Take Advantage of Price Match Policies
The glory days of internet price matching are gone forever.
Despite that, use of a price match is a great tool to be aware of. Combined with a rebate, coupon, cash back and/or coupon, you can sometimes get an item for free (or less!).
You used to be able to pricematch at several different stores (Staples, BestBuy, etc) to receive a 110% difference of the prices. Although times are not as good, major stores still allow a pricematch of 100% difference.
How do you get a great deal now? Well, policies differ according to store so you’ll have to tailor your methods to specific store policy.
Here is an example of a great deal I did a couple weeks ago to get a Samsung ML-2510 Laser Printer which was on sale at Staples and OfficeMax
- Compare Prices. Staples sold it for $120 with a $70 rebate. OfficeMax advertised it for $50 without rebate.
- Demonstrate Pricing Proof. I printed out the OfficeMax advertisement and brought it to Staples. The manager looked at the OfficeMax price and granted me a $50 price for the printer.
- Submit Rebate. Staples online rebate submission is easy. I was approved to receive a $70 Visa gift card
So what was my total price for the printer after rebate (accounting for sales tax & 5% cash back Amex card)?? -$20! Yes, that’s right Staples paid me $20 to take a nice laser printer.
That is the power of the price match.
Stores I know that pricematch (see links for specific policies)
- Staples, 100%
- Best Buy, 100%
- Home Depot, 110%
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Pro: cheap prices or actually make money
Con: difficult to find. Need to know all advertised prices or spend time on the deal forums.
Some stores such as Sears and Best Buy do offer a 110% price match. I’m not sure about the details of Sears’ pricematching policy, but here’s my trick to get Best Buy to do it. Say a competitor is selling product X for $20, and BB has it for $40. Bring the sales ad or a printout of the competitor’s price with you to BB. Purchase the item normally at BB at the regular checkout desk. Do not purchase it at customer service, and do not mention that you want to price match it at the time of purchase as they will only price match it to $20. After purchasing it for $40 at the checkout desk, bring the item to your car and grab the competitor’s ad along with your receipt. Now walk back in to customer service and tell them you want to price match a previous purchase and hand them the receipt and ad. Their policy is if you find a lower price within 30 days AFTER making a purchase at BB, they will match it plus %10 of the difference. They will refund your card $22, so you will get product X for $18 this way all in one trip. Make sure you follow the instructions in the correct order and remember to always be polite. They might give you some flak about the %110 price match, but I always remain civil and polite and read them the policy printed at the customer service desk and always win. You’re much more likely to get your way if you’re not yelling at them.
Great tip on using the BestBuy price match. My experience has been that BestBuy employee are a slimy bunch that will trick you into not giving you the price match. Your method helps with this.
Just read that they are getting sued because of these tactics: http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/03/22/class-action-suit-alleges-best-buy-conspiracy-to-avoid-price-matching/
do u no ne tricks for price match to online store like new egg? i want to get a cap card at bb thats $100 at bb and $70 at newegg-will your trick work?
Newegg’s pricing model doesn’t support the concept of price matching. In general, stores that price match are retailers with higher profit margins. Newegg tends to have smaller profit margins on their products.