You need to know one thing about me: I thrive during gift-giving season. I keep a running list in my Notes app all year with gift ideas for all my friends and family, and as soon as sale alerts start hitting my inbox in early November, I start shopping. Up until a few years ago, I tucked gifts away in my closet, checked that person off my list, and went on my merry way. It felt great to have my shopping done early until I realized I was leaving money on the table by not utilizing price match guarantee policies.
Getting started early is a great strategy, but sometimes the best deals don’t happen until later in the season. Before, I would curse myself for not waiting to buy a gift after I saw it go on a better deal, but now, I walk my happy butt over to customer service and kindly ask for a price-match, which is guaranteed by most retailers. If you’re not taking advantage of this, you’re spending more than you have to, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford that in this market. With that in mind, I’m sharing everything you need to know about taking advantage of price match guarantees during the holidays.
How do price matches work?
While every retailer has their own terms for price matching, the idea is pretty basic: If an item goes on sale for less than what you originally paid, you can request the difference back within a certain period of time. During the holiday season, most retailers offer an extended window, knowing that many shoppers start early. For example, Target offers price match guarantees within a 14-day window all year round, but during the holidays, their window runs from November 1-December 24. Sales are changing constantly during that time!
What’s more, you can often take advantage of price match guarantees between retailers. So, if you bought an item at Nordstrom and then it goes on sale on Amazon, you can ask for a price match within Nordstrom’s allotted window. Sure, you could always return the Nordstrom one and buy the same thing on Amazon, but if you’ve already gifted it to someone, you’re out of luck. This solves that problem. Most people think about price-matching before they purchase something (like if the item you want to buy is on a better sale somewhere else), but this is how to get the best deal after the fact, too. Not to mention, you don’t have to just take advantage of it for gifts. Those sneakers you bought yourself during Black Friday? Price adjust them if they are cheaper on Cyber Monday!
Who offers price matching?
Price match guarantees are widely available and pretty straightforward, especially this time of year, but even with that said, not every single retailer offers it. And the ones that do have their own guidelines and limitations—reasonably so. Target has one of the most impressive guarantee policies during the holidays (so much so that they advertise their extended window), but stores like Nordstrom, Abercrombie, J.Crew, Gap, Kohl’s, Athleta, Apple, and more offer one too. The one retailer we all shop at that doesn’t offer it, though? Amazon.
Many of us like to shop at small businesses this time of year, and while they usually run fewer site-wide sales than big box stores, it’s worth checking their website or asking them directly if they offer price adjustments.
How do I ask for a price adjustment?
Besides being kind, patient, and saying please, there’s not much to it. Simply gather your supporting documents (a.k.a your proof of purchase and the eligible details of the sale you would like to match) and follow the store’s online or in-store process. This could look like heading to the customer service desk or sending a message through their online chat feature. From there, the retailer will let you know what, if anything, they need from you next to make the adjustment, and voila! Money is back in your pocket to support the rest of your holiday shopping.
Hailey Tagliarino, Assistant Managing Editor
As Assistant Managing Editor for The Everygirl, Hailey Tagliarino oversees, writes, and edits content across various categories on the site. From the pitching stage through publishing, she works alongside the team to ensure that the content that our readers see every day is inspiring, relatable, and timely.
