How I saved $150 price matching in 10 minutes

Let me preface this by saying I had never price matched before in my life. Even though I knew the policies existed, I did it the first time purely out of spite. The last television I bought was out of necessity, not luxury. I needed a replacement after a friend of mine used my last one to catch himself as he was falling, so you can imagine my mood as I walked into the store. Since that day I’ve always checked my phone before buying anything. Here’s my story…

I won’t name the stores I went to on my quest for a new television, (to protect their reputations) so we will call them “Bullseye” and “Good Purchase.” I wasn’t looking for a name brand tv and wasn’t really in a hurry, but I also wasn’t about to pay more than I thought I should for a replacement. I started at Good Purchase as they’re normally my first stop for technology (after online stores of course). Turns out they were having a $100 off sale on the exact television that I had my sights on, but as I got closer, I noticed they were out of stock. My great mood got even better when they told me they wouldn’t be getting any more in stock until after the promotion ended. They also wouldn’t let me pay for one and have it shipped without a manager’s approval, and of course the manager wasn’t in that day. Needless to say I left a bit upset and headed over to Bullseye.

Bullseye ended up having the same exact television in stock, ready to be purchased, at $150 over Good Purchase’s price. To be honest, had I come to Bullseye first, I probably would have bought it and been none the wiser. But I can never bring myself to knowingly throw away money. The next thing I know, over the loud speaker, a prerecorded voice told me how they will beat or match anyone’s price, guaranteed (It’s a sign!). After telling the clerk at the electronics counter the price I had found and asking him if they would be able to match it, I received a solid, “not sure dude,” response. I then pulled out my phone to read up on their policy. The language used was slightly confusing but it turned out this specific policy did match local competitor prices.

After I confirmed their policy and found the sale price officially listed on Good Purchase’s website, I went up to the customer service counter. The staff seemed a bit irked when I asked to price match, though looking back, I am sure they have people trying to pull fast ones on them all the time, and anyone who has worked retail knows how much fun that is. After they confirmed it and got a manager’s approval, I was checked out with relative ease and on my way with huge savings.

Price matching hasn’t always had a great track record. Just three years ago, Consumer World did a piece on how confusing and worthless some store policies were. With the growth of online stores, the retail industry as a whole has gotten even more competitive, which is a win for consumers. The process takes time and knowledge of each specific store’s policy, but if you are looking for a big ticket item and you don’t take some time to check out competitor prices, you could be doing a great disservice to your wallet.