If something you bought goes on sale a week or two later, ask the store to refund the difference. Many retailers match their own lower price for a set period after purchase, but only on request. Set a price alert the day you buy so you catch the drop in time.
Say you buy a TV two weeks before a holiday sale, and the sale takes $150 off it. At a store with a price adjustment policy, you can get that $150 back without returning anything.
Each store sets its own terms. Target matches lower Target prices for 14 days after purchase. Best Buy matches its own lower price through its return period. For most shoppers that’s 15 days from the day you receive the item, and 60 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members. Costco gives members 30 days from the purchase date.
After checkout, only the store’s own price counts. Costco doesn’t match other retailers at all, and Best Buy matches competitors only at the time of sale. Exclusions narrow the policies further. Target won’t adjust clearance or open-package items, and Best Buy rules out clearance, open-box items, products from third-party sellers on its site, and deals advertised as limited quantity. Stores revise these terms, so read the current policy before you count on it.
A free price tracker can email you when the price falls. Add a calendar reminder a few days before the window ends for one last check.
When the price drops, ask that day, while the lower price is still posted. Target won’t match an expired price or a screenshot of one. Target, Best Buy, and Costco all call this a price match. Use the store’s own term online or at the service desk, with the live price on screen and your receipt or order number ready.
If the store has no adjustment policy, use its return policy instead. Walmart.com, for example, won’t match its own lower price on an order you’ve already placed. Return the item inside its return window and buy it again at the sale price, as long as no restocking fee eats the savings.
Until the window closes, you can still get back the difference on a sale you just missed.
Track the price from the day you buy with one of the best price comparison websites.
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