Everything You Need to Know About Price Protection and Price-Match Guarantees

Just because a retailer has a price-match or price-protection guarantee doesn’t necessarily mean the retailer wants you to use it. Even just finding information on these policies is often difficult. I’ve frequently found that the pages where these policies are published are in a state of flux or linked (for me, at least) unintuitively. Some may not even be kept up-to-date: For example, Newegg’s list of qualified competing retailers that it will price-match still includes Fry’s Electronics, a retailer that went out of business in 2021, despite our informing Newegg of that development in 2022.

Even I, a seasoned deal hunter, have been burned by a post-purchase price drop. After buying a gift for my partner, I saw that Target significantly slashed the price just a week later.

Armed with my knowledge of Target’s price-match policy, my proof of my purchase, and the reduced price, I marched into my local store ready to get my refund. However, as the customer service representative firmly explained to me at the time, Target wasn’t offering price matches during the Black Friday season. I left the store befuddled and several bucks poorer, wondering: Wasn’t this against Target’s price-match policy? Well, that’s the thing. Even if you meet all the listed requirements, you still may not get the adjustment you’re after.

As can be found in the fine print of most price policies, each retailer makes the final decision with regard to matching a price, which means it can essentially decide not to honor the match “just because.” But at the end of the day, it’s still good to come prepared with a working knowledge of the retailer’s policies—and, of course, your receipt. Your preparedness and your knowledge of store policies will at least increase the likelihood that the store in question will make it right.

This article was edited by Ignacia Fulcher, Janie Campbell, and Nathan Burrow.