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

Some retailers offer price matches, others offer price protection, and some (ahem, Amazon) offer neither. So what’s the difference—and how can you use these policies to your advantage?

Price matches involve a retailer agreeing to match a lower price offered by one of its competitors. They generally apply before you’ve made a purchase. If you visit one retailer to buy an item, only to see in an ad or online that one of the retailer’s competitors is offering a better discount, that retailer may agree to match that lower price if you buy the item there.

Price protection (also called a price adjustment or price guarantee) is a policy in which a retailer refunds you the difference if an item’s price drops at that retailer after you buy it. The policy usually applies within a certain window after you’ve made a purchase.

In both cases, you need to stay aware of all kinds of exclusions and caveats. For price matches in particular, the basic parameters require the item in your cart to be identical to the item included in the competitor’s sale, right down to the brand name, size, quantity, color, weight, and model number. Each retailer provides a list of the competitors it’s willing to match, and most require the product to be shipped and sold by one of those competitors. (In other words: Third-party and Marketplace sellers do not apply.)

Price-match policy and list of competitors

According to Best Buy’s price-match guarantee, it will match the in-store and online prices of major and local retail competitors (except for member warehouses like Costco), as well as its own online, in-app, and in-store prices. But as I learned firsthand in September, there are certain exceptions, and make-goods and matches are a mix of the letter of the policy and sales-associate discretion.

For example, when my TV unexpectedly bit the dust in September, the Best Buy sales associate assisting us in the store couldn’t match Walmart.com’s discount because the item was shipped and sold by a third-party seller, but he agreed to match BestBuy.com’s price—even when the Google Chromecast–enabled model shown online was out of stock in the store and had to be swapped with a Roku TV version that Wirecutter recommends.

Best Buy doesn’t offer a list of brick-and-mortar competitors that it will price-match, but you can check its complete list of online competitors and further details on its local price-match policy when you’re comparison shopping.

Price-protection policy

If you notice a post-purchase price drop at Best Buy on a qualifying product within its returns and exchanges period, you can request a price match online, in the store, or over the phone. The retailer typically offers a 15-day return window.

Holiday policies

Best Buy’s return period has been extended through January 14, 2023, for most purchases (with the exception of major appliances, holiday decorations, and select tech purchased with a third-party contract) made from October 24 through December 31, 2022. However, there is a pretty big caveat: Best Buy’s price-match policy does not apply to purchases made between November 18 and November 28, a bummer for shoppers who thought they got a great Black Friday deal, only to see the price fall even more.

Price-match policy and list of competitors

Costco does not match the prices of its competitors or the differences between its online and warehouse prices.

Price-protection policy

Although Costco does not match other retailers’ prices, it does honor its own sale prices for returns on eligible items. If you notice a price drop within 30 days of your purchase on Costco’s website, you can request a refund for the difference online, which typically takes five to seven business days for processing once it’s approved. But if you want your money sooner, you can instead request an adjustment in person. For purchases made in a warehouse, you must request your refund in person at the returns counter. (Just know that some warehouses require a receipt.)

Over the summer, Wirecutter supervising editor Marilyn Ong experienced this impressive customer service firsthand: “I wanted to get our Novaform mattress pick from Costco, but I needed it before Labor Day, so when our Deals editor reminded me about the price-matching policy, I went ahead and bought it. Sure enough, once Labor Day sales hit, Costco’s website showed a manufacturer’s coupon for $150 off. I called the warehouse I bought it from, and they told me I could come by with the receipt and receive the discount as a refund. So that’s what I did, and they refunded me, no questions asked. It was easy-peasy, and it felt great getting my mattress when I needed it, and not feeling like I got stiffed when it went on sale.”

Price-match policy and list of competitors

Newegg’s price-match guarantee states that it will price-match several online retailers up to 14 days after purchase, though there’s no indication that it will authorize a price match before you buy. That said, exclusions apply—for example, it doesn’t price-match on major retail holidays, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And customers must submit a claim form to request a price match.

Newegg often proactively matches the prices of items shipped and sold by retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart without a request from you, so make sure to check the complete list of competitors when you’re comparison shopping.

Price-protection policy

Like Target, Newegg has a price-match guarantee that effectively works as a price-protection policy—in other words, you can request a refund for the difference should the price of an item you’ve purchased drop within that 14-day return window. But shoppers may find some seasonal exceptions that are worth their while.

Holiday policies

In 2021 and 2022, Newegg bent its own rules by offering some form of a Black Friday price-protection guarantee (which essentially served as an extended, heavily caveated version of its year-round price-match policy). If shoppers saw a Black Friday price drop on qualifying items purchased between November 1 and November 20 this year, the retailer promised an automatic refund of the difference. Newegg asserted that this offer would not affect an item’s return eligibility or return window—which is typically 30 days for most items but has been extended through January 31, 2023, for eligible purchases made from November 1 through December 25. We expect to see Newegg roll out similar price-protection and holiday return policies in 2023, but the specifics have yet to be released.

Price-match policy and list of competitors

Target’s price-match guarantee covers prices on identical items (including some produce!) at Target.com, select online competitors, or in Target’s or a competitor’s local print ad, but not in-store prices from other physical Target stores. Should the price of an item drop within 14 days of your purchase, you can request an adjustment in-store, as long as you have proof of purchase and proof of the price you want to be matched. Price matches cannot be combined with Target Circle offers or other Target coupons, clearance sales, or refurbished items. However, you can still use your Target RedCard, which gets you the price match as well as an additional 5% off your purchase.

Price-protection policy

Target’s price-match policy essentially doubles as a price-protection guarantee, but another key takeaway from its holiday offerings is its extended holiday returns policy. The retailer typically offers a return policy of 90 days for most items, with an additional 30 days tacked on if you paid with a RedCard.

Target’s holiday policies

Target’s 2022 holiday price-match guarantee states that shoppers can request a price adjustment in a store or online as part of an extended refund period for purchases made October 6 through December 24. The post-Christmas parameters are a bit complicated, though: Electronics or entertainment items—with the exception of Apple products—can be returned between December 26, 2022, and January 24, 2023. Apple products, excluding mobile phones, are covered under a smaller, 15-day window and must be returned by January 9, 2023, whereas mobile phones must be returned by January 8, 2023 (and a restocking fee may apply).

Price-match policy and list of competitors

Attention Walmart shoppers: The retailer’s corporate price-match policy differs for purchases made in a store and online. Furthermore, it does not honor prices from any major sales event, including pre–Black Friday, Black Friday, and Cyber Week events. Walmart does not price-match its competitors’ physical locations—or even price differences between its own stores—but its brick-and-mortar locations do match Walmart.com prices. Meanwhile, Walmart.com matches the prices of items shipped and sold by competitors like Amazon, Best Buy, and Target (though exclusions apply). Make sure to check the complete list of competitors when you’re comparison shopping.

Price-protection policy

Walmart’s price-protection policy, which is coupled with its price-match policy, is middling at best: “Please note that we do not price match items purchased from Walmart.com that later decrease in price.” Shoppers could attempt to return items purchased at a higher price and repurchase them at the discounted price. Still, compared with the policies of other retailers, that approach is certainly not as convenient—or guaranteed to work.

Holiday policies

On September 22, Walmart pledged to bolster its customer support during the holiday season with its holiday guarantee, which extends its return policy through January 31, 2023, for eligible purchases (including electronics and, unlike many of its competitors, third-party Marketplace items) made on or after October 1—a month earlier than in past years. However, this policy does not offer a refund of the difference in the event that a competitor or Walmart itself discounts an item’s price after you’ve made your purchase.

Price-match policy and list of competitors

Amazon has no price matching. Its stated rationale: “We constantly compare Amazon’s prices to our competitors’ prices to make sure that our prices are as low or lower than all relevant competitors. As a result, we don’t offer price matching.”

Price-protection policy

Amazon used to offer a 30-day price-protection guarantee, but the retailer has since limited that policy severely, to preorders only. And Amazon is not alone: Other popular retailers that do not make price adjustments or match competitors’ prices include:

• Barnes & Noble
• Chewy
• CVS
• Gamestop (though it recently tweeted that it would match Amazon prices in stores and online)
• Petco
• Sephora
• Ulta
• Wayfair

Holiday policies

Amazon doesn’t offer holiday-specific return or matching policies comparable to those of its competitors.

Just because retailers have price-match or price-protection guarantees doesn’t necessarily mean that they want you to use them. As I experienced firsthand during my research, it’s often difficult to even find information on these policies. I frequently discovered that the pages where these policies lived were in a state of flux or linked (for me, at least) unintuitively. Meanwhile, Newegg, for example, lists qualified competing retailers in the literal fine print at the bottom of its price-match guarantee web page. In Newegg’s case, though its use of the phrase “Major retailers include” seems to imply that it will match other competitors, we couldn’t find a complete list elsewhere on its website. When we reached out to Newegg to inquire about any other retailers it would price-match, a representative said that “the list of retailers is the entire list ... but frys.com is no longer in business so will be removed.” Indeed, Fry’s Electronics went defunct in February 2021, but at this writing, Newegg still has the Fry’s website listed as a retailer it will price-match—so needless to say, Newegg’s policy isn’t fully up to date, which implies the potential for shoppers seeking a price match to be less informed in other capacities.

Even I, a seasoned deal seeker, have been burned by a post-purchase price drop. After buying a gift for my partner, I found that Target had significantly slashed the price just a week later. Naturally, I went through the first three stages of buyer’s remorse: denial (specifically, attempting to pretend that I never saw the drop to begin with), anger (at Target for clearly dropping the price to inconvenience me and only me, as well as at myself for not yet developing psychic powers), and depression (need I explain?). Then came the next stage: bargaining.

Once armed with my knowledge of Target’s price-match policy, 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, Target wasn’t offering price matches during the Black Friday season. I left the store with my tail between my legs, and still several bucks poorer, but also confused: 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, every retailer makes the final decision with regard to honoring a price, which means that it can essentially decide not to give you 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. Regardless of the outcome, you can then (hopefully) move toward the final stage of your price-matching quest: acceptance.

This article was edited by Ignacia Fulcher and Nathan Burrow.