Does Amazon Price Match & Do They Consider Best Buy, Walmart or Target?

Quick Answer

Although sometimes sellers will lower their prices based on a lot of things, Amazon does not price match products so even if you get to find a product that is cheaper elsewhere or on Amazon, the retail giant will not cut down the price for you to match the lowest one you can get. But then, while Amazon Price Match no longer exists, other stores consider the retail giant in their price matching.

Shopping online has not only become very convenient for a lot of people, it has also become cheaper for those who have the time to look for and get the best available deals. Better than the affordability of the products that you can get online if the idea of price matching which makes it possible for you to get some part of your money on a particular product returned because you are able to find another place (a considered competitor) where it is sold cheaper.

Many stores, both online and traditional have taken to this to have a better footing in the competition while also giving the best deals to their customers. For example, if you are buying a particular product on Walmart but you check to see that the same product is sold cheaper on Amazon, you can contact Walmart so as to have the price matched with what Amazon sells.

Price matching has been a part of businesses for a very long time as companies sought to claim the bragging rights of the lowest price retailers in the business. Macy’s is one of those that had a good reputation in that regards. A lot has changed about price matching even though some major online retailers like Target, Walmart, and many others still do it.

Does Amazon Price Match?

Back to the big question of whether Amazon price match or not, the simple and straightforward answer is that it doesn’t.

But a few years ago, Amazon was also involved in price matching. The way the Amazon price match worked was that if you made a purchase and after that, it gets discounted, you will be eligible to receive a refund of the difference for any purchase within seven days. With that said, Amazon’s price protection policy was not exactly the most friendly as it doesn’t match the products of competitors, instead, it was just an in-house thing except for products like television and cell phones.

In 2016 after the introduction of some startups serving to help customers get refunds when prices change, Amazon also changed its policy with which it still made the price match available on TV. What this means is that even after the first post-purchase price adjustment stopped, if you bought a TV before a discount was placed on it, you will get a discount if you are found to be eligible.

The entire program was finally scrapped in February 2017, barely a year after the program was stopped for most other products. Hence, the Amazon price match does not exist anymore for all products.

Do They Consider Best Buy, Walmart, And Target?

Since Amazon price match is no longer in existence, it means that there is no consideration for any store that you are buying from nor is there an exception to any product.

As pointed out, even when Amazon had its price matching, it did not consider other competitors such as Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and all others. Instead, it only matches its own products.

While it does not price match, Amazon has taken advantage of some of its programs such as the Amazon Prime which has a lot of benefits for customers including fast delivery, free shipping, and other things to stay at the top of the competition. Because of this, one can easily argue that Amazon Prime is more popular than Price Match.

Stores That Price Match

In order to gain a competitive advantage, however, many other online retailers still price match. Here are some of them:

Best Buy: This store price matches products from retailers such as Amazon.com, Bhphotovideo.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, HP.com, Newegg.com, and TigerDirect.com. While it has a price match guarantee, it doesn’t cover products from third-party sellers, pre-order offers, trade-in offers, as well as special daily and hourly sales (Best Buy Price Match policy).
Walmart: The Walmart Price Match is probably one of the most popular because of the number of stores it considers including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Toyrus, Petco, and much more. However, it doesn’t match discounted products, products bought in a bundle, refurbished products, or products that do not fall among the stores it considers (Walmart Price Matching policy).
Target: Within 14 days of making a purchase, Target will also match the price of a product you get from competitors among those it considers including Amazon, BestBuy, ToysRUs, and BabiesRUs (Target Price Matching policy).
eBay: eBay has taken price matching to another level. Instead of leaving it as most others do at 100 percent, it is giving shoppers as much as 110 percent hence, if you find an eligible product and you contact the store within 48 hours, you will be given a coupon that covers 110 percent of the difference (eBay Price Match policy).

Things to consider with Price Match

Finding a product that has a lower price on one end is not enough for one to demand a price adjustment at another end. Before that is possible, there are things to consider including the exactness of both products. They have to match in color, size, and any other such specifications.

More so, both products have to be available in both places at the same time. If it is in stock on one and not on the other when you made the purchase, you will not be eligible for price matching. Also, they must both be currently in stock.

Another important thing to know is that it is not every store that is considered by all others so you need to know what store you are trying to match the price and if they are acceptable to the store you made a purchase from.

Apart from the individual policies of each store, there is also a time within which you can ask for a discount if you find a product at a lower price.