This Amazon Price Adjustment Workaround Is Now The ONLY Way (Maybe)
Amazon has removed their price adjustment policy in recent years, stay tuned to see if this new Amazon policy sticks. Because Amazon changes prices so frequently, they have gotten a lot of backlash for changing their policy. Bottom-line, these days there only seems to exist a couple workarounds to get the lower price. Here’s how it works.
If you still want to try and get a price adjustment here is how you go about it.
From blog reader Roxanne, she tried the following steps and didn’t get a price match but Amazon did give her a $40 credit to her account.
So bottom-line, the following steps are still worth a try, especially on expensive items.
How to TRY to Get a Price Adjustment:
1. Originally, You Had 7 Days From Delivery to Request Adjustment
The 7 days started when the item got delivered to your doorstep.
2. Keep an Eye Out For a Price Drop
Nobody has the time to check daily if the Amazon price drops on something you bought.
So use the free site CamelCamelCamel.com and they’ll do all of the leg-work for you and email you when a price drops.
3. What to do When a Price Drops Within 7 Days
You can either call Amazon customer service at 1 (888) 280-4331 or start a live chat session to get the ball rolling on your price adjustment.
SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE…SOMETIMES
Sometimes if you’re willing to argue your case vehemently with an Amazon customer service representative, they will refund you the price difference. There are many cases of this happening, both with commenters on this post as well as on various Reddit threads. The one thing all success stories seem to have in common is politeness, you’ll surely catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
How to Start a Live Chat Session
Starting a live chat session on Amazon can be a bit confusing but I feel it’s by far the best way to get a price adjustment.
At the bottom of this customer service page, select “Help with something else” then select the product in question, then select “I need more help”, then select “Start chatting now”.
Then once the chat starts, type “talk with a person” and you’ll quickly be connected to an actual person and can ask them politely for a price adjustment.
Does the Item Have to be Sold Directly by Amazon?
Officially, yes. But if you’re a loyal customer, the answer is surprisingly “No”.
I recently ordered a product from a 3rd party seller and the price dropped by $23 the day after I received it.
On a whim, I started a chat session and low-and-behold they gave me the $23 price adjustment anyways.
They explained it this way, “However since you are a loyal customer for one time exception I am refunding the difference to your gift card balance.”
I had the $23 in my account gift card balance within 2 hours.
Interestingly, this wasn’t a “one time exception” as they did the same thing for me back in December when I requested a price adjustment on a different item sold by a 3rd party.
PRO TIP: THE RETURN AND REBUY SCENARIO
It’s amazing to me that Amazon is telling shoppers that they need to return the item, then rebuy it at the lower price. In most cases, this is the only way to get “price protection” on your Amazon purchases these days. They’re clearly counting on us not going through with the “return and rebuy” as it’s a hassle and a time suck, especially if it’s a product you need right now. The frustrating part is they call themselves a company concerned with the environment, but just think of the carbon footprint they are leaving behind with all of these packages needlessly being returned and shipped out again.
Moral of the Story?
Always politely ask about a price adjustment, no matter if Amazon shipped it to your directly, or you bought it through a 3rd party, ALWAYS ASK.
Whether you’re a new or longtime Amazon customer, the worst they can say is “No”. Unfortunately, this is the answer almost everybody is getting these days.
If you get a “No” then you can decide whether it’s worth the hassle of returning the item and rebuying at the lower price.
PRO TIP: WATCH THE PRICE RIGHT AFTER YOU BUY
I recently had a price drop within minutes of me placing an order for an Western Digital external hard drive. I had gone back into my account about 45 minutes after my purchase to make sure I got the correct size hard drive and noticed the price had dropped $45. I immediately cancelled my order, verified that it had been cancelled, then rebought at the lower price. This hack works especially well in the evenings, and on weekends, when it takes longer for Amazon to process your order giving you more time to check if the price has dropped.
See Also: 6 Brilliantly Slick Ways to Get Amazon Prime for Free
Back when they were doing price adjustments, here’s how my Amazon chat session went down (BTW, in case you were wondering, my wife is Aimee and our account is under her name, haha):
Ask The Reader: Have you ever requested a price-match from Amazon? Was the item sold by Amazon or a 3rd party? How did it go?
Happy savings.
By Kyle James
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)
Didn’t work today – I figure everything on a $40/hr basis and spent waaay too much time on a $35 price drop. Annoying- returning item and reordering – is amazon not doing math?
Just tried this earlier today to get a $3 price drop on phone case and was declined. Like many others, I was offered to return the case to Amazon and buy a new one at the lower price. I won’t bother going through the hassle over $3, but this is definitely not a customer-friendly policy. Since Best Buy is price-matching Amazon now, I may start going there again for my more expensive purchases.
I preordered a Misfit Vapor smartwatch 2 months before it became “available”. Now that it’s available it costs $11 less. My order had not even shipped yet. Reorder and cancel the first, I get the lower price, and an earlier arrival date. They get an angry customer.
Got shut down today for less than $6 – and got sent to a supervisor who was copy/pasting answers. Not really what I am used to from Amazon.
I found this site when I Googled for Amazon’s price adjustment policy, because I didn’t even know if they did price adjustments… After reading everything, I decided to give it a try for a book which I bought on Sunday night and by Monday morning it was $3.60 less, more than a third of the price I paid. When I went to Amazon’s orders customer service page, I wasn’t given the chat option, so I sent an email. I got the same canned response as everyone else, and I completed the supposed response survey saying I was unhappy. They asked for a chance to make it right, and then I was given the chat option. I explained the whole thing to one CSR, who then sent me over to the “price team,” but both of them just copied and pasted the same answer saying their policy is no price adjustments and there’s nothing they can do. Like others have said, I am a very loyal customer – 15 years and thousands and thousands of dollars spent with them – but their customer service has definitely been declining over the last few years. I will be returning not only the item that they refused to price-adjust, but two other items which I found on sale at my local Barnes & Noble after Amazon refused over four freaking dollars. And instead of going straight to Amazon.com and purchasing with confidence that I’m getting a great deal like I have been for so many years, I will now be price checking them against other retailers and shopping at businesses which price match and price adjust.
I just went through this. Ordered an item yesterday and today it is on sale for $50 less. I got the same answer through chat – “our policy is that we do not price match.” They suggested I refuse shipment and order again at the lower price. I tried to explain to them that if I did that, I would end up with the sale price, but it would probably cost amazon more than $50 to handle the new order and all of the reverse logistics cost on the original order. Finally after the third escalation (talking to 4 different customer service agents,) they agreed to refund me the difference as a “one time” exception to their policy. They made is sound like they were doing me a huge favor, when in reality I was saving them money. So frustrating.
doesn’t work; chat won’t refund you any money. thanks anyway
I tried to get a price reduction on a software. It doesn’t work even if I’ve been a prime member for years.
Saif: I can understand your concern regarding price change.
As per the new update I would like to inform you that , as per our policy we do not offer any price match or price adjustment we consistently offer competitive prices on everything we carry; however, the prices on our website are subject to change
I was able to get a small price adjustement as a promo credit to my account. I was offered to send back for free the initial purchase and buy the same product at the lower price but the nice lady was able to credit me the 8$.
I tried this today and the person on the chat said that since their pricing is dynamic they don’t offer price adjustments.
They no longer offer this. Have tried several times. Even after explaining that the item has free returns and that i am trying to save them shipping costs by not returning it and placing a new order. They are extremely stubborn. They would rather pay for shipping 3 times (original order, original order returned, new order) then simply just credit the difference. Even in the form of Amazon gift card. Such a waste of time and money. I’ve had to place a new order and ship the original item back 3 times recently.
Same thing happened to me just today. In fact on phone with Amazon support after chat support, and same thing. Right now they’re contacting UPS to try to cancel delivery for me. But needing to contact Ascurion as well when she’s done since it was an item I decided on a warranty for. *sigh* Very disappointing, considering. Mine hasn’t even arrived yet and the price dropped by $25…no assistance whatsoever outside of “refuse delivery and reorder the item”. And this was a PRIME Reseller. Fulfilled by Amazon directly although reseller is Cnest-Direct.
Same here, crazy thing is my order isn’t even shipped yet and I’ve waited 2 months. It’s finally going to ship in 4-5 days, but there is a $102 off promotion so I asked. The first rep was super rude and disconnected before I finish typing my message. The second rep told me to reorder it. But the thing is all the new orders will have another 2 months wait to ship. Super disappointed, its also ship and sold by Amazon too, not some 3rd party seller.
I was able to get this to work, I believe. The chat agent I spoke with said they would refund the difference (which admittedly was a small amount) of $1.95 but the email I received said it would be $5 more than that. They say it will take a few days to process so who knows for sure but it seems promising. Feels like with the comments here it’s just a crap shoot on whether it will work for you or not. I’m a prime member so that may make a difference as well.
I just tried to do this when a TV I ordered (bought on Amazon but fulfilled by a 3rd party) had its price drop $100 within a week (and Amazon even sent me a marketing e-mail with the new product). I followed this suggestion and was denied, as they said they cannot price match. They suggested returning the TV for a full refund and ordering a new one.
I tried to argue that the return/refund/new order method would simply be wasting everyone’s time and money, and that it’d be in everyone’s benefit to just refund me the $100, but to no avail.
I just tried to get a price adjustment today on an item I ordered 3 days ago as well and was denied in two separate chat sessions. Amazon said they don’t do price adjustments (“As we receive new inventory at new prices and hence the price drops or increases. We no more offer price adjustments as we sell the products according to the prices we receive them”). As others have said I was told to refuse the package and re-order. I assumed that like most all other major retailers they had a price adjustment policy which they obviously don’t. Very disappointing and a bad policy for a major retailer.
Same here. And it’s an Amazon product. So, I returned it and ordered the same product for $50 less.
Just tried and got a ten dollar credit on an advent calendar I bought last week. Just be polite and persistent.
Cool!
quote from amazon “We work hard to find the best prices out there and make sure our prices are as low or lower – changing our prices instantly if we find a lower offer somewhere else. Therefore, we don’t offer post-purchase adjustments.” This was in reference to a monitor I bought and that went on sale the day I received the monitor. I was going to return it and just purchase the monitor locally but by the time I figure in the shipping I would have to pay through Amazon and the loss of the warranty I bought it was not worth it. I would recommend if you have a high priced item you buy locally unless you know you are getting the best deal possible from Amazon. No hate to Amazon as all vendors have to have a policy but to purchase an item then have it go on sale through Amazon the same day you receive it kind of just.. sucks.. Anyway, I figured I would share maybe it would help someone.
I was denied as well. Which is ironic, I flat out told them I will just reorder and then return the item back to them, they will be paying shipping both ways in 2020!
Yeah, it’s going to cost them more in shipping costs then to give the price adjustment.
i am glad I saw your site. A desk I received just today that I paid $47.48 for had dropped in price today to $34.18…What a shock! After searching the amazon site could find no help. Saw your site and did the chat…couldn’t help me…saying there was no team that dealt with this..getting a price match or refund. So I insisted twice on talking to someone who could help me so they had someone call me and in 5 minutes they refunded the difference to my credit card! It pays to be persistent!
Glad I found your site!!
I tried this today and they wouldn’t do it It was a $50 price difference on Echo buds that are arriving today. He only offered me a $5 credit to my account. So I’m going to return these echo buds as soon as I get an order another set. What a hassel – especialy for an Amazon product.
I tried this, as I felt like it never hurts to ask. Years ago, Home Depot refunded me the sales difference on a washing machine I purchased a few days before it went on sale- so I figured I could do the same with Amazon, right?
Nope. I bought an electronic on a Tuesday. It was delivered Wednesday and on Thursday, it was $70 cheaper- almost half off!
I nicely asked for the difference, as I had just received it and it would actually save Amazon the money if I didn’t send it back and re-order at the sales price. Someone told me that they would make a one time exception. 5 business days pass and nothing refunded to my bank account. And the product is no longer on sale at that point either.
I again contact customer service and was told by someone higher up that Amazon prices constantly fluctuate, they are a marketplace, and that the person who offered me the refund would be “taken action against,” as they were not authorized to offer the refund.
When I expressed my displeasure at the fact that Amazon would not honor what had been previously offered, and that I would be returning and not re-purchasing, all I was told was to have a nice day and thanks for contacting Amazon.
Because they wouldn’t honor what I had initially been offered as a “one time exception,” they have lost a loyal customer.
It really wasn’t about the money and if they had simply stated at the beginning that they couldn’t do it, I could have just sent it back and reordered, but more than likely I wouldn’t have.
They will be losing all of my Christmas orders this year and any subsequent orders I make online. Extremely disappointed in their lack of decent customer service.