Price Matching/Adjustment on Black Friday

[tinkrbel]

I've never attempted this since I've read on here it can be iffy with stores with some Walmarts (I think) even clearing the floor of items on other competitors ads to avoid having to do it. I generally try to order as much as possible online Turkey Day/night and then do the mad dash for whatever else is needed but am open to change. Do you scope out Walmart/Target prior to BF to figure out if they will have same product? I remember reading BF specials have different SKU's/UPC's or packaging and may not be honored at competitor store.

What is everyone's experience with this and will you continue to PM on BF after your experiences?

Edited November 11, 2010 by bigjimslade
updating title with Adjustment

[stationchief]

I can tell ya that any hot items like doorbusters will NOT have the same SKU. Places like Walmart and Best Buy use items with unique model numbers exclusive to their store and that particular sale as to prevent price matchin' of any kind. Ya might be able to price match other items at places like Walmart, but as ya said, it's iffy at best and it all depends on their specific rules they'll release in their ads.

[bigjimslade]

Stationchief is right on money when it comes to PM.

 

Over the last 2 years or so more stores have cracked down on PM and even have added Black Friday and Holiday clauses to their policy. Also there are some stores who leave it up to the local store manager and some store mangers dont care while others do. It is very spotty. My advice is if you want an item then you need to plan, plan plan. Be at the store early and you will get your item. If you PM then do it at your own risk as most stores do frown on PM during black friday.

[tinkrbel]

I'm afraid you two have just repeated what I myself was thinking. One of the other threads makes it seem very feasible like lots of ppl were taking advantage of it so thought I'd ask anyhow.

[noehlp]

A tip if you do choose to price match items: Use a marker and circle the item on the competitor's ad, and then use a sticky tag/note to mark the page. Or you can write down the items on a piece of paper (which page/which ad/etc), but that way takes a bit more time imo. Just have this stuff out and ready once you are in the checkout lane.

When I've PM'd on BF, I've also looked for cashiers that I know have been there for awhile, that way they know what they are doing, and it offers less of a chance they'll need to call the manager over (hence more time in line for me, and anyone behind me).

 

Also, like StationChief and BigJim said, PMing is getting harder and harder to accomplish on the great buys on BF.

[AndreaInNC]

I know that Walmart will still PM on Black Friday - but they are very careful. Like if Store X is running a sale from 5am til 10am and you are at a 24 hour Walmart - they will not PM until 5am on the dot.

[starbeck96]

I need to ask our local Walmart and see if they will PM for us. The closest Target and Kmart is about 45 minutes away.

[sweetdiggity]

There are many exceptions but plenty of items can be price matched. I always price match simple things like board games, etc, but doorbusters probably wouldn't work so I don't even try.

[emilyjp]

I was able to price match some Target doorbusters at Walmart last year. I just had to make sure the add matched the items exactly.

[delphernina]

I've never had any trouble pricematching anything at Wal-mart. I've gotten some really great deals. I just make sure to follow thier rules, no bogo, no % off etc. A couple of times a manager had to come over, but even then things worked smoothly.

[amyers12345]

I've never had any trouble with it, and I've been doing it for 10+ years. And contrary to Station Chief's post, there are many doorbusters available. As long as the item matches, they will pricematch it. SKUs aren't always printed in the ads, therefore they have no way of knowing if it's 100% identical. Some of the doorbusters are store specific brands or bundle packages, which cannot be pricematched, but many others can. I picked up my camcorder a couple of years ago that was a BB doorbuster at Walmart. I was only able to find one WM that carried it, so some items will be YMMV

 

We've never had any problem with WM pulling items off of the shelf either.

 

If I couldn't PM, I wouldn't do BF. The stores in the city are so packed that I wouldn't get doorbusters anyways. I PM games, electronics, toys, SD cards, DVDs, etc.

[tinkrbel]

. I picked up my camcorder a couple of years ago that was a BB doorbuster at Walmart. I was only able to find one WM that carried it, so some items will be YMMV

So you check the store(s) out a few days before BF to see who has what?

[amyers12345]

yeah- it's one of the main reason to get the ads early! Just check out your stores to see what's what and where it's located. It's not like BF stuff and only shows up that morning.

 

That gives you extra time to make your game plan. Remember when pm-ing that you can only pricematch during the other store's sale ads. If you are wanting something that Best Buy has from 6:00-10:00, you have to purchase it at Walmart between those hours. Also, you might want to find a good hiding place for some things, in case your store does do that 'pulling from shelves' thing.

[KBsDarling]

I too have been able to PM with very little issues PLUS the last few years WM has put it as their ad campaign that they will be beating OR will pm any other stores for you have more time with family vs running from store to store (remember the ads now?)

[stationchief]

Good to hear soo many people have been able to take advantage of PM-ing and avoidin' all the line headaches. But, then again, what's fun about BF if ya don't camp out overnite?

 

We'll have to see exactly what the corporate dudes/dudettes at Walmart do this year. From what I understand everyone's been tryin' to cut down on the PM-ing for BF. Whether they allow it or not may have more to do with your specific store and the management there. But, as I said before, don't expect too many cheap laptops or cheap HDTVs unless you're a line camper. Stores are tricky to make sure ya can't get the hot items by PM.

 

BTW ... just outta curiosity, does anyone know if Walmart allows PM-ing of BF items found online?

[lukesmom01]

Well, I do know they will not PM walmart.com prices on non BF stuff. At least my Walmart won't.

[laddhorn]

Remember also that Target will allow you to get money back on a previous purchase if it is lower in the ad. I have used this to my advantage several times to get Target doorbuster items without the lines. Just make SURE it is the correct item in the ad and you can purchase it up to a week in advance, run in there after you are done shopping and get the difference back. It would be just like you waited in line to get them!

[laddhorn]

 

BTW ... just outta curiosity, does anyone know if Walmart allows PM-ing of BF items found online?

Probably not. I've never seen them PM anything online...ever. I don't think they even PM Walmart.com

[stationchief]

Just thought I'd chime in one more time here. Folks, make ABSOLUTELY sure the item ya wanna price match in the ad matches the item ya wanna price match it with, includin' the exact model number. Walmart and Best Buy are notorious for havin' HP/Compaq laptops and other HDTVs in their ads that have model numbers that end in either 'wm' fo WalMart or 'b' for BB. Those you won't be able to PM anywhere because the model numbers won't match up. If it doesn't state any store specific model number, you're good.

[speeddiva]

I need to ask our local Walmart and see if they will PM for us. The closest Target and Kmart is about 45 minutes away.

 

Our WM will only PM stores within a 20 mile radius....which sucks because they have NO competiton within those boundaries.

[Gporter34]

I have never had any problems pm'ing at WM on BF. Our WM pm's all store within a 100 mile radius. I take all of the ads with me and make sure that I am careful about times and special packaging at other stores. They are very particular about things like that.

[starbeck96]

Our WM will only PM stores within a 20 mile radius....which sucks because they have NO competiton within those boundaries.

We have a Fred's,Piggly Wiggly, Family Dollar, and Dollar General with in 3 miles of each other. Other than that we have a grocery store that is about 13 miles away and I know they will pm that. I am going to ask if they will PM stores from about 50 miles up the road or not. Because I know that it is left up to the manager at each store.

[amyers12345]

Good to hear soo many people have been able to take advantage of PM-ing and avoidin' all the line headaches. But, then again, what's fun about BF if ya don't camp out overnite?

 

We'll have to see exactly what the corporate dudes/dudettes at Walmart do this year. From what I understand everyone's been tryin' to cut down on the PM-ing for BF. Whether they allow it or not may have more to do with your specific store and the management there. But, as I said before, don't expect too many cheap laptops or cheap HDTVs unless you're a line camper. Stores are tricky to make sure ya can't get the hot items by PM.

 

BTW ... just outta curiosity, does anyone know if Walmart allows PM-ing of BF items found online?

Last year, Walmart ran a full ad campaign regarding the pm-ing. I searched youtube for a commercial, but I can't find it. Best Buy excludes it on BF.

 

Did you know that it's part of Walmart's PM policy to swap generic for generic? For example, if WM carries an off brand of electronics, such as their old 'Symphonic' brand, you can pricematch it with a Best Buy exclusive 'generic' item.

 

As far as the online PM, they don't. They usually won't PM printed ads either, but ours did last year. I was FLOORED. Because we are so rural, we get the newspaper full of scrap ads. We didn't get TRU. A friend took in the print out and got her stuff PM-ed. They said they were allowed to because there were so few ads out to comp.

Edited September 8, 2010 by amyers12345

[tinkrbel]

I do remember the price matching ads last year but to be honest didn't really NEED anything last year. Bought most stuff online and I think Walmart was the craziest of the stores I dropped by. I've never known stores to price match online prices even for their own store. I think walmart website actually says it will not price match an online item instore.

[amyers12345]

Sorry if I was unclear- they won't match their own online prices. Ours matched the printed ads, not online sales- sorry!

[glm777]

Just be sure you find out in advance if they will do price adjusting. Last year I wanted 2 TVs so I called the Target in my town a few days before BF and asked about price adjusting. They adamantly told me that they would NOT be price adjusting on BF. So I called the Target in the next town and they were happy to tell me they would absolutely price adjust as long as I went in to get the adjustment during the time the item was on sale. I always get the name of the person who tells me yes and ask if they will be in during that time. If they won't be there I ask to speak to someone who will be there during that time. This way if there is any question, I have a contact person to go to. I also usually ask for that contact person the day I actually buy the item and confirm that they will price adjust - this way they usually remember me on BF if there's a problemWorks for me every time.

 

Remember also that Target will allow you to get money back on a previous purchase if it is lower in the ad. I have used this to my advantage several times to get Target doorbuster items without the lines. Just make SURE it is the correct item in the ad and you can purchase it up to a week in advance, run in there after you are done shopping and get the difference back. It would be just like you waited in line to get them!

[mcwalker]

Regarding price adjusting, I did this at a small Sears store two years ago. I went into the store late Wednesday just planning to scope it out. They had just one of the doorbuster Sony BluRay players I wanted, so I asked if they would price adjust. The Manager said sure as long as I returned during the doorbuster hours, so I bought the item and returned on BF before the doorbuster hours ended for a refund of the difference. I was free to focus first on other stores on BF.

[digman6]

I guess our Walmart is one that likes to make things difficult. she said I had to bring the actual item with me not just the reciept from the day before. she really tiicked me off. i went and found it in the store for the sale price i did want bought it. I then went and returned it with the recipet from the day before. wonder how she liked that lol .

[sherril]

last 2 yrs ive had problems pm on BF at WM. it really sucks too.

[hkchik]

Is there an official list of stores that adjust prices? I think this year I will either need to be able to do some price adjusting, split myself into three, or give up some items we want...

Thanks!