Price Matching Policies for Black Friday 2011

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By , dealnews Senior Feature Writer

Price matching can give consumers an edge when shopping over the holidays. But not every retailer offers a price match guarantee, and even those who do offer it will adhere to different policies. Below we've gathered a few tips you should keep in mind when shopping this holiday season.

First, you'll want to know which stores offer price matching and which don't. (Many stores post their policies online.) Once you know the policies, find out if they're honored during Black Friday. Stores like Best Buy, for instance, offer price matching year round, but don't honor it Thanksgiving day through Cyber Monday. Once you're at the store, be sure to bring the competing sales circular with you (a real one, not a leaked ad), as most stores that offer price matching require a flier as proof. (We recommend having a flier at all times, even for stores who don't require one.)

As for the policies themselves, you'll find the best offers at Home Depot and Lowe's, where they will take an additional 10% off the competitor's lower price. And while you may think Walmart's new post-purchase price matching policy for 2011 is notably aggressive, Black Friday ads are ineligible for the program. (They will however honor standard price matching on Black Friday before your purchase is made*.)

For more details on this year's price matching policies, check out the chart below:

Retailer Price Matching
for Black Friday?
Policy
Amazon No Amazon only price-matches TV purchases, but prices are not matched on Black Friday or with "early bird" or "door buster" offers.
Best Buy No Normally a consumer must show a printed ad from a local competitor, but the policy isn't valid on items for sale Thanksgiving day through Cyber Monday.
Home Depot Yes If the customer finds a current lower price on an identical, in-stock item from any retailer, Home Depot will match the price and beat it by 10%. Excludes special orders, bid pricing, volume discounts, open-box merchandise, labor and installation, sales tax, rebate and free offers, typographical errors, and online purchases.
J&R Yes The customer must show the printed ad from the competitor. Competitor must be an authorized reseller.
Lowe's Yes Lowe's will beat the price by 10% for an identical product at any local retail competitor that has the item in stock. Must bring the competitor's current ad or Lowe's will call to verify the item's price. Price guarantee honored at all Lowe's retail locations. Some restrictions apply. Call local store for more details.
Meijer Yes Must bring in ad from a local competitor. Price matching only applies to general merchandise. Meijer's does not offer additional percentages.
Office Depot Yes Must show ad for lower price at another store on a new, identical item. Office Depot will match the price at the time of purchase, or if the customer presents the ad within 14 days of the purchase, Office Depot will pay the difference. Office Depot price is the final price after any discounts, coupons, instant savings and mail-in savings are applied. Office Depot will match the other store's point-of-sale price after deducting their instant rebates and coupons but will not match the other store's mail-in rebates nor will they deduct the value of any gift with purchase.
OfficeMax Yes Must complete the OfficeMax online Price Match Request. Some exclusions apply.
Radio Shack No N/A
Sears No Sears does not offer price matching during special events including Thanksgiving day through Cyber Monday. At other times, Sears will price match within 14 days of purchase, and beat the price by 10%.
Staples Yes Staples' price match guarantee applies to participating individual stores on the day after Thanksgiving. Must show the lower price on a new identical item, or within 14 days of the purchase and Staples will pay the difference.
Target No Target does not offer its Low Price Promise on Black Friday. At other times, Target will match prices within one week of purchase.
Walmart Yes* Walmart's post-purchase price matching policy for the holiday season does not include prices available on Black Friday. However, the store will still offer price matching on an identical item before you make a purchase if you find an accurate lower price in an ad from a "local competitor." Internet pricing is excluded.

*A prior version of this feature incorrectly noted that Walmart would not be offering price matching on Black Friday. We meant to indicate that the post-purchase price matching holiday program — in which the store credits the difference between a Walmart purchase (made between November 1 and December 25) and a lower advertised price (from the same time frame) at another store — excludes Black Friday pricing. We're sorry for the confusion!


An avid gadget lover, Louis Ramirez has covered technology for Gizmodo, CNET, Laptop, and various other publications. Follow him on Twitter at @LouisRamirez. You can also sign up for an email alert for all dealnews features.
DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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4 comments
npaitsel
In addition, it's not exactly price matching, but Bed Bath and Beyond will allow you to use the 20 percent off purchase coupon that will be issued for Black Friday on a reciept for a previous purchase. Cust. service dept. and official policy says there is no time limit for making an adjustment on a receipt. That can add a few unexpected bucks to your holiday budget!
npaitsel
Office Max's customer service department says that Black Friday is considered a "special event" under its Price Match policy, so it will not match prices during that event.  
18ARet
Item #6. of the AmazonTV Low Price Guarantee states...." Time-limited sales events (such as Black Friday, "early bird" or "door buster"
offers ), offers advertised as limited in time or quantity, clearance,
liquidation and going-out-of business sales, and loyalty program offers are also
ineligible for the Guarantee"
cmille3
I've saved a ton of money in past years with Walmart's price match. I'm glad you posted this because I would have been upset and disappointed on Black Friday.