Know the price-matching policies for Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others

Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new pair of headphones, an OLED TV, or a laptop just to find out that you could have gotten it for a lot cheaper somewhere else. That's why, in order to keep customers happy and prevent them from going elsewhere, many retailers offer price-matching policies in which they promise to match a lower price found elsewhere. That kind of information comes in handy no matter the time of year, but it's especially helpful during shopping events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon's upcoming Prime Day event - aka Prime Big Deal Days - which kicks off on October 8th.

What follows are the price-matching policies for a variety of major retailers. There are a few things to make note of here. First, all price-matching policies have a number of rules attached to them. We've summarized some of the rules here, but we recommend going to the links that we've provided and reading the policies carefully. Second, most retailers that serve as marketplaces for other sellers, such as Costco and Sam's Club, don't have price-matching policies, and many traditional stores won't match their prices.

Lastly, there are always exceptions to the rules. If you're looking for a deal on a product and you know it's available for a lower price elsewhere (or it was previously offered at the same retailer), it never hurts to call or chat with a customer service rep and ask if they'll match the price. You have nothing to lose but time, and there's always a chance they may find a loophole or make a special exception.

Amazon

Amazon doesn't offer price matching. Full stop. You can contact customer support, but even if you're an Amazon Prime customer, they're not likely going to help you out.

That said, Amazon does offer a pretty liberal return policy, meaning you can often return an item you purchased from Amazon if it's available for less elsewhere (or at Amazon). Then, you can just repurchase the product wherever it's cheapest.

Target