Today’s topic is one of those kind of underground, let’s not talk about it topics. I don’t know why – I mean if I get a stellar sale on something I can’t stop talking about it – but if I price match something I’m all quite in the corner, whistling to myself like I didn’t do anything.
But no more! Today we’re going to dive right in and then we’re going to brag about it in the same manner we would if we got grass-fed beef for 75% off! Wait, side track for a moment: has anyone ever gotten grass-fed beef for 75% off? If so – tell me! I love money saving stories 😉
And you – yes you, don’t be all “paleo items normally can’t be price matched” and walk away – I know we can’t normally price match beef or eggs or coffee – BUT if you price match that new dishwasher you need with a store that you can get reward points for or not have to pay shipping for or pay installation for – then you’re saving on the price of the dishwasher + extra! That cash then in turn gets you more bacon, avocados and coffee. So pretty much, think of price matching as your bacon, avocado, coffee fund.
Depending on your store and it’s policies you can price match anything that’s {normally} name brand. The name brand thing is kind of key – you can’t generally price match X store’s, store brand product with the same store brand product from Z store. It’s got to be the same brand, the same size, same everything — just different prices. And most of the time if you’re doing a store – to – store price match, the stores need to be within a so many mile radius {unless it’s an online to in-store price match. Then it doesn’t matter!}! Just check with your store about it’s policies and what stores/websites they will price match for!
Before I give some tips + tricks on price matching let me show any example of why I love doing it and really think you should too — Mr. POAB wanted to get a video game for the PC, it’s normally $60.00 and we weren’t willing to drop that much for it {despite the game being 100% worth it, trust me 😉 }. So we did some research as to what our options were – keep in mind we also had a game to trade in** to help offset the cost!
– Walmart.com: had the game for $40.00, couldn’t use the video game trade in
– GameStop: was going to give us $23.00 for the game we were going to trade in + I had a $5.00 coupon from my rewards card. But they don’t price match
– Bestbuy: Will price match Walmart.com’s $40.00 price tag + offer me $23.00 trade in for my game + an extra 30% on the trade in value as part of a current promotion they’re doing.
We ended up going to get the game at BestBuy, here’s how the math worked out in the end:
+ $60.00 Game
– $40.00 Price Match
– $23.00 Video Game Trade In
– $6.90 Extra 30% for Video Game Trade In
Final Price: $10.10 + best buy reward zone points
I’m still giddy over this – but it’s a true story I promise, I spent $10.10 out of pocket for a $60.00 game simply because I did my research and PRICE MATCHED. If I didn’t price match the game would have been $30.10 with the trade in – which is still a good deal, but not as good as $10.10! This is one of the main reason I will always be a fan of price matching – I saved myself $50.00 and all it cost me was 10 minutes of research online and a trip to bestbuy!
Now that you’re as giddy as I am over price matching, here are some tips to price matching successfully and with minimal headaches:
• Check with someone in the store before checking out if they’ll price match X item before going to the register. And if what they’re telling you sounds fishy then look up their policy on their website before checking out – You can also just call ahead {like I did with BestBuy} if that’s easier!
• Have proof of the sale – this is SO important! Either bring the circular in or pull up the listing on your phone! If you’re pulling it up on your phone, it might be helpful to have it already pulled up – because I have zero cell service in some stores {coughtargetcough} – so I like to have it ready to go before getting there to save me the headache of having to walk out, pull it up and then going back in.
And here’s a tip: Don’t take a screen shot to show them, they need to see a live listing to ensure it’s a current deal!
• When you reach the check out be ready to go – it makes life way easier if you’re ready to go with the price matching business when you get to the register, it also makes for happy sales clerics – which in turn makes me happy 🙂
• Most smaller websites won’t price match – but if it’s a really good deal and you only want to shop on X website, get a hold of their customer service and see if they can help you out! I had this one instance where I was buying USBs for my photography business and I really wanted to go with one company, but a different company gave me a much better price for them – so I let them know, and they ended up almost completely matching the cheaper price! Win for everyone!
• Amazon.com will actually price match some items – check out their policy here for more information
• DON’T feel bad about price matching – a lot of times we almost feel bad price matching – but don’t, treat it the same as you would a coupon. It’s their to help you save money and time!
• Get creative – if you use something like enjoy life chocolate chips or bob red mill’s products and it’s cheaper on amazon.com or at a store that you hate going to, see if your favorite store will price match it for you!
So that’s it – that’s my Price Matching Story. Really good one yeah? So go out there, price match then come back here and leave me a comment telling me all about it!
Happy Friday!
xoxox
Liz-
** Note: The game was a newer game, which is why we got such a high trade in value for it, if you try to do something like this and your game isn’t within the last 6 months new you more than likely won’t get as good of a trade in deal! So just be aware that how old the game is plays a huge factor in the trade in value – for example, I have fable 2 for the xbox 360 and it’s trade in value is $2.00 on a good day!
Leave a Reply