase.

STAPLES Office of the President: 1-800-338-0252 (Only use if after escalating your request to the most senior store manager available, you are still denied) -TA

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Walmart B&M
"Ad Match Guarantee: Our stores will match the price of any local competitor's printed ad for an identical product. Not applicable to Walmart.com. Restricitons apply. See store for details."


Walmart.com
We strive to provide you with the lowest prices possible on Walmart.com as well as in our stores. However, sometimes a price online does not match the price in a store. In our effort to be the lowest price provider in your particular geographic region, store pricing will sometimes differ from online prices. Our local stores do not honor Walmart.com pricing or competitor advertisements from outside of a store's local trade territory.

Please Note: Prices shown on Walmart.com are online prices only. Products that are shown as available in your local Wal-Mart store may have a different price. We are able to show you availability for select products in your local store in the Electronics, Jewelry, Baby, Pharmacy and Home departments. At this time, the Toys, Sports, Entertainment and Apparel departments do not have the local store availability feature.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=538350

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Fry's
THE COMPLETE LOW PRICE GUARANTEE

"We Will Match Any Competitive Price." Before making a purchase from Fry's. If you see a lower, in stock, in-store price at a local competitor, Fry's will be happy to match the competition's price.
"30 Day Low Price Guarantee." If within 30 days of purchasing an item from Fry's you see a lower in-stock price at a local competitor with a low price guarantee. Fry's will cheerfully refund 110% of the amount of the competitor's low price guarantee. Or, if within 30 days of purchase, a local Fry's, or a local competitor without a low price guarantee has a lower price, Fry's will refund 100% of the difference. NOTE: All comparisons are based on price, excluding any applicable sales tax. Low price guarantee for notebook computers, microprocessors, memory, CD and DVD recorders, camcorders, digital cameras, and air conditioners is within 15 days from purchase date. To apply for Fry's low price guarantee, simply bring in your original cash register receipt and verifiable proof of a current lower price.

*All comparisons are based on in-store tagged prices at the time of request, excluding sales tax. Offer good on all fresh-boxed products of the same exact model in stock at a local competitor. We reserve the right to limit this offer to one of each model. Offer does not apply to wireless phones and pagers that require a service agreement. Offer does not apply when price includes bonus or free offers or one-of-a-kind or limited-quantity offers. NOTE Does not apply to expired ads. Fry's ads are valid for only stores listed in the ad.
http://www.marketplacelocal.com/PortalWeb/Portal.aspx?groupid=58&pagename=itemdetails&channelid=9&categoryid=80&subcategoryid=82&itemid=50973583

Fry's now matches many online retailers as well. Bring a printout of the most recent ad price (preferrably printed on the day in which you want to PM) and take it to Customer Service (the returns area) and have the associate get the manager currently in charge to authorize the price match. Alternatively, select the item you want, get a quote from a salesman, and let them know before purchase you'd like to do a PM. Most vendors such as Amazon (when sold directly from Amazon), Newegg, manufacturer websites, etc are allowed for PM'ing.

List of online retailers Fry's will price match as of 8/23/11
Amazon.com
B&HPhoto.com
BestBuy.com
Brandsmart.com
Buy.com
CDW.com
CentralComputers.com
Circuitcity.com
CompUSA.com
Costco.com
CVS.com
Directron.com
HHGregg.com
J&R Music/Comp
K-Mart.com
Lowes.com
Macmall.com
Macys.com
Microcenter.com
Newegg.com
OfficeDepot.com
OfficeMax.com
Pepboys.com
Radioshack.com
RitzCamera.com
SamsClub.com
Sears.com
Staples.com
SuperBiiz.com
Target.com
Tigerdirect.com
ToysRUs.com
UltimateElectronics.com
Walgreens.com
Walmart.com
ZipZoomFly.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home Depot
NOBODY BEATS OUR PRICES
If any competitor tries, we'll beat their price by 10%. Guaranteed.*
*If you find a current lower price on an identical, in-stock item from any local retailer, we will match the price and beat it by 10%. Excludes special orders, bid pricing, volume discounts, open-box merchandise, labor and installation, sales tax, rebate and free offers, typographical errors and online purchases.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=SF_MS_In-Store_Low_Price_Guarantee
_________________________________________________________________________________

Lowe's
Everyday Low Prices, Guaranteed
We guarantee our everyday competitive prices. If you find a lower everyday price on an identical item at a local retail competitor, just bring us the competitor's current ad and we'll beat their price by 10%. If a competitor is offering a percent off discount, we'll reduce our current price by the same percentage discount that the competitor is offering. Our price guarantee does not apply to installation labor, to the competitor's closeout, special order, discontinued, clearance, liquidation, or to damaged items. Limited to reasonable quantities. Visit store for complete details.

Price Protection
As a benefit to buying online and selecting Store Pickup or Lowe's Home Delivery, you will receive the lower of the online store price or the price at the local Lowe's store you are shopping at time of purchase. For lumber and building products, local pricing is provided while shopping on Lowes.com.
http://www.lowes.com/cd_Everyday+...787241445_

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WhiteElephant
11-20-2007 at 08:24 PM.
11-20-2007 at 08:24 PM.
Will I still qualify for price protection after a PM?
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uscpsycho
11-20-2007 at 08:29 PM.
11-20-2007 at 08:29 PM.
Quote from Leonidas :
I have a few tips/suggestions for organizing this thread. Create simple wikis for three sections: (1) Pricematch (2) Competitor Coupon (3) Price protection guarantee.

Here are some ideas on the contents...
Repped for the excellent suggestions. I agree a little more organization and information would be very helpful. However, unless this thread is going to become a sticky, what you are suggesting is A LOT of effort to put into a thread that might be forgotten by the weekend.

If an admin notifies me that they want to make this thread a sticky then I'll polish it up so it's more deserving of the honor.

Considering how many slickdeals rely on successful PMing I'm surprised that nothing like this has ever been compiled before.
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Sephiros
11-20-2007 at 09:25 PM.
11-20-2007 at 09:25 PM.
Are competitors coupons just YMMV? I don't really see it mention in any stores policy (CC, BB, OM, WM, etc.). I've tried it many times, but were also denied many times.
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The Kev Master
11-20-2007 at 09:26 PM.
11-20-2007 at 09:26 PM.
Quote from firebug :
Sad that the customer is no longer "always right"...
The Kev Master agrees with that statement but SlickDealers are never wrong. LMAO
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kq520
11-20-2007 at 09:45 PM.
11-20-2007 at 09:45 PM.
Quote from gamo62 :
You probably are not eligible. If it is a significant amount, return the item and repurchase it at the lower price.
i've been seeing some of you said that,and i can't keep questioning myself that how can you do that?IS that like you bring the product back to them for refund and re-buy that same item RIGHT AWAY at the cashier clerk?Would they let you do that or they need to inspect the product you just returned and tell you to get another one on the shell which is OOS? How does that work? I'm getting confused
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Satenru
11-20-2007 at 09:59 PM.
11-20-2007 at 09:59 PM.
does Fry's PM its own site?
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ccupples
11-20-2007 at 10:39 PM.
11-20-2007 at 10:39 PM.
Quote from ffife33 :
I had a manager at OfficeMax tell me that they did not price match if the other store does not have the item in stock. She said it was like they were filling the other stores raincheck. Well if the other store had it in stock I wouldn't have been there trying to price match. They should have been happy just to get the business you would think.
Why would the OM manager PM if the competitor is sold out? The whole point of a PM (for the store's perspective) is to steer to your store a customer who would otherwise purchase at a competitor. If the item is OOS at the competitor, then the customer isn't spending their money on it at the competitor anyway, so there's no reason to PM.
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uscpsycho
11-20-2007 at 10:42 PM.
11-20-2007 at 10:42 PM.
Quote from Satenru :
does Fry's PM its own site?
No.

Unless you're in Nor Cal. I think the Bay Area Fry's will, but nowhere else.
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Leonidas
11-21-2007 at 02:39 PM.
11-21-2007 at 02:39 PM.
Quote from uscpsycho :
No.

Unless you're in Nor Cal. I think the Bay Area Fry's will, but nowhere else.
Hey you got yourself a sticky thread Groupwave Applause ApplauseApplause Now you might wanna organize it a little bit
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rosprncss
11-22-2007 at 01:55 PM.
11-22-2007 at 01:55 PM.
Does anyone have know what stores will PM black friday ads even though they are limited quantity or one day only?
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Whatatay
11-26-2007 at 12:59 PM.
11-26-2007 at 12:59 PM.
Why post the (non) price matching policy of places like Amazon. I'd think a list of places that price mact would be better than links to their policy saying they don't price match, ie

"Amazon.com does not price-match with other retailers (including those who sell their items on our Web site). We do, however, consistently work toward maintaining competitive prices on everything we carry."
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uscpsycho
11-26-2007 at 02:39 PM.
11-26-2007 at 02:39 PM.
Quote from Whatatay :
Why post the (non) price matching policy of places like Amazon. I'd think a list of places that price mact would be better than links to their policy saying they don't price match, ie

"Amazon.com does not price-match with other retailers (including those who sell their items on our Web site). We do, however, consistently work toward maintaining competitive prices on everything we carry."
It's necessary to eliminate repetitive questions. If Amazon's policy is not included how many more times will we have to answer the question "Does Amazon price match?"

Also, Amazon does PM their own prices if they should drop within 30 days. So the link to Amazon's policy is also helpful in that respect.
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chernomorez
12-03-2007 at 02:39 PM.
12-03-2007 at 02:39 PM.
Just last week I was not able to pricematch an item at Sears against the other local Sears store, where the item went on clearance. According to the manager, Sears does not match against clearance merchandise, and every store has its own clearance inventory and prices. At the same time, all other Sears stores, had the item on clearance but were already out of stock.
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ccupples
12-03-2007 at 03:46 PM.
12-03-2007 at 03:46 PM.
It bears mentioning that PMing at Circuit City on an item that has a rebate can possibly kill the rebate.

Very often CC rebates will have a "hidden" minimum purchase price requirement that is not printed on the rebate form. If such a requirement exists on a CC rebate and you purchase the rebated item below that price (by PMing, for instance) then your rebate will likely be denied.

However you can determine the minimum required purchase price for a CC rebate program if you call the CC rebate center (866-754-7717) and inquire. Be sure to give the CSR the specific program ID on the rebate form.
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runnin17
12-04-2007 at 01:34 PM.
12-04-2007 at 01:34 PM.
Quick question that may have already been answered. Do receipts count as a legitimate form to get a price match with?

I recently bought an item at CC with a PM and was wondering if I could also go to Staples and use the CC receipt to have them price match an item.
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