Being able to compare prices using smart phone price checking apps or searching online for the best price offer great ways to save on your purchases. When stores price match on the same items, you can save even more. Just show an ad or an online price to the store and they will often match it or beat it by a certain percentage.
The problem is that these methods don’t always work. Why? Well for a simple reason that retail stores don’t want them too. Take, in point, two of my personal cases. In one case, I wanted to have Sears price match plus a washing machine. Lowes was selling it for less, but Sears was more convenient to me, plus they would give me an additional percentage off to make their price the lowest. Both stores had the same machine from the same manufacturer with the same features. However, the manager told me that I couldn’t price match because they had different model numbers. The Sears model had a dash plus two extra letters on the end. According to the manufacturer, they add those two letter to indicate that the model will be sold by Sears.
Appliances and electronics aren’t the only items subject to these tricks. The same thing happened to me when I went to purchase a new mattress.
Stores have also gotten wise to the price checking apps that are now so popular with consumers. You can use the app to scan an item and then check to see if it is being sold for less at another store nearby. To get around this, retail stores are simply replacing the UPC codes or bar codes with their own stock codes, or not displaying them at all on the shelf stickers.
So how can you fight back?
Be willing to walk away from a major purchase if the manager or sales associate won’t negotiate with you. You will eventually find a store that will work with you.
Keep a list of what you are looking for by brand and the specific features that you want. You can jot down prices on similar models and be ready to get a good deal.
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