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forum thread Posted by uscpsycho • Nov 19, 2007
forum thread Posted by uscpsycho • Nov 19, 2007

Price Matching & Coupon Matching Policy Roundup

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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

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.)
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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

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.)

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251 Comments

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Dec 19, 2008
7,380 Posts
Joined Jul 2005
Dec 19, 2008
thegreatfixer
Dec 19, 2008
7,380 Posts
thanks
Dec 21, 2008
353 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
Dec 21, 2008
jdc
Dec 21, 2008
353 Posts
How does Best Buy's price matching policy work if they have a bundle deal? For example if Best Buy offers a tv with instant savings on a blu-ray player(essentially free) and I find a lower price for the tv will Best Buy match the price and give me the instant savings on the blu-ray player?
Dec 29, 2008
2,861 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
Dec 29, 2008
Skap
Dec 29, 2008
2,861 Posts
Quote from jamesy11 :
Does anyone know if Sam's Club price matches? Or if they will match the price from Wal-Mart as they are owned by the same company?
afaik NO. i have asked 2 or 3 times at my local samsclub, at service desk, and i have always been told no they do not pricematch.
Jan 5, 2009
521 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
Jan 5, 2009
missredemption
Jan 5, 2009
521 Posts
As of this posting, Bestbuy has a clearly defined pricematch policy (as linked in the beginning of this thread) where they match local retail stores. However, the enforcement of this policy is quite uneven through untrained CSRs and MANAGERS.

The problem varies from store to store. I was denied over $300 in pricematches with Sam's Club. The manager at one Best Buy store kept chanting that she was denying my claim because "Sam's Club was not a retailer", which is a completely absurd and non-factual statement. She claimed it was store policy not to pricematch Sam's Club, although she couldn't show me one word in the price match offer that indicated such.

The CSR at the next Best Buy store I visited not only processed my price match properly and without any hassle, she also offered to juggle an online order I had placed so that it would qualify as a price match through the local store. I didn't have time to do that, so I declined, but I thought that was very customer-friendly for her to go out of her way to try to save me some money. FYI, BBO and BB stores are actually two separate legal entities and that is part of the reason why their pricematch policies are different.

At another store, the CSR said that was told not to pricematch Sam's Club but she would approve my request anyway as a price match against Circuit City so she wouldn't get hassled. Again, customer-friendly, but you really have to wonder just how far up the corporate ladder these de facto, unpublished policies are coming from.

Well, since I did eventually get my price match and suffered no more than aggravation, I have little damages to show in bringing suit against Best Buy for fraudulent, false, and misleading advertising. But, if you have not been so lucky, you should seriously consider taking action against BestBuy for fraud.

These transactions fall under state consumer protection laws, so each state has jurisdiction over its own matters. I suggest finding a large law firm in your state that handles consumer class action lawsuits. You can try http://www.martindale.com to search for local represenation. I also googled "best buy price match class action lawsuits" and found this http://www.kgglaw.com/pages/bestbuy.asp. I contacted them and they are quite serious about persuing this matter.

I find it very frustrating that a large company can mislead customers in such a manner without recourse. If you have been screwed by BB on a legitmate claim then you should stand up for your rights. good luck.
Jan 14, 2009
5 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
Jan 14, 2009
MakingTrax
Jan 14, 2009
5 Posts
Quote from dnewen :
Thank you for putting this all in one place--we have been talking about this week and were unsure of who did pricematch.

Walmart--not sure what the policy states, but they have price-matched for us before...actually it was on black friday. They just wanted to see a copy of the ad they were matching.

Have fun shopping everyone!
Wal Mart used to have it posted somewhere around the registers, and in a big sign at the front of the store, but it's been a long time since I've seen it at my store. They do price matching on grocery items, because I sit down with sales papers and mark items in them every week, and drag my coupons with me. Unless I have a coupon I can double at the store with the sale. Wal Mart doesn't double coupons. Wal Mart will also do the B1G1's as long as there's a price listed. Anyhoo, as long as the item is identical, same model and name, quantity, same manufacturer, they'll do a price match on just about anything. They don't do price matching in the pharmacy though.

Here's another little known fact. I don't know if it's still true, but Food World stores used to have a policy on a tag above the registers that stated if the scanned price for an item on your receipt was incorrect then you got the item free. I got quite a few free items from Food World because of that policy, years ago. The registers of the local store were horrible for not having the prices programmed in correctly. They may still have the policy, and you have to know to ask, or go to the customer service desk, but I don't shop there much any more since Wal Mart opened, so I don't know if that policy is still in effect or not.
Jan 14, 2009
5 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
Jan 14, 2009
MakingTrax
Jan 14, 2009
5 Posts
Quote from gwenbleu :
Re: Walmart's Pirce Match Policy, if I print a circular or a "shopping list" that includes the sale dates, prices, sales products from the company's website, will Walmart honor the price? (example, Albertsons has capri sun for 1.50. They dont have an option to print their circular like Minyards. I put it on my shopping list with them and print it out. For some reason the circulars aren't coming anymore in the papers and its a little too far to drive for certain sales.
Albertson's stores were actually owned by two different companies. If you go to the website and put in certain zip codes there's a blurb on the page about it.

The reason some Albertson's stores circulars are not in the papers is because from what I understand those stores were bought by another company and closed. I heard it was Publix that bought them, but that has not been confirmed as yet. However the stores still owned by the other company that runs Albertson's stores are still open. We had three Albertsons stores close in our area, but 200 miles away Albertson's stores are still open.

Hope that answered your question.

WalMart will honor online print outs if they're from LOCAL stores, no Online stores, or another B&M store in another state. I print out online circular pages for local store price matching all the time, but more often I just make a list because at my WalMart they keep the sales circulars from Wednesdays and Sundays at the registers. They won't do price matches on tobacco products, or for prescription drugs.
Feb 3, 2009
220 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
Feb 3, 2009
machomt
Feb 3, 2009
220 Posts
Does anyone know if JR.com will price match an item already purchased, if it is still within the 30 day exchange/return period?

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Original Poster
Feb 3, 2009
10,916 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
Feb 3, 2009
uscpsycho
Original Poster
Feb 3, 2009
10,916 Posts
Quote from Machomitch :
Does anyone know if JR.com will price match an item already purchased, if it is still within the 30 day exchange/return period?
It's worth calling and asking. If they refuse tell them you'll have no option but to return/rebuy at the lower price. It's in their interest to match the lower price rather than take a return.
Feb 3, 2009
220 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
Feb 3, 2009
machomt
Feb 3, 2009
220 Posts
Quote from uscpsycho :
It's worth calling and asking. If they refuse tell them you'll have no option but to return/rebuy at the lower price. It's in their interest to match the lower price rather than take a return.
=) sounds good to me. thanks.
Feb 7, 2009
476 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
Feb 7, 2009
jwally063
Feb 7, 2009
476 Posts
Sears in Lake Grove New York constantly violates Sears policy and refuses to price match a SEARS online website item. No wonder Sears is in so much trouble with closing stores and laying off employees.
Feb 7, 2009
476 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
Feb 7, 2009
jwally063
Feb 7, 2009
476 Posts
Quote from missredemption :
As of this posting, Bestbuy has a clearly defined pricematch policy (as linked in the beginning of this thread) where they match local retail stores. However, the enforcement of this policy is quite uneven through untrained CSRs and MANAGERS.

The problem varies from store to store. I was denied over $300 in pricematches with Sam's Club. The manager at one Best Buy store kept chanting that she was denying my claim because "Sam's Club was not a retailer", which is a completely absurd and non-factual statement. She claimed it was store policy not to pricematch Sam's Club, although she couldn't show me one word in the price match offer that indicated such.

The CSR at the next Best Buy store I visited not only processed my price match properly and without any hassle, she also offered to juggle an online order I had placed so that it would qualify as a price match through the local store. I didn't have time to do that, so I declined, but I thought that was very customer-friendly for her to go out of her way to try to save me some money. FYI, BBO and BB stores are actually two separate legal entities and that is part of the reason why their pricematch policies are different.

At another store, the CSR said that was told not to pricematch Sam's Club but she would approve my request anyway as a price match against Circuit City so she wouldn't get hassled. Again, customer-friendly, but you really have to wonder just how far up the corporate ladder these de facto, unpublished policies are coming from.

Well, since I did eventually get my price match and suffered no more than aggravation, I have little damages to show in bringing suit against Best Buy for fraudulent, false, and misleading advertising. But, if you have not been so lucky, you should seriously consider taking action against BestBuy for fraud.

These transactions fall under state consumer protection laws, so each state has jurisdiction over its own matters. I suggest finding a large law firm in your state that handles consumer class action lawsuits. You can try http://www.martindale.com to search for local represenation. I also googled "best buy price match class action lawsuits" and found this http://www.kgglaw.com/pages/bestbuy.asp. I contacted them and they are quite serious about persuing this matter.

I find it very frustrating that a large company can mislead customers in such a manner without recourse. If you have been screwed by BB on a legitmate claim then you should stand up for your rights. good luck.
I have found the same problems with Sears!
Feb 8, 2009
521 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
Feb 8, 2009
missredemption
Feb 8, 2009
521 Posts
Quote from jwally063 :
Sears in Lake Grove New York constantly violates Sears policy and refuses to price match a SEARS online website item. No wonder Sears is in so much trouble with closing stores and laying off employees.
If I understand your problem, the store price is higher than their own website price? Order it online for pickup in the store.

If it's an online purchase that is to be pricematched against a local competitor, then you have to be persistant because they'll reject it on the first shot. Since it's purchased online, you'ved used your credit card. This sets things up for a CHARGEBACK, which is what I had to threaten to do if I didn't get (a) an RMA or (b) a pricematch. It's worked for me. Good luck.
Feb 9, 2009
1 Posts
Joined Feb 2009
Feb 9, 2009
roofingtexas
Feb 9, 2009
1 Posts
I thought Amazon quit doing Price Match???
Original Poster
Feb 9, 2009
10,916 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
Feb 9, 2009
uscpsycho
Original Poster
Feb 9, 2009
10,916 Posts
Quote from roofingtexas :
I thought Amazon quit doing Price Match???
Amazon never did price matching. However, they had a 30 day price guarantee where they would give you the difference in price if they lowered their price within 30 days of purchase. That policy is history, although if there is a big reduction they will sometimes give it to you, very YMMV though.

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Mar 3, 2009
94 Posts
Joined Nov 2005
Mar 3, 2009
Ubur_n00b
Mar 3, 2009
94 Posts
Ok guys. I just called regarding my TV and the guy who I was on the phone with said my order will go through. He said since my order is in the "in production" stage that they will acknowledge the order or something like that.

He sounded like he didn't know what the hell he was talking about. So, we'll see what happens.

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