When readers write to us to complain about their experiences with in-store pickup, they’re measuring what actually happened against a sort of retail Platonic ideal. “This item has a different price on your website, retailer!” they expect to say at the register. “You are correct, good sir; let me give you that better price,” the cashier should say, pressing a magical “savvy Internet reader” button on the cash register that unlocks those prices. Alas, this doesn’t happen. Or does it? [More]
price-matching
How Online Price-Matching Would Work In The Best Of All Possible Worlds
By 1.18.13 — Updated: 9.18.14
Why In-Store Pickup Is Kind Of Weird
By 1.17.13 — Updated: 9.18.14
Jeremy blames the strangeness of his recent electrical cord reel puchase on Sears, but nothing about it was peculiar to that retailer. There was a $20 discrepancy in price for the same item online rather than in the store. Now, few stores price-match online retailers or price-match themselves. What they do offer is in-store pickup for your online order. Jeremy took this to its ridiculous but logical conclusion and purchased his item online, then carried it to the pickup area and out the door. [More]
Inventory Error Means I Can’t Make Toys ‘R’ Us Price-Match Itself
By 1.14.13
Sam wanted to take Toys ‘R’ Us up on its price matching policy. He wanted to perform the daring–and generally not allowed–maneuver of asking a store to match its own online-only price. Here’s the catch, though: the item that he wanted should have been available for in-store pickup, so he could order it online and pick it up in the store. The same exact item was sitting in the store inventory. [More]
Target Expands Holiday Online Price-Matching Policy To A Year-Round Thing
By 1.8.13
While some Target customers were confused about the retailer’s holiday price-matching policy, where the store would match online prices on its own items (only if they were in stock online) with store prices, everything is about to become a lot clearer and also, permanent. The retailer announced that it’s not only going to price-match all of its online items, in stock online or no, it’ll also match competitor’s online prices in its brick-and-mortar stores, year-round. [More]
Is Barnes & Noble Hurting Its Stores By Not Price-Matching Its Own Website?
By 12.26.12
Barnes & Noble’s website allows customers to reserve a book for in-store pick-up rather than buy it online, but bn.com does its best to gloss over the fact that you could be charged more for the book at the store, leading to angry customers who use B&N as a showroom for its own website. [More]
How Was Your Price-Matching Experience This Holiday Season?
By 12.24.12
With only a few hours left before most stores close for the Christmas holiday and the only last-minute gift options you have left will be found on the shelves of convenience stores and 24-hour drugstores, it’s now time to reflect on the shopping season that was. [More]
How Not Price-Matching Your Own Website Is Kind Of Inefficient
By 12.20.12
We understand why very few retailers will price-match their own websites. Online and meatspace retail are different markets, and the current system rewards people who are smart enough to order items online for in-store pickup. We guess. You have to admit, though, that the current system is kind of inefficient. That was Brian’s experience at Finish Line, anyway. He wanted a specific jacket, which was $69 online, but a higher sale price, $100, in the store. Only the store couldn’t give him the online price, because That’s Just Not Done. What did he do? He went home and ordered the jacket online. With free shipping. How efficient. [More]
Amazon Lies To Customer, Says Company Doesn’t Set Its Own Prices
By 12.17.12
It’s one thing to tell a customer “no” when he asks for a price-reduction. It’s another to outright lie to try to avoid looking bad in the situation by blaming the manufacturer for your inability to offer the lower price. [More]
Home Depot Employee’s Insider Tips On Price-Matching And Discounts
By 12.7.12
After seeing this 2010 post about a Home Depot customer who had to resort to the “I’m going to Lowe’s” threat in order to get the store to price-match its own website, Consumerist reader and Depot employee Dave wrote in to share his experiences with the company’s price-matching and discounting policies. [More]
Item Is Right On The Walmart Shelf, But Site-To-Store Will Take A Few Days
By 12.3.12 — Updated: 9.18.14
Retailers generally don’t price-match their own websites. Walmart, Sears, Best Buy, Gap, Home Depot… they’re separate operations. Lee didn’t know that, though, and tried to get Walmart to match its online price for the router he wanted. They refused. That’s not worthy of publication on Consumerist, but what happened next is. He whipped out a smartphone and ordered the router sitting on the shelf in front of him for in-store pickup. Hurray! He beat the system! Until an e-mail from Walmart arrived telling him that he could expect to pick up his new router sometime next week. [More]
Will Price-Matching Websites Just Result In More Angry Best Buy & Target Customers?
By 10.18.12
In the last week, both Target and Best Buy have each announced they will match prices on Amazon and other online retailers at their bricks and mortar stores. While the goal is to woo customers into retail stores by taking away the attractive discounts seen online, some wonder if this will result in ticked-off customers standing in line. [More]
Target Follows Best Buy’s Lead, Will Match Online Prices For Holidays
By 10.17.12
Less than a week after Best Buy announced it would be price-matching online competitors this holiday season, the folks at Target declared “us too!” and dove headfirst into the price-matching pond. [More]
Best Buy To Price-Match Online Competitors
By 10.12.12
Best Buy has already said that it intends on dropping its prices on BestBuy.com to better compete against Amazon and other online retailers, but now comes word that the electronics chain plans on actually matching the prices of its online competitors at its bricks-and-mortar stores. [More]
Report: Apple Store Employees Now Allowed To Price-Match iPhones
By 8.10.12
The worst kept secret in telephony is that there is a new Apple iPhone coming in the fall. Thus, some of the big box retailers that offer the current version of the device are starting to offer discounts to clear inventory. Apple stores are not advertising any such price drops, but a new report claims that employees have been given authorization to offer price matches. [More]
Want Verizon FiOS To Price-Match Itself? You Need Imaginary Re-Installation
By 5.8.12
A week after Kyle got Verizon FiOS installed in his new apartment, he saw an ad for a new subscriber deal that was $15 cheaper per month than the two-year contract he had just signed. No problem, then: just call them up and see whether they could price match their own deal. Sure, they could: but only if he canceled his new service, returned all of the equipment, and had the installers come out again to turn the service back on. Well, that’s efficient. [More]
Hotels.com Customer Files Class-Action Suit Over Price Match Guarantee
By 2.22.12
On its website and in its ads, Hotels.com touts its Price Match Guarantee which says the company will match any lower published room rate — so long as the dates, hotel and room category match, and as long as the price match request is made before that hotel’s cancellation date. But one customer says Hotels.com’s policy isn’t so cut-and-dry and has filed a class-action lawsuit. [More]
Target Will Not Price-Match Other Targets
By 2.10.12
Two Target locations, only a short drive apart. One line of dinnerware on clearance. Jordan and his fianc√© registered for dishes that were on clearance at the time. As stock began to disappear from local stores, they decided to just go ahead and buy all of the pieces they could before they disappeared from stores altogether. Oddly, the place settings were cheaper at one store than the other. The ways of retail pricing are mysterious, but what Jordan learned is that buying the same item at the same chain a few miles away doesn’t mean that price-matching is going to happen. [More]
Fry’s Matches Online Retailer Prices! With A Great Big Catch.
By 2.9.12 — Updated: 1.18.13
The good news: Fry’s Electronics will match just about any valid price that you bring in, even if it’s from an online source. Cool! The bad news is that when calculating that price match, they include shipping. Even for Amazon Prime customers like reader Sean, who tried to get Fry’s to price-match a Blu-Ray. So, y’know, just go ahead and order that gadget online like you were going to in the first place. [More]
