Procrastinating on your holiday shopping doesn’t mean you’re too late to get a great deal. Many major retailers promise to match lower prices offered by competitors.
But price matching isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Due to long lists of exclusions, it’s often hard to tell when your purchase qualifies. So which retailers are being naughty and which are being nice to customers this season? We’ve reviewed the price-matching policies of five major stores.
Wal-Mart: Nice
Pros: Wal-Mart’s Ad Match Guarantee is one of the best price-matching policies, with matches possible for both in-store and online pricing. The store will match ads that feature specific items as well as buy one, get one free ads with a specified product price. A convenient benefit is that Wal-Mart doesn’t require customers to have the ad with them to honor a competitor’s ad in-store. Additionally, Wal-Mart’s online price-match policy honors prices from 30 online retailers, plus Walmart.com.
Cons: Wal-Mart’s policy is pretty far-reaching, but it does exclude matches on going-out-of-business sales and closeout prices. If a competitor offers the item you want at a reduced price only if you buy another item with it, Wal-Mart won’t match the discount. Online price match isn’t available in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico, and there is a quantity restriction of one-per-customer, per item, per day (except in New Mexico).
Tip: In order to match an in-store Wal-Mart purchase to a local competitor or an online price, simply request the match while you’re at the register. If you want to match a Walmart.com purchase to an online price, contact the store’s online Customer Care before placing your order.
Read Wal-Mart’s full Ad Match Guarantee policy here.
JCPenney: Naughty
Pros: JCPenney promises to match any similar local competitor’s current advertised price on identical items carried in store locations. Competitor ads must be presented to a JCPenney employee in order to receive a price match.
Cons: Arguably the biggest drawback of this policy is that the store doesn’t match online and mobile prices. The policy also doesn’t apply to the following JCPenney departments: Sephora, Salon, Optical, Portrait or Custom Decorating.
Tip: In order to honor a price match, the department store requires proof of a competitor’s pricing. Photocopies or mobile phone versions may be accepted upon verification, but your safest bet is to bring the original printed advertisement into the store with you.
Read JCPenney’s full Price Matching Policy here.
Best Buy: Nice
Pros: Best Buy promises to match all local retail competitors’ prices, as well as those for products shipped and sold by the following online retailers: Amazon.com, Bhphotovideo.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, HP.com, Newegg.com and TigerDirect.com. Best Buy will also match its own online prices on in-store purchases and vice versa.
Cons: The store’s Price Match Guarantee does not cover any financing offers, bundle offers, mail-in offers, coupon items, refurbished items, pre-owned items, daily deals, credit card offers or gift card offers.
Tip: In light of its exceptions, Best Buy’s price match is perhaps best applied to itself. In fact, you’d be wise to track the price of the item you purchase at Best Buy after you buy it. If Best Buy lowers its price during the return and exchange period, the electronics store promises to match this lower price upon request.
Read Best Buy’s full Price Match Guarantee here.
Newegg: Naughty
Pros: Online electronics retailer Newegg’s Iron Egg Price Guarantee protects you if you find a better price from a competitor within 14 days of your purchase date. If you buy a Newegg item from now through Dec. 24 and find a lower-priced product advertised elsewhere between your date of purchase and Dec. 24, you can send the company a price-matching request via email. If your price match qualifies, you’ll receive a credit in the form of a Newegg promotional gift card.
Cons: This policy only applies to select Newegg products. Additionally, the retailer will only allow one price match per customer, per item.
Tip: Before making a purchase from Newegg, check for the Iron Egg Price Guarantee badge next to the product you’re purchasing. If you don’t see this badge, the price-matching policy won’t apply to that particular item.
Read Newegg’s full Iron Egg Price Guarantee policy here.
Home Depot: Naughty
Pros: Home improvement giant Home Depot doesn’t just guarantee it will match a current lower price on an identical, in-stock item from a local retailer; the store also promises to beat that price by 10 percent.
Cons: Prices must be regular retail prices of competitors — not discontinued or clearance items — in order to be matched in-store. The policy also includes a host of other exclusions, such as special orders, rebates and free offers, open-box merchandise, labor and installation and sales tax. Additionally, online purchases are subject to price match only, not the 10 percent price reduction.
Tip: If you want to price match at Home Depot, do so in-store, not online.
Read Home Depot’s full Low Price Guarantee policy here.
More from U.S. News
12 Habits of Phenomenally Frugal Families
11 Ways to Save Time and Money
10 Strategies From Super-Saver Shoppers
5 Price-Match Policies You Should Read Closely originally appeared on usnews.com
