Know the price-matching policies for Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others

Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new pair of headphones, an OLED, or a backpack just to find out that you could have gotten it for a lot cheaper somewhere else. In order to keep customers happy — and prevent them from going elsewhere — many retailers offer price-matching policies where they promise to match a lower price that you’ve found elsewhere. That’s information that could come in handy, especially given Black Friday is right around the corner and Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale kicks off on October 12th.

What follows are the price-matching policies for a variety of major retailers. There are a few things to make note of here. First, all price-matching policies have a number of rules attached to them. We’ve summarized some of the rules here, but you’d be advised to go to the links that we’ve provided and read the policy carefully. Second, and logically enough, retailers that serve as marketplaces for other sellers, such as Amazon or Costco, don’t have price-matching policies.

Finally, some retailers that do have price-matching policies suspend them for special occasions, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day. But at other times of the year, these price matches can save you a nice amount of cash. So keep them in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind: there are exceptions to most rules. So if you’re looking for a deal on a product and you know of a lower price elsewhere (or one that was offered previously at the same retailer), it never hurts to call (and in some cases, live chat from your PC or phone) and ask if they’ll match the price. After all, what do you have to lose?

Price-matching policies for retailers and companies

Amazon doesn’t offer price matching.

Target will match the price of an item that you find for less either at Target or at a select list of competitors if you ask for it at the time of or within 14 days of your purchase. You can either bring your proof into the store or call for online purchases at 1-800-591-3869.

If you buy a product in-store or online starting October 6th, Target will match it until December 24th. However, this price-matching policy does not apply to doorbusters and competitors’ lightning sales, like those Amazon offers.

Best Buy’s Price Match Guarantee states that a product could be eligible for a price reduction if it’s new, identical to the competitor’s product, immediately available at a qualifying competitor’s store or on its site, and not shown on Best Buy’s exclusion list (which includes “items for sale the Friday before Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after Thanksgiving”).

You have to either communicate with Best Buy via its on-site chat, making sure you’re able to show the ad or website with a lower price, to get the difference. Alternatively, you can call 1-888-237-8289 or visit any Best Buy or Pacific Sales store.

Best Buy will also, upon request, match its previous in-store or online price as long as it’s done during the return and exchange period.

Walmart’s online store offers price-matching on items purchased from Walmart stores if the item is in stock at Walmart.com, however, the policy doesn’t apply to those who live in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.

While we’ve seen some claims that Apple will price-match up to 10 percent for products bought at certain major retailers, there is no official policy on the company’s website.

Apple does say that if it reduces its price on an Apple-branded product within 14 days from when you received your item, you can visit an Apple Store or contact the Apple Contact Center at 1-800-676-2775 to request a refund or get credit for the price difference. However, that doesn’t apply to special sales like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

B&H says that it might be able to honor a current lower price or match the price of a competitor, but it does so on a case-by-case basis. You have to contact its Customer Service team using the on-site chat, email, or by calling (800) 606-6969 / (212) 444-6615.

Costco does not price-match with competitors. However, according to the website, it will issue a credit for the difference between the price you paid and a promotional price if you bought the item online at Costco and requested the credit up to 30 days before the change in price. If you bought the product from a Costco warehouse location, visit the membership counter at the store where you made the purchase.

Before you make a purchase, Dell will price-match a new computer that shares the same key features and specs as the one you bought (such as memory, hard drive capacity, processor, etc.) from Dell, HP, Apple, or Lenovo. You can call 1-888-969-4503 or chat online to run a price check, but you’ll need to provide a link to the competitor’s product.

You can also contact the company about a price difference within 30 days of purchase. However, there is a long list of restrictions, and none of this is available between Thanksgiving Day and the Monday following Thanksgiving (or on Green Monday).

We could not find any evidence of a price-matching policy at DJI. However, if DJI reduces the price on a product within seven days from when you received it, you can contact the company within that time at http://www.dji.com/contact to request a refund or credits for the difference between the price you have been charged and the current selling price. This doesn’t include special sales events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

If you find a lower price from a qualifying competitor on an eBay Deal item that you bought within 48 hours — or on another product with the “Best Price Guarantee” symbol attached to it — you’ll get “110 percent” of the difference. That means eBay will give you an eBay coupon for the difference in price between what you bought the item for and what the competitor is selling it for, plus an additional 10 percent of that price difference. Note, however, these coupons will expire within 30 days of being issued.

The products must be new and unopened and identical to the competitor’s item. You have to contact eBay Customer Service, and if they verify your claims are legitimate, you will receive the coupon and be able to use it toward your next eBay purchase.

GameStop does not mention an official price-matching policy on its website. In August, however, GameStop tweeted that the store will price-match items sold and shipped by Amazon as long as they’re available online or in-store. Although GameStop only mentioned Amazon in the tweet, others have reported that the store will price-match items purchased from Target and elsewhere.

According to HP’s website, the company will match the current pre-tax price for new comparable PCs and identical HP printer, display, and accessory model numbers from nationally recognized online retailers, such as Dell, Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy. The specs have to be the same; however, the product model number does not need to be identical for computers. You have to ask for the match at the time of purchase by calling 1-800-888-0229. You can’t request a price match via email or chat, though, and the policy does not extend to items bought during promotional periods.

If you find a comparable product at a lower price during the return period, you can email HP at myhpsales@hp.com. This only applies to branded HP products and doesn’t apply to products purchased during certain sales events, like the week of Thanksgiving and the week afterward.

According to Google, the company doesn’t currently offer a price-match guarantee.

Historically, Lenovo has offered a price-matching policy, but right now its website doesn’t mention one. That said, we will update this article if anything changes.

Microsoft will refund you the difference if you discover a lower price on a product purchased at the Microsoft Store until January 2nd.

At other times, Microsoft will refund you the difference if it lowers the price of a product within 30 days of purchase, though this doesn’t apply to special sales events like Black Friday.

You can contact Microsoft’s Sales and Support team at 1-877-696-7786 to get a refund.

Newegg offers price-matching on select items; these products are identified by the label “Price Match Guarantee” that appears in the price box on the right of the product page. This applies whether you find that lower price on Newegg or at what Newegg judges to be a major retailer. You need to notify Newegg of the lower price within 14 days of purchase.

The price-match guarantee is not valid during major holiday sales events, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Green Monday.

Sam’s Club

You can request a price match against other Sam’s Club stores, but not competitors. Note that this doesn’t apply to items on markdown or clearance.

We didn’t find anything on Sonos’ website regarding the company’s price-matching policy.