Target Price Match Policy: The In’s and Out’s So You Can Save Money
I love shopping at Target. But over the years I’ve been a bit confused on how best to take advantage of the Target price match policy. Does it cover online shopping? Does it work on Black Friday? What stores will they actually match the price? All questions that deserve straight-forward answers. With this in mind, here’s exactly how their policy currently works.
What Exactly is the Their Price Match Policy?
Glad you asked because their policy has changed as recent as Summer 2024.
Here are the current details of their price match policy:
– For in-store purchases, Target will now ONLY price match Amazon, Walmart, and Target.com prices.
– Item must be in-stock and identical. Down to the size, color, model number, and brand.
– You have up to 14 days after your purchase to request a price match.
– Item must be in-stock and identical. Down to the size, color, model number, and brand.
See Also: 7 Target Clearance Tips: Learn How to Save BIG at Tarzhay
The Best (and Quickest) Way To Score a Price Match
As a dude who ain’t ashamed to admit I’ve gotten a price match at Target on several occasions, here’s EXACTLY how I made it happen.
When you’re shopping in-store, the best way to get your price match is to head to the Guest Services desk with your smartphone in-hand.
Show them the lower price on your phone and a Target employee will independently verify the lower price from the competitor.
You can show evidence of the lower price on your smartphone or via a print ad of the local competitor.
If you use your smartphone, be sure to have the product page of the competing website up on the screen.
Hack for Success: I would NOT recommend going up to a random Target employee and asking them for a price match.
In many cases, they are not versed in their own policy and will usually redirect you to the customer service desk in the front of the store.
You can also get a price match in the checkout lane, but it will take a little more time and you risk nasty looks from the shoppers behind you.
Any Products Excluded from a Target Price Match?
Yes, there are some important exclusions…
- Clearance, closeout, liquidation sales, damaged, used, open package, refurbished, store-wide or unspecific offers, non-branded items, and prices that only display on a website after you login to it.
- Pricing or typographical errors, limited time or quantity offers, daily deals, and coupon offers.
- Contract mobile phone devices and the associated plans.
- “Marketplace” prices and prices from 3rd party sellers will not be honored.
If you find a pricing error, you can let them know about it, and maybe they’ll give you a discount anyways.
This actually happened to a friend of my wife’s when she tried to get a price match on a baby stroller and it was priced wrong at Walmart.
The Target price was $299, and Walmart had it for the WRONG price of $144.
The folks at Target ended up giving her the stroller for $269 after they called Walmart to get the actual price.
Can You Get an Online Target Price Match?
Yes.
Target used to price match 27 online retailers, but those days are gone.
Now they will only match the online price found on the Amazon and Walmart website.
They will also price match the Target in-store price if you find a scenario where the Target.com price is higher than their own in-store price.
To make it happen, they ask you start a Live Chat or call them at 1-800-591-3869 and they’ll help you out with the price match.
Will a Picture of a Lower Price Work?
No.
Target tells me that they will NOT accept a picture of a lower price tag or a screenshot of a competing store when asking for a price match.
But…it’s been my experience that you CAN use a picture of a price tag as a starting point and then Target can call the store in question or visit their website for further verification.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve had a similar experience and successfully used a picture on your smartphone as visible evidence.
Will Target Match Amazon 3rd Party Pricing?
No.
Target will price match ANY Amazon.com price as long as the item is sold directly by Amazon and NOT a 3rd party seller.
Update: Thanks to reader Jen for letting me know that Target will not price match Amazon “add-on” items. She even spoke with a manager and they stood firm.
For those who don’t know, add-on items are typically lower priced items that Amazon often considers accessories or complimentary products.
See Also: Target Shopping Hacks: 5 Guaranteed Ways to Save Money
What About a Costco Price Match?
Not gonna happen.
There was a time when Target would price match both Costco and Costco.com.
Not a big loss as it’s often VERY hard to find identical items at both Costco and Target.
Can You Use a Coupon with a Price Match?
Yes, but only manufacturer coupons.
The coupon will take effect once the price match has been completed.
You cannot use Cartwheel offers, Target Gift Card offers and Target coupons cannot with a price match.
Can You Get a Price Match on Black Friday?
No.
Unfortunately Target does not offer price matches between Thanksgiving Day and the Monday after Thanksgiving, also known as Cyber Monday.
See Also: Target Bullseye’s Corner: Use it to Save Money
BONUS: Price Match Policy “Hacks”…
Like any good price match policy, there are some insider hacks for success.
Prices Vary Between Target and Target.com – Here’s a dark little secret. Prices on Target.com are often cheaper than what you’ll find at your local Target.
Because of this, always check their website’s prices when shopping in-store and ALWAYS ask for the lower Target price.
Grocery Item Price-Match – Another little known Target hack is a price match on grocery items, even produce. As long as the brand is the same, like Chiquita, Dole, or Driscoll, Target will offer a price match.
The cool thing about this is that it’s easy to scroll through your local grocery store ads to find lower prices at Target and save some money in the process.
Hold On To Those Receipts – Keep in mind that Target offers 14-day price protection.
So when making significant purchases (think electronics, appliances, and furniture), always keep your receipt and create an alert on your smartphone to remind yourself to check if the price has dropped before 14 days has expired.
Ask the Reader: Have you ever gotten a price match at your local Target store? Was it an easy process?
By Kyle James
Photo credit to Mike Mozart.
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Target does NOT price match Amazon “add-on” item prices. I just ran into this. Prior to asking for a price match, I read over Target’s corporate price match policy with a fine toothed comb. I spoke with the manager on duty as well, and was told they don’t price match add-on items even though their coupon policy does not specifically mention it. Very disappointed!
Great to know, thanks Jen.
I was at the store in Ellicott City, MD and even their LOD “leader on duty” did not know that they match Costco.com. I shoes the target website with their policy but he “Ty Nichols” said the corporate website is wrong and they are not matching it. Good job, you just lost a sale “apple iwatch3” and I called your store manager who also did not k ow they match Costco.com but he did look it up and stated I was correct. So now he has to re train his entire staff on the policy and also needs to teach them to use the internet to lookup their ow store policies. Great customer service at the store level. At least I got a $10 gift card from corporate after calling in the complaint.
Target also doesn’t price match a previous sale price that is within the 14 days. I purchased an item for $13.99 and the next day wanted to buy more, but saw the item was now $19.99. I called their customer service and spoke to 3 representatives and they couldn’t comprehend that there is no indication on their website or anywhere that the price match indicates an old sale price within the 14 days. They continued to be condescending and explain to me price adjustments/ price matching.
I think they outsource their customer service to the Philippines but those people are never helpful, hard to hear their poor English and never comprehend the simplest point you try to get across.
If I go grocery shopping at target and find items for better deals at another store (same everything) how do I price match? Do I do it in line for possibly multiple items? Or do I have to take those items to customer service to receive the price match? Also is there an app that will price match other stores grocery items? I know the target cartwheel app will basically show u the sales they have in store but it doesn’t show if a certain item you found is cheaper in another store like say food 4 less. Then there’s the flip app but that shows deals in other stores not price matching. If anyone could clarify to me on these things, I’d greatly appreciate it. And one last thing, has anyone done price matching in line at target? Was it successful or not? Thanks
The list of 27 online retailers is dead.
Thanks for the heads up, I updated it.
The 14 days isn’t quite the whole story. I ordered something from Target.com in October for the holidays. Two days before Christmas, I saw it on sale in the Target app for $200 off. The return deadline for the item is in January. I called up and got a price match.
The next best thing (or arguably better but slightly less convenient) would have been to order a new one at the current price and return the unopened one, in which case I would have gotten the price difference and the warranty would be based on the date of the new purchase. As long as it’s not past the return period, I think they will give you a price match.
The website doesn’t mention the extended period, but the rep had no problems and simply told me that it qualified for the price match. It wasn’t treated as an exception.