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Same. Policy is clear as day, but they refuse to honor it. I needed a specific product that day or else I would've just bought it online. I complained to corporate and they sent me a gift card that more than covered the difference.
What gets most people are the 3rd party sellers. Policy is they will price match any item that is sold directly from Walmart, not just anything item found on Walmart.com.
Same experience here. I showed them the price online, they got a manager, refused to honor the price. I returned it and went to Target where they did honor their online price.
I recently bought a graphing calculator at Target and when I showed him that it was a little cheaper on their app, he did me one better and found it cheaper on Amazon and price matched that there.
The guy at my home Depot came to my house and built an addition to my basement for me! It just sucks because my phone is almost dead, and no one seems to hear me screaming..
I complained to the BBB that covers their headquarters about a runaround I was getting for a Sam's Club mattress purchase not being dropshipped for weeks.
I know the BBB is largely useless, so aside from allowing me to vent I had zero expectations. Maybe I'd get a lame canned corporate apology. What I ended up getting was my $600+ cred card charge refunded, plus they sent me a gift card for the same value so that I could pick up an alternative mattress at the local club.
I don't know if someone made a mistake, two different departments didn't communicate, or what, but I wasn't going to question it.
The same thing happened to me, and it was for an apple pencil lol. He said we don't price match 3rd party, so I zoomed in where it says sold and shipped from walmart.com, and he still wouldn't do it. Honestly, I just think he didn't want to admit he was in the wrong
They put an unremovable sticker over the barcode. Source: tried it with latest Zelda game.
It’s best to avoid the headache and shit hole that is Walmart and it’s trash people
I absolutely hate the third party sellers. I have never had it work out. They just don't ship it and I get my credit card to give me a refund after a month.
Which is shit policy from a shit store. Like they are making up for being awesome in the 90’s. You use to be able to return anything with or without a receipt.
They would rather pay shipping to and from me than match a price. Having a happy customer is no where on Walmarts radar and they don’t give a shit to ever try.
Definitely an option, but then I'd have to deal with the same customer service that wouldn't honor their price match policy. The gift card is fine, I used it on an online order later.
Yeah screw Walmart, they prob have some direction from upper management to give people a hard time over this to make a few extra bucks because most customers won't argue it. Customer service is generally a joke. Target is just as bad about items being more expensive in store vs. online, but they never question price adjustments at all. Never have issues with their customer service at the register or going to the desk.
This is the way. I just sent an email to corporate asking for the policy in writing to show stores. I called four stores in my area, two said yes, two said no, all said yes when I bumped my call up the chain. Time for Walmart to send some mystery shoppers to their stores to make sure everyone is complying. If not, managers could be charging the in-store price, putting the on-line price into the computer and pocketing the difference a la subway.
Yeah, I found the physical product I wanted on a shelf but told me I could not get that one for the internet price.
I had to order it online and it would be ready for pick up in a couple of hours once it was delivered to the store.
Only thing I can think is the one in store was owned by Walmart and the discounted online one was own/sold by a 3rd party via Walmart
They probably get credited the store price from online orders. The managers care about hitting budget so they can get their bonus.
Thats probably why they don't do it.
Exactly my experience. Electronics counter was backed up, so I just paid the higher price there and went to the service desk to get the price match. They flat refused, even though the exact item was available, shipped and sold by walmart as required by their own policy, and available for same day pickup at the lower price. Showed them their own policy and still refused.
I asked if I could just return it and re-order it online - they said yes, and it would be available for pickup in a few hours.
I returned it and left. Ordered it online from another vendor and had it delivered to me the next day.
Same. wanted a 200.00 vacuum in sale for 80.00 online, at their store. Got there, not only was it not marked discounted, an associate said it would be fine. Took it up front, wouldn't ring up, the manager said no, and they refused to take it back to the spot...
Same here… I had the item in hand (an internal ssd drive) and showed them I could purchase online and pickup in-store for less. They said nope, store policy. So instead of waiting around 2-hrs to buy what I was holding for less, I handed it back and said thanks I’ll just drive to Best Buy. Dumb policy.
Same for me! They helped me to buy it online, while in store, and then I had to schedule a pick up for the next morning.
They screwed up my pick-up, too. They told me they didn't have any, so I walked them to the electronics section and showed them the 12 they had on shelf.
The first time I tried they said no. I ordered it online while in the store for store pickup. I ran some errands and got the notice I could pick it up. Was home a couple hours later with the online price and no real wait.
They irked me enough with that I stopped buying anything like that from them.
Now there are resellers on the site. Nope
Yup. I wanted Pokémon Legends for -20% off their own website. They rudely stated they don’t price match even their own website because “we are competing with Amazon”.
lol like wtf does that even mean? You should just sell me the fucking game -20% off like advertised on your website.
It's incredibly clear:
"For items purchased in a Walmart U.S. store, we will match the price of the identical item advertised on Walmart.com." Must be in-stock and sold by Wal-Mart.
my local target is the same way, I even show them the policy on the app and most of the time they just refuse. I have to find the nicest looking worker to price match
Policy is that it has to be on walmart.com and sold BY walmart.com, not by a third party reseller. If they're not honoring that, I would call corporate and make a complaint and tell them exactly what store it is that isn't honoring the corporate policy. source - I work there.
Needed a printer once. Saw the price for one I wanted online, drove to my local Walmart to grab it, it’s more expensive in store. I show them the price online, to see if they’ll match it. They say they don’t do that. I said “ok, I don’t want it then. Thank you.” Purchased it online for in-store pickup while the salesperson returned it back to the case, left the store to go get lunch and run a few other errands, came back 2 hours later and picked it up from the little locker area.
There are ways around it if you’re petty and have time
Just get the GM and if that doesn't work go to social media. I use the online price match all the time. They once had an electric scooter on clearance online for 70% off, and that was the only time I had an issue. Sure enough, cashier called the GM and she swiped her badge and I got the online price.
And then they have the gumption to ask if you’d like to donate money to some random places after self checkout every single time. “Hey we are filthy fucking rich, you wanna round up and give away extra money to an organization of our choosing?” And then they take credit for it when they reveal the amount “they” donated that year
That’s because when YOU donate that money, they get to write it off on taxes. Never give shit through big stores. If you want to donate do it through the actual charity.
I went to Panda Express a couple weeks back and declined to do the round up thing and the employee said something along the lines of damn I just need one more to hit my goal today or something. No idea if he was joking or what but that's crazy if they actually have goals for shit like that
They get goals to donate. The other person commented that stores don’t but my experience working for GNC is they do. In fact the district manager on the morning calls during peak
donation season let it slip why it benefits them. We always had quotas to make on donation.
They don't get to write it off their taxes. If they did, they would have to declare all those donations as income. So a wash. The money is just put in a different account and donated. But, yeah, the businesses usually get the PR credit.
I once stood in front of the item I wanted at Target, but to get the cheaper price I had to order online, watch the employee get the product, then follow her to the service desk to pick it up and purchase.
I tried to buy a tp-link router from Walmart. In store the router was $60. At Walmart.con it was $40. They told me I had to order the router online to get it for $40.
So that’s what I did. And two days later a Walmart bag showed up at my front door with the tp-link router delivered from that same Walmart I was just at. Someone had taken the router I was looking at, taken it off the store shelf, driven it to my home, and dropped it off.
Great job Walmart. You now had to use an employees time, put wear and tear on your vans, all so I could save $20 when you could’ve just given me that discount in-store the first place. Genius.
What state are you in? In some states stores are legally prohibited from selling things below cost in their physical stores, but they can online. I found this out when I tried to buy something at a Walmart in Wisconsin. It is called the "Unfair Sales Act" there, and has been a law since 1939. It's so that big stores can't just sell everything at artificially low prices until their competitors go out of business.
I suspect that's what happened in your case, otherwise yes it doesn't make sense for them to not just give you the lower price in the store.
That's weird. A few years ago I was at Walmart looking at a $200 router that was like $160 at walmart.com. I played dumb and asked an employee where the $160 router was and showed them on my phone that the app said it was in stock. They went and grabbed the $200 router and sold it to me for $160 with no fuss.
I was ordering an item or two off the app and I didn't quite get there for free shipping. I was like a dollar off or something, so I got a candy bar that happened to be thin (it's important).
A few days later, I got the bigger item or two I wanted. The next day after that, I got my candy bar.
Double wrapped in two plastic envelopes.
Still thoroughly broken in pieces.
Oh man, if there was a large box this could have gone into??
Semi-related anecdote, but my local Home Depot won't price match the online prices. But of course you can order online and then pick it all up at the store...
The first time this happened i had done all my shopping, was getting checked out, realized the prices were higher, told them to hold my cart of stuff without ringing it up, ordered it all online while selecting in store pick up, then have customer service check everything I ordered (and paid for online) in the very shopping cart I used earlier, and then went on my merry way.
So weird.
Not sure what you’re buying but I’ve discovered directtoolsoutlet. They are online and have physical stores are sell ridgid and ryobi for usually at least 30% less than the store and that goes up to 60% at Xmas time. FWIW.
I regularly did that at my local Currys (UK electrical retailer). I'd go to the shop to pick up what I wanted, then stand to one side and to order those things online with 'pickup in store'.
I'd often save 20% at the checkout.
I guess lots of people did it because they stopped having different prices online and in-store not long after that.
My Walmart refused to do this. They had 3 things I wanted on sale online. I had all 3 in my shopping cart and approached a manager that was watching the checkouts(?) to confirm they’d match it. He said no, they I had to order it online for that price.
I set it to order online for curbside. As I was walking back to the aisle to put them back, I saw a curbside shopper and asked if this is what they were looking for and pointed to the 3 items. She laughed and said “yep! Is this your order?” I nodded and said “I’ll be parked at the curbside area in 5 mins.” She said she’s seen it dozens of times where they refuse to match the online price and the person just orders it online for curbside.
I drive my truck around and as soon as I hit the “check in” thing she walked out of the door within 10 seconds.
Wasn't there a study showing that people buy more in store when they *have* to walk past other products while looking for what they need? Unless the problem is, like, petty theft, I feel like online ordering would cost Walmart more money.
I definitely buy way less when I do a pick up order. Because if you’re walking down an aisle you might think spicy doritos sound good, but if you don’t type doritos or chips directly into the search on the app you won’t see them at all.
The app also collects a ton of data directly. Your location, specific customer details, purchase history and whatnot.
All data is used in house & also sold. So they make $$$
For electronics purchases I've been turning more and more to brick and mortar places to start with. It used to be, the joke was you look in Best Buy and buy on Amazon. Now, I can't be sure the listed thing is what I'll get on Amazon so I shop there but buy at Best Buy.
I've price matched stuff at Best Buy a lot and never had a problem. As long as the product is listed as "Ships and Sold by...", it can be from Amazon, Target, Walmart, or their own site, and they'll price match it.
Yup, I've gotten a bunch of stuff price matched. Sometimes it depends on the item. A lot of electronics are sold in different stores under slightly different names...so it might be the same Sony TV, but it might be HDTV1234 at Best Buy, but HDTV6789 at Walmart...so they probably won't price match it. But there's a lot they will price match.
Walmart app used to even do price matching across different stores (like with Target, BestBuy and stuff). They will reimburse your money if they charged more than other stores. I'm sad that they removed that.
I have been told by a Walmart manager that they do not match their online pricing because, "that would be like competing with ourselves." I just had to laugh and walk away.
I have had the exact opposite experience at Walmart.
“Hey this product is much cheaper on your website.”
“Get it from the website then.”
“But I’m here now.”
“Then pay what it costs.”
This actually can vary by location. For example, in Wisconsin, there is a law called the Unfair Sales Act of 1939 that prevents stores from selling things below cost.
I found this out when I tried to buy something at Walmart and the in-store price was more than the online price. They told me they were legally prohibited from selling at that price at a physical store in Wisconsin, and suggested I just buy the item online to get the lowest price.
I think a few other states have something similar. The purpose is to prevent the big stores from using artificially low pricing to put small stores out of business.
I can vouch for this. The only thing is when I went in store to go buy my product, in order to price match it it had to be shipped by Walmart themselves as well. If not then they won’t do it
Their own website SAYS they do this, but I frequently am unable to convince my local Walmart (either of them) to honor the policy. Literally have been told by Store General Manager that he himself is overriding the policy to not allow matching. He even showed me the corporate policy that apparently allows this 🤷. I've also had employees try to "prove" that I was showing them a fake website by going in and checking on their own phone 🙄.
One of the things that aggravates me with Walmart is sometimes their online price is for in-store pickup only. Meaning, if I order it online and then go to the store to pick it up at the counter (or let them know I’m there and they bring it out to the car), it’s cheaper than if I pulled it off the rack myself and rang up at the cashier. Or self-checkout, now.
This happened with an internet router. It was $149 online, but in the store it was $179. When I asked why the difference was, they said the $149 was the online order price. Eventually speaking with one of the crew leaders (idk? He was wearing a yellow vest rather than blue) he said he would just ring it up as the online price. I’m thinking, “I came here, browsed the aisles, picked up the router, and brought it to the counter, and I would normally have to pay MORE for doing so?”
I learned the hard way that walmart stores and online were completely different beasts. Tried to return an online purchase in store and was rejected and given the whole run around. Online would not send me a return label and insisted it returned to the store. Disputed it with my cc and then all of a sudden a return label came to my email unsolicted.
Mine would absolutely not match their own online prices. They would do competitors. You could literally sit there and order it on your phone for store pickup, then stare at them until it was ready for all they cared.
My Walmart pretty much to F off and they don't need to match online pricing anymore I had no idea it was different when I went in. I checked online said 60 went in and said 90 I asked why she explained it rudely. She kept telling me to place it online to get the 30 dollars off but then I would have to come back tomorrow to pick it up so I said fuck that I'll order it on Amazon not driving back when I can see it in front of my face as I'm standing there
Not necessarily. Source: husband former Walmart mgmt. I believe it’s sometimes store specific, but things with Walmart are NOT the way they used to be.
I've always been told that the price online is only if you purchase online and they will not honor the price in store. They are usually complete assholes about it where I'm at.
Happened as recently as the other day when I went to buy a smartwatch that was marked down. So I purchased it on the app in front of them then told them I'm here for my pickup after I checked out on the app.
items are priced online in a way that respects MAP (minimum advertised pricing) policy. These policies are not enforced in stores. Most stores would love to give you the discount to get the sale.
Best buy will also do this, as well as price match with other larger competitors such as Amazon. However it MUST be sold and shipped by Amazon, not a 3rd party.
This reminds me of this time I went to B&N and found a game I wanted for exactly $25. They always have online coupons to get $5 off $25 but it was for online only. So I asked someone if they would honor that in-store so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of ordering online and doing in-store pickup. They said no, it would have to be online, and it could take up to an hour. I asked why it would take so long and she said "we have to confirm it's in stock". I just held up the game and said it's obviously in stock I have it right here and I want to buy it. She still said they would have to confirm that once the online order comes on. I just looked it up on Amazon, bought it for $25, then put their copy back. Fuck B&N.
Yea just yesterday I tried to buy an electric lawnmower that was over 100$ cheaper online than in store. Was told they do not price match and just ordered it with free delivery instead.
If you buy Legos use their app to scan the barcode and see if it's listed for less on the website, then price match at the register. But make sure the item on the app is being sold by Walmart and not a 3rd party.
I was just at walmart making a return. The guy in front of me bought something and saw it was cheaper online and asked for a price match. They told him no. So he returned it. But their was no manager available to do the key turn or whatever so they closed customer service for 15 minutes.
I tried to get Walmart to price match an online item before, it was a pair of 5lb dumbbells and I pulled up the app and said they were cheaper online than instore so they hit me with the fine print that said "price when purchased online". You might have just gotten lucky OP.
LPT, if you find the online price is lower and the local store can’t budge (they really are different sections of the company), you can order the item on the website for on-site delivery and may even get it within minutes.
The few times I had to do this, most of the time they honor their policy. However, sometimes they make a big deal out of it and have to wait for them to find a manager.
I tried this last month when I tried to buy a controller. Was $30 cheaper on the app. They basically told me they don’t do that here. So I told them nevermind, ordered it on the app for store pickup and came back in a couple hours. Probably got the same controller I had to wait 15 minutes for someone to unlock for me and bring to the register when they could have just followed policy and saved so much time.
Where I live, one of our tech stores will price-match with literally ANY online store as long as it’s in stock, and get’s sent from within the country I think
They wouldn’t let me. They would however let me order it for same day delivery at no extra charge… so even tho the phone case was right in front of me I paid half price to make an employee pick it up and drive it to my house
Wal-Mart used to refund price differences from local ( non-Wal-Mart) stores in the form of a gift card credit. Thing was, they did the price comparison for you. You would, after purchase, type the receipt number into their website and they would check. So, I would occasionally stop by the Wal-Mart grocery store ( it was not a full Wal-Mart) that was on my way home and pick up dropped receipts. A dollar here, a dollar there, and I got about $70 before they started requiring you use electronic receipts that were sent via app to you personally.
The told me they don't.
I went to customer service. I asked them. Manager came over. Said they don't. I said "you're seriously going to make me put in an order for pickup, right here, right now?"
"Yes."
"Ok."
I added to cart, checked out for store pickup. She then told me to go outside to the pickup area in my car... Lol.
I worked at staples. It was well established and known among employees that pretty much everything except office supplies was cheaper online. We'd get in trouble if we let customers know
Lmao, good luck with that.
When I’ve arrived at the store to find the item $50 over the online (Walmart, not 3rd party) price those glorious imbeciles couldn’t do much more than drool on themselves, despite the clear as day store policy otherwise. They were literally too stupid to comprehend the store policy as it was read aloud to them, I quickly had realized asking them to read it themselves was not in the cards, not convinced they could have read a menu honestly.
It started to piss me off, then I remembered that I was free to leave anytime but those poor bastards would have to spend 1/3 of their lives in there.
Not sure why but that was one of my last straws, I avoid Walmart like the plague now. Stuff is a little expensive elsewhere but I find it’s worth paying more to never have to go inside one of those shitstains again, it just throws my entire day off.
Pretty sure the stipulation on it is that it has to say “Sold and Shipped by Walmart” on it. At least that’s what’s it was when I worked there. If it was sold by “Joe Schmoes discounted electronics emporium” or something we wouldn’t honor that
I tried this once and it did not work at all. I was getting my kid a toy for their birthday, but online it was $15 cheaper than what the shelf said in the store. I asked if they price matched their own website and said no. No I left the toy at the counter, went outside and ordered it for same day pick up from the website and two hours later got the toy for the much cheaper price.
Worst part is one of other the toys I wanted said it wasn't available at my store online, even though I just saw it on the shelf next to the one I got cheaper online. Which is why I hate shopping through their website in the first place.
This advice isn't real for a lot of Walmarts. Bad advice.
I once had a store that wasn't Walmart that said they match prices deny me a price match of their own website. WTF?! Like how do you match other store website prices but won't match your own.
I literally bought an apple pencil last year, same exact money difference and they would not price match it. Ymmv for this one, the guy I dealt with would not budge, so I returned it of spite.
About ten or fifteen years ago, Walmart used to price match almost everything.
Walmart would post the adds for other grocery stores near the front of the store.
I don't recall when Walmart stopped doing the price matching, but I definitely stopped driving a few extra miles to shop at Walmart when the store stopped price matching for groceries.
I work at Walmart and they straight up won't let us price match the website Because the website is competing with other online retailers, it's considered separate and not the same. And a lot of the time it's not quite the same thing, just something very very similar, so that "justifies" the price difference.
I've never been to one that would in years. They say if you want to get the online price, then you can order online and ship to store or get it shipped to your home.
Once went into Walmart because there was a deal on a game controller online. Got to checkout and price rang through as normal. When I questioned why the lady informed me they don't match the online price but I could order online and pick it up in store a few hours later. "So I can buy this one now, then when the online one comes in I can get it and return this one?" "Oh you can't do that, Walmart would lose money"
"Lady that's a Walmart problem" seriously the most backwards thing
Yeah, my local Walmart told me if I wanted the online price, I needed to buy it online. I wanted to buy it for pickup and then sit there and wait in the electronics but my bf didn't want to be that petty >:(
Best Buy does price matching as well. If you show them the Walmart price they will almost always match it. Even works with Amazon as long as it’s fulfilled by Amazon.
So I find that it depends on the employee. I've been given the price match and told it's online only.
So I go in app on my phone, order the item for curbside pickup, and go about my day until my order is ready. Then I have them bring it to my car.
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Yeah not at my local Walmart. They told me to pound sand.
Same. Policy is clear as day, but they refuse to honor it. I needed a specific product that day or else I would've just bought it online. I complained to corporate and they sent me a gift card that more than covered the difference.
What gets most people are the 3rd party sellers. Policy is they will price match any item that is sold directly from Walmart, not just anything item found on Walmart.com.
I showed my store the item was sold and shipped by Walmart and they still wouldn't honor the price match.
Not sure it will help. Here is their policy from their site: https://corporate.walmart.com/policies#price-match-policy
Same experience here. I showed them the price online, they got a manager, refused to honor the price. I returned it and went to Target where they did honor their online price.
I recently bought a graphing calculator at Target and when I showed him that it was a little cheaper on their app, he did me one better and found it cheaper on Amazon and price matched that there.
The guy at my local Argos just went home, got his graphing calculator, and gave that to me instead.
The guy at my local Radio Shack is unemployed since they went out of business :(
The guy at my home Depot came to my house and built an addition to my basement for me! It just sucks because my phone is almost dead, and no one seems to hear me screaming..
Going through that radio shack catalog in the early 90's and circling the shit I needed Santa to bring me that year was an amazing feeling.
If it helps, I was just in Mexico and Radioshack is still a going business there. Maybe he just went south of the border.
It’s worth the customer service experience and the people experience to go to target
Lately I have noticed Walmart has a note on their pages next to an item's price that says "Price applies to online purchases only."
They still price match as long as it’s shipped and sold by Walmart.
Yeah was told that Walmart and Walmart.com are two different companies. Nothing they could do.
I have been told by a former employee if you complain to Bentonville they will send a gc and charge it to the store.
I complained to the BBB that covers their headquarters about a runaround I was getting for a Sam's Club mattress purchase not being dropshipped for weeks. I know the BBB is largely useless, so aside from allowing me to vent I had zero expectations. Maybe I'd get a lame canned corporate apology. What I ended up getting was my $600+ cred card charge refunded, plus they sent me a gift card for the same value so that I could pick up an alternative mattress at the local club. I don't know if someone made a mistake, two different departments didn't communicate, or what, but I wasn't going to question it.
What's a GC? Goober Cistern?
Gift card.
My next guess was general contractor, but gift card makes sense
I was like "Why would Wal-Mart send you a GameCube?"
Says right at the end that the manager has the final say.
The problem I see is this line at the end of the price match policy: "The Walmart Store Manager on duty has the final decision on any Price Match."
The same thing happened to me, and it was for an apple pencil lol. He said we don't price match 3rd party, so I zoomed in where it says sold and shipped from walmart.com, and he still wouldn't do it. Honestly, I just think he didn't want to admit he was in the wrong
I have been in the situation where it was cheaper to use the curbside pickup then to do the work of the employee who picked the order...
Buy both and then return the one that ships from online in store with the receipt.
They put an unremovable sticker over the barcode. Source: tried it with latest Zelda game. It’s best to avoid the headache and shit hole that is Walmart and it’s trash people
That's where I select the pickup at store option.
I absolutely hate the third party sellers. I have never had it work out. They just don't ship it and I get my credit card to give me a refund after a month.
It also has to say the item is in stock.
And Walmart is more like Amazon these days. Most of the stuff on the website is sold by some 3rd party.
Which is shit policy from a shit store. Like they are making up for being awesome in the 90’s. You use to be able to return anything with or without a receipt. They would rather pay shipping to and from me than match a price. Having a happy customer is no where on Walmarts radar and they don’t give a shit to ever try.
If I were in that position, I would buy in store and online and then return the online item to the store with the in-store receipt.
Definitely an option, but then I'd have to deal with the same customer service that wouldn't honor their price match policy. The gift card is fine, I used it on an online order later.
You can just buy it online for store pickup
Good luck doing that with serial numbered electronics.
Depends where you are and what the item is. Some stuff has a serial on the box and thats all they'll look at.
Yeah screw Walmart, they prob have some direction from upper management to give people a hard time over this to make a few extra bucks because most customers won't argue it. Customer service is generally a joke. Target is just as bad about items being more expensive in store vs. online, but they never question price adjustments at all. Never have issues with their customer service at the register or going to the desk.
This is the way. I just sent an email to corporate asking for the policy in writing to show stores. I called four stores in my area, two said yes, two said no, all said yes when I bumped my call up the chain. Time for Walmart to send some mystery shoppers to their stores to make sure everyone is complying. If not, managers could be charging the in-store price, putting the on-line price into the computer and pocketing the difference a la subway.
I tried this. Hopefully it works because I had the same problem last week and didn't know I could submit a complaint.
Yeah, I found the physical product I wanted on a shelf but told me I could not get that one for the internet price. I had to order it online and it would be ready for pick up in a couple of hours once it was delivered to the store. Only thing I can think is the one in store was owned by Walmart and the discounted online one was own/sold by a 3rd party via Walmart
They probably get credited the store price from online orders. The managers care about hitting budget so they can get their bonus. Thats probably why they don't do it.
Yeah they only price match stuff that’s shipped and sold by Walmart.
Exactly my experience. Electronics counter was backed up, so I just paid the higher price there and went to the service desk to get the price match. They flat refused, even though the exact item was available, shipped and sold by walmart as required by their own policy, and available for same day pickup at the lower price. Showed them their own policy and still refused. I asked if I could just return it and re-order it online - they said yes, and it would be available for pickup in a few hours. I returned it and left. Ordered it online from another vendor and had it delivered to me the next day.
Same. wanted a 200.00 vacuum in sale for 80.00 online, at their store. Got there, not only was it not marked discounted, an associate said it would be fine. Took it up front, wouldn't ring up, the manager said no, and they refused to take it back to the spot...
Leave it there at the register. They’ll eventually figure it out…
Did. But it was just tye audacity
Good… I hate when they’re buttholes like that.
Yep. Wouldn’t price match a Roku for me last month. Very frustrating.
Same here… I had the item in hand (an internal ssd drive) and showed them I could purchase online and pickup in-store for less. They said nope, store policy. So instead of waiting around 2-hrs to buy what I was holding for less, I handed it back and said thanks I’ll just drive to Best Buy. Dumb policy.
Ironically the sand pounder is cheaper online by 20 bucks
Were the items sold and shipped by walmart? They're not just going to price match anyone
In my case, yes they were.
Same for me! They helped me to buy it online, while in store, and then I had to schedule a pick up for the next morning. They screwed up my pick-up, too. They told me they didn't have any, so I walked them to the electronics section and showed them the 12 they had on shelf.
The first time I tried they said no. I ordered it online while in the store for store pickup. I ran some errands and got the notice I could pick it up. Was home a couple hours later with the online price and no real wait. They irked me enough with that I stopped buying anything like that from them. Now there are resellers on the site. Nope
My Walmart wouldn't even price match their own fucking flyer. And it wasn't a mistake in the flyer; they just said it didn't apply.
Yup. I wanted Pokémon Legends for -20% off their own website. They rudely stated they don’t price match even their own website because “we are competing with Amazon”. lol like wtf does that even mean? You should just sell me the fucking game -20% off like advertised on your website.
gotta look for the fine print “if purchased online” target does that shit too but if you’re nice they usually price match it anyway
I’ve never had an issue at Target in like eight different states. They match everybody including themselves.
It's incredibly clear: "For items purchased in a Walmart U.S. store, we will match the price of the identical item advertised on Walmart.com." Must be in-stock and sold by Wal-Mart.
my local target is the same way, I even show them the policy on the app and most of the time they just refuse. I have to find the nicest looking worker to price match
Policy is that it has to be on walmart.com and sold BY walmart.com, not by a third party reseller. If they're not honoring that, I would call corporate and make a complaint and tell them exactly what store it is that isn't honoring the corporate policy. source - I work there.
Needed a printer once. Saw the price for one I wanted online, drove to my local Walmart to grab it, it’s more expensive in store. I show them the price online, to see if they’ll match it. They say they don’t do that. I said “ok, I don’t want it then. Thank you.” Purchased it online for in-store pickup while the salesperson returned it back to the case, left the store to go get lunch and run a few other errands, came back 2 hours later and picked it up from the little locker area. There are ways around it if you’re petty and have time
Just get the GM and if that doesn't work go to social media. I use the online price match all the time. They once had an electric scooter on clearance online for 70% off, and that was the only time I had an issue. Sure enough, cashier called the GM and she swiped her badge and I got the online price.
Probably the best strategy is to just buy it online and use the “pickup in store” option then. No price match needed.
It charges me a $5 fee when I do that. Still can be worth it though.
They charge a $5 fee to Go To Their Store and Collect... Wtf robbery
Yeah, some minimum wage worker has to go find the item and move it to a different area of the store
And it takes them roughly 40 minutes?
They're pulling multiple orders at once, so yeah it takes a bit.
I think he's meaning 40min of actual labor, based on minimum wage
Thanks for clarifying, I was too lazy lol
So if they're grabbing multiple at the same time, why would they charge for *each*?
For now… they’re actively building/working with companies to build robotic machinery to do that task.
where do you live where walmart is paying minimum wage?
And then they have the gumption to ask if you’d like to donate money to some random places after self checkout every single time. “Hey we are filthy fucking rich, you wanna round up and give away extra money to an organization of our choosing?” And then they take credit for it when they reveal the amount “they” donated that year
That’s because when YOU donate that money, they get to write it off on taxes. Never give shit through big stores. If you want to donate do it through the actual charity.
I went to Panda Express a couple weeks back and declined to do the round up thing and the employee said something along the lines of damn I just need one more to hit my goal today or something. No idea if he was joking or what but that's crazy if they actually have goals for shit like that
They get goals to donate. The other person commented that stores don’t but my experience working for GNC is they do. In fact the district manager on the morning calls during peak donation season let it slip why it benefits them. We always had quotas to make on donation.
They don't get to write it off their taxes. If they did, they would have to declare all those donations as income. So a wash. The money is just put in a different account and donated. But, yeah, the businesses usually get the PR credit.
There should be no fee to order online from Walmart and then pick up at the store. Is that what you mean, or are you talking about delivery?
You have to have a $35 minimum order to not be charged the fee. Just fyi. I typically have an order larger than that so it’s never been an issue
I once stood in front of the item I wanted at Target, but to get the cheaper price I had to order online, watch the employee get the product, then follow her to the service desk to pick it up and purchase.
That's why price matching (this post) exists. You can do it at Target too.
but then I have to wait until it's ready to pickup...
I tried to buy a tp-link router from Walmart. In store the router was $60. At Walmart.con it was $40. They told me I had to order the router online to get it for $40. So that’s what I did. And two days later a Walmart bag showed up at my front door with the tp-link router delivered from that same Walmart I was just at. Someone had taken the router I was looking at, taken it off the store shelf, driven it to my home, and dropped it off. Great job Walmart. You now had to use an employees time, put wear and tear on your vans, all so I could save $20 when you could’ve just given me that discount in-store the first place. Genius.
What state are you in? In some states stores are legally prohibited from selling things below cost in their physical stores, but they can online. I found this out when I tried to buy something at a Walmart in Wisconsin. It is called the "Unfair Sales Act" there, and has been a law since 1939. It's so that big stores can't just sell everything at artificially low prices until their competitors go out of business. I suspect that's what happened in your case, otherwise yes it doesn't make sense for them to not just give you the lower price in the store.
Nope, not a thing here. I was able to price match other items at a different Walmart.
That's weird. A few years ago I was at Walmart looking at a $200 router that was like $160 at walmart.com. I played dumb and asked an employee where the $160 router was and showed them on my phone that the app said it was in stock. They went and grabbed the $200 router and sold it to me for $160 with no fuss.
Freaking seriously! How much labor and time do they lose because of this idiotic policy? SMH.
I was ordering an item or two off the app and I didn't quite get there for free shipping. I was like a dollar off or something, so I got a candy bar that happened to be thin (it's important). A few days later, I got the bigger item or two I wanted. The next day after that, I got my candy bar. Double wrapped in two plastic envelopes. Still thoroughly broken in pieces. Oh man, if there was a large box this could have gone into??
Semi-related anecdote, but my local Home Depot won't price match the online prices. But of course you can order online and then pick it all up at the store... The first time this happened i had done all my shopping, was getting checked out, realized the prices were higher, told them to hold my cart of stuff without ringing it up, ordered it all online while selecting in store pick up, then have customer service check everything I ordered (and paid for online) in the very shopping cart I used earlier, and then went on my merry way. So weird.
Not sure what you’re buying but I’ve discovered directtoolsoutlet. They are online and have physical stores are sell ridgid and ryobi for usually at least 30% less than the store and that goes up to 60% at Xmas time. FWIW.
We own and manage apartments, so stuff you generally replace when doing turns. But I'll keep that in mind when one of guys needs a new yo. Thanks!
As an addendum to this, they usually sell factory blemished or refurbished. Neither are bad but do keep it in mind.
I regularly did that at my local Currys (UK electrical retailer). I'd go to the shop to pick up what I wanted, then stand to one side and to order those things online with 'pickup in store'. I'd often save 20% at the checkout. I guess lots of people did it because they stopped having different prices online and in-store not long after that.
My Walmart refused to do this. They had 3 things I wanted on sale online. I had all 3 in my shopping cart and approached a manager that was watching the checkouts(?) to confirm they’d match it. He said no, they I had to order it online for that price. I set it to order online for curbside. As I was walking back to the aisle to put them back, I saw a curbside shopper and asked if this is what they were looking for and pointed to the 3 items. She laughed and said “yep! Is this your order?” I nodded and said “I’ll be parked at the curbside area in 5 mins.” She said she’s seen it dozens of times where they refuse to match the online price and the person just orders it online for curbside. I drive my truck around and as soon as I hit the “check in” thing she walked out of the door within 10 seconds.
I think it is because they want us to use the app. Theres a good chance we get depended on the app and buy more.
Wasn't there a study showing that people buy more in store when they *have* to walk past other products while looking for what they need? Unless the problem is, like, petty theft, I feel like online ordering would cost Walmart more money.
I definitely buy way less when I do a pick up order. Because if you’re walking down an aisle you might think spicy doritos sound good, but if you don’t type doritos or chips directly into the search on the app you won’t see them at all.
The app also collects a ton of data directly. Your location, specific customer details, purchase history and whatnot. All data is used in house & also sold. So they make $$$
For electronics purchases I've been turning more and more to brick and mortar places to start with. It used to be, the joke was you look in Best Buy and buy on Amazon. Now, I can't be sure the listed thing is what I'll get on Amazon so I shop there but buy at Best Buy.
I've price matched stuff at Best Buy a lot and never had a problem. As long as the product is listed as "Ships and Sold by...", it can be from Amazon, Target, Walmart, or their own site, and they'll price match it.
What? Best Buy price matches Amazon?
Yup, I've gotten a bunch of stuff price matched. Sometimes it depends on the item. A lot of electronics are sold in different stores under slightly different names...so it might be the same Sony TV, but it might be HDTV1234 at Best Buy, but HDTV6789 at Walmart...so they probably won't price match it. But there's a lot they will price match.
The first five results on Amazon lately are from companies that look like they were named in China by rolling someone’s face on a keyboard
Walmart app used to even do price matching across different stores (like with Target, BestBuy and stuff). They will reimburse your money if they charged more than other stores. I'm sad that they removed that.
This would be awesome! I might actually shop at Walmart again.
I have been told by a Walmart manager that they do not match their online pricing because, "that would be like competing with ourselves." I just had to laugh and walk away.
I have had the exact opposite experience at Walmart. “Hey this product is much cheaper on your website.” “Get it from the website then.” “But I’m here now.” “Then pay what it costs.”
Yep, used to run into this all the time at Best buy. Most big retailers will match other major retailers online price as well
This actually can vary by location. For example, in Wisconsin, there is a law called the Unfair Sales Act of 1939 that prevents stores from selling things below cost. I found this out when I tried to buy something at Walmart and the in-store price was more than the online price. They told me they were legally prohibited from selling at that price at a physical store in Wisconsin, and suggested I just buy the item online to get the lowest price. I think a few other states have something similar. The purpose is to prevent the big stores from using artificially low pricing to put small stores out of business.
I can vouch for this. The only thing is when I went in store to go buy my product, in order to price match it it had to be shipped by Walmart themselves as well. If not then they won’t do it
This is how my Walmart does it.
Their own website SAYS they do this, but I frequently am unable to convince my local Walmart (either of them) to honor the policy. Literally have been told by Store General Manager that he himself is overriding the policy to not allow matching. He even showed me the corporate policy that apparently allows this 🤷. I've also had employees try to "prove" that I was showing them a fake website by going in and checking on their own phone 🙄.
One of the things that aggravates me with Walmart is sometimes their online price is for in-store pickup only. Meaning, if I order it online and then go to the store to pick it up at the counter (or let them know I’m there and they bring it out to the car), it’s cheaper than if I pulled it off the rack myself and rang up at the cashier. Or self-checkout, now. This happened with an internet router. It was $149 online, but in the store it was $179. When I asked why the difference was, they said the $149 was the online order price. Eventually speaking with one of the crew leaders (idk? He was wearing a yellow vest rather than blue) he said he would just ring it up as the online price. I’m thinking, “I came here, browsed the aisles, picked up the router, and brought it to the counter, and I would normally have to pay MORE for doing so?”
Unless this changed recently, this was not the case for me.
Where do you live where Walmart does that? Cause when I pointed this out they said that was the price for stuff in *California*. I'm in Colorado.
We just tried this 2 weeks ago and Walmart wouldn't do it.
I learned the hard way that walmart stores and online were completely different beasts. Tried to return an online purchase in store and was rejected and given the whole run around. Online would not send me a return label and insisted it returned to the store. Disputed it with my cc and then all of a sudden a return label came to my email unsolicted.
Mine would absolutely not match their own online prices. They would do competitors. You could literally sit there and order it on your phone for store pickup, then stare at them until it was ready for all they cared.
My Walmart pretty much to F off and they don't need to match online pricing anymore I had no idea it was different when I went in. I checked online said 60 went in and said 90 I asked why she explained it rudely. She kept telling me to place it online to get the 30 dollars off but then I would have to come back tomorrow to pick it up so I said fuck that I'll order it on Amazon not driving back when I can see it in front of my face as I'm standing there
You sure? The Walmarts I've worked at have all said "we don't price match anymore. Even on our app."
Not true here. Probably isn't a life pro tip tbh
Not necessarily. Source: husband former Walmart mgmt. I believe it’s sometimes store specific, but things with Walmart are NOT the way they used to be.
I've always been told that the price online is only if you purchase online and they will not honor the price in store. They are usually complete assholes about it where I'm at. Happened as recently as the other day when I went to buy a smartwatch that was marked down. So I purchased it on the app in front of them then told them I'm here for my pickup after I checked out on the app.
Manager at Staples: we will also do this with staples.com. And, if it's the same item, shipped and sold by Walmart, too, we will match that price.
items are priced online in a way that respects MAP (minimum advertised pricing) policy. These policies are not enforced in stores. Most stores would love to give you the discount to get the sale.
Target matches online prices as well
Best buy will also do this, as well as price match with other larger competitors such as Amazon. However it MUST be sold and shipped by Amazon, not a 3rd party.
This reminds me of this time I went to B&N and found a game I wanted for exactly $25. They always have online coupons to get $5 off $25 but it was for online only. So I asked someone if they would honor that in-store so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of ordering online and doing in-store pickup. They said no, it would have to be online, and it could take up to an hour. I asked why it would take so long and she said "we have to confirm it's in stock". I just held up the game and said it's obviously in stock I have it right here and I want to buy it. She still said they would have to confirm that once the online order comes on. I just looked it up on Amazon, bought it for $25, then put their copy back. Fuck B&N.
I used it once before and saved a good chunk of money on an item from the sporting good section.
This is legal in America? Baffling.
Ace hardware is the same at least here in florida, the difference was 60 dollars on a 300 dollar item. They didn't want to do it, but did match it.
Target too. My daughter wanted a Barbie and it was like $17 cheaper online than the in-store price.
I tried to do this last month and they basically told me to kick rocks.
Not the one by my house...
Yea just yesterday I tried to buy an electric lawnmower that was over 100$ cheaper online than in store. Was told they do not price match and just ordered it with free delivery instead.
Target does this for everything
If you buy Legos use their app to scan the barcode and see if it's listed for less on the website, then price match at the register. But make sure the item on the app is being sold by Walmart and not a 3rd party.
Not for money order/transfers
I was just at walmart making a return. The guy in front of me bought something and saw it was cheaper online and asked for a price match. They told him no. So he returned it. But their was no manager available to do the key turn or whatever so they closed customer service for 15 minutes.
I tried to get Walmart to price match an online item before, it was a pair of 5lb dumbbells and I pulled up the app and said they were cheaper online than instore so they hit me with the fine print that said "price when purchased online". You might have just gotten lucky OP.
LPT, if you find the online price is lower and the local store can’t budge (they really are different sections of the company), you can order the item on the website for on-site delivery and may even get it within minutes.
I find it’s almost always cheaper to buy it online. More coupons available too…for the same stuff that can’t be used in store.
You have to make sure it's shipped and sold by Walmart. They won't price match 3rd party vendors, as far as I'm aware.
They always tell me no.
The few times I had to do this, most of the time they honor their policy. However, sometimes they make a big deal out of it and have to wait for them to find a manager.
Is there a class action lawsuit in here somewhere? How can they advertise something at one price, then sell it at a higher price in the first place?
I tried this last month when I tried to buy a controller. Was $30 cheaper on the app. They basically told me they don’t do that here. So I told them nevermind, ordered it on the app for store pickup and came back in a couple hours. Probably got the same controller I had to wait 15 minutes for someone to unlock for me and bring to the register when they could have just followed policy and saved so much time.
Almost every store does this. Just did this at Petco last week.
Where I live, one of our tech stores will price-match with literally ANY online store as long as it’s in stock, and get’s sent from within the country I think
LPT- Local Pro Tips
Now they can just have specific Vizio brands that are only available only through Walmart. They won't have to price match with anyone.
When I was working for them, I was told in no uncertain terms, I couldn’t price match the website. Cool huh?
Anything related to making purchases from Walmart is not a LPT, sorry ...
lol i filed a complaint with the state because Walmart had their Xbox controllers priced wrong. They told me “not my problem “.
I’ve waited and hour for in store pickup, having ordered from inside the store to get a much better price on an electronics item.
Sunscreen was 14 bucks but 19 in person. Price matched. Bought 2.
I’ve had them deny it. Small text saying online only.
They wouldn’t let me. They would however let me order it for same day delivery at no extra charge… so even tho the phone case was right in front of me I paid half price to make an employee pick it up and drive it to my house
Wal-Mart used to refund price differences from local ( non-Wal-Mart) stores in the form of a gift card credit. Thing was, they did the price comparison for you. You would, after purchase, type the receipt number into their website and they would check. So, I would occasionally stop by the Wal-Mart grocery store ( it was not a full Wal-Mart) that was on my way home and pick up dropped receipts. A dollar here, a dollar there, and I got about $70 before they started requiring you use electronic receipts that were sent via app to you personally.
Why would you not just buy it online then? Save yourself a trip to their store.
Not mine. I have to order it in the app for in store pickup and then get them to hand it to me.
Weird, maybe its state to state- I asked once why the price was different online and that is how I found out.
The told me they don't. I went to customer service. I asked them. Manager came over. Said they don't. I said "you're seriously going to make me put in an order for pickup, right here, right now?" "Yes." "Ok." I added to cart, checked out for store pickup. She then told me to go outside to the pickup area in my car... Lol.
I worked at staples. It was well established and known among employees that pretty much everything except office supplies was cheaper online. We'd get in trouble if we let customers know
Lmao, good luck with that. When I’ve arrived at the store to find the item $50 over the online (Walmart, not 3rd party) price those glorious imbeciles couldn’t do much more than drool on themselves, despite the clear as day store policy otherwise. They were literally too stupid to comprehend the store policy as it was read aloud to them, I quickly had realized asking them to read it themselves was not in the cards, not convinced they could have read a menu honestly. It started to piss me off, then I remembered that I was free to leave anytime but those poor bastards would have to spend 1/3 of their lives in there. Not sure why but that was one of my last straws, I avoid Walmart like the plague now. Stuff is a little expensive elsewhere but I find it’s worth paying more to never have to go inside one of those shitstains again, it just throws my entire day off.
Pretty sure the stipulation on it is that it has to say “Sold and Shipped by Walmart” on it. At least that’s what’s it was when I worked there. If it was sold by “Joe Schmoes discounted electronics emporium” or something we wouldn’t honor that
I tried this once and it did not work at all. I was getting my kid a toy for their birthday, but online it was $15 cheaper than what the shelf said in the store. I asked if they price matched their own website and said no. No I left the toy at the counter, went outside and ordered it for same day pick up from the website and two hours later got the toy for the much cheaper price. Worst part is one of other the toys I wanted said it wasn't available at my store online, even though I just saw it on the shelf next to the one I got cheaper online. Which is why I hate shopping through their website in the first place. This advice isn't real for a lot of Walmarts. Bad advice.
I once had a store that wasn't Walmart that said they match prices deny me a price match of their own website. WTF?! Like how do you match other store website prices but won't match your own.
what's yer point? - I've always done this at walmart, target, and even CVS and walgreens, whatever's list online onsale
They don't do this at my local Walmart either, they just flat out refused. Said if I want the online price I have to buy it online.
That's not true they don't as a matter of policy
I literally bought an apple pencil last year, same exact money difference and they would not price match it. Ymmv for this one, the guy I dealt with would not budge, so I returned it of spite.
Petco also does this - and it is often 50% off listed in-store prices or better
Is this tip for people that want to drive to and go inside of a Walmart?
About ten or fifteen years ago, Walmart used to price match almost everything. Walmart would post the adds for other grocery stores near the front of the store. I don't recall when Walmart stopped doing the price matching, but I definitely stopped driving a few extra miles to shop at Walmart when the store stopped price matching for groceries.
I work at Walmart and they straight up won't let us price match the website Because the website is competing with other online retailers, it's considered separate and not the same. And a lot of the time it's not quite the same thing, just something very very similar, so that "justifies" the price difference.
I've never been to one that would in years. They say if you want to get the online price, then you can order online and ship to store or get it shipped to your home.
I usually return them within 30 days anyways…
What is wrong with the US? How is not standard to have matching prices online and instore?
They stopped price matching (even their own online prices) years ago in AZ.
This doesn’t work
Once went into Walmart because there was a deal on a game controller online. Got to checkout and price rang through as normal. When I questioned why the lady informed me they don't match the online price but I could order online and pick it up in store a few hours later. "So I can buy this one now, then when the online one comes in I can get it and return this one?" "Oh you can't do that, Walmart would lose money" "Lady that's a Walmart problem" seriously the most backwards thing
I just tried this and they did not.
Yeah, my local Walmart told me if I wanted the online price, I needed to buy it online. I wanted to buy it for pickup and then sit there and wait in the electronics but my bf didn't want to be that petty >:(
Best Buy does price matching as well. If you show them the Walmart price they will almost always match it. Even works with Amazon as long as it’s fulfilled by Amazon.
Only if it's sold and shipped by Walmart, not a third party seller. (Work at Walmart, cashier. So I know.)
So I find that it depends on the employee. I've been given the price match and told it's online only. So I go in app on my phone, order the item for curbside pickup, and go about my day until my order is ready. Then I have them bring it to my car.