What To Do When There’s A Price Drop After Purchase

December 1, 2021

There is little that feels worse than walking into the store (or scrolling online) and seeing something you recently purchased for less than you spent. It can be crushing, especially if you could have saved a lot of money. Seriously, it is enough to make you go crazy. Thankfully, I’m here to tell you what to do when there’s a price drop after purchase.

Check Your Receipts

First, if you want to take advantage of any price drops, you need to keep your receipts and check them. Be sure to hang on to all of your receipts for at least as long as the return policy is covered. After that, it is still a good idea to store your receipts digitally or otherwise for tax purposes. Anyone wanting to get the discounted price will need to be on top of keeping up with receipts.

Ask for a Price Adjustment

Once you’ve got your receipt in hand, go into the store and simply ask for a price adjustment. If it is within a few weeks of your purchase, most retailers will do it. Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Best Buy all offer price adjustments. These are just a few retailers that will do it.

Target offers an additional perk: they will not only match their current sales price but they will match competitors as well. Most retailers will offer a price match for items before they are sold but they will not match a competitor’s sale price after an item is sold. Target will though.

Price Protection

Some credit cards offer price protection. This essentially gets you your money back if an item goes on sale shortly after you buy it. Discover cardholders have 90 days to file a claim if you find a lower price somewhere. They will give you up to $500 back. There are some companies and credit cards that will do that for you automatically too.

Price protection programs often have limits per item and annual limits to how much money you can get back. While it is unlikely you’ll find more than $2,500 in discounted items throughout the year, it is something to be aware of.

Download an App

Nowadays, there’s an app for just about everything. You can download price comparison apps and applications that let you know when items go on sale. In some cases, these apps will take care of the price difference for you instead of you going into the store. The money gets deposited right back into your account.

Find a Loophole

When in doubt, there is usually a loophole. I recently talked about the Costco return policy and how lenient it can be. Looking for loopholes like that can help you get what you want from your purchases. Look for a company policy that makes getting the price you want possible. If all else fails, you can make a return, get your money back or store credit, and repurchase the item at the new price. That’s going the extra mile though.