Here’s a holiday-shopping truth nobody at the register will mention: The price you paid today may not be the lowest price you’ll see this season. And at some big stores, if it drops, part of your money is sitting there waiting for you to ask for it back.
Most people never ask. The stores know that.
Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit consumer group, checked the policies of about 100 major retailers in October 2025. Its verdict: Stores offering price adjustments know that few customers will bother to use them, and most shoppers don’t even realize the policies exist.
I’ve spent decades as a consumer reporter watching companies write rules that sound generous and then count on you not reading them. This is a classic.
One Checkbook researcher bought jeans at J.Crew for $128 and got $52 back after they went on sale. That’s real money for one request.
Picture it on a bigger ticket. Buy a $400 TV this week, watch it hit $320 on Black Friday, and an $80 refund covers a nice dinner out. Miss the deadline, and that $80 stays with the store.
Here’s who pays up, who doesn’t, and how long each clock runs.
1. Best Buy’s holiday window runs into January
Best Buy says that if its own price drops — in the store, online or in its app — before your return period runs out, it’ll match the lower price. But only if you ask.
How long is that period? For most products, it’s 15 days for regular shoppers and 60 days for members of its paid My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total programs.
Here’s the part that matters right now. Best Buy says it’ll honor price matches until Jan. 15, 2027, on most products bought from Oct. 30 through Dec. 31.
So most early gifts you grab this week are covered if the price falls on Black Friday or the week before Christmas.
Two limits: Products sold by third-party Marketplace sellers don’t qualify, and neither do clearance, open-box or refurbished items.
And while Best Buy will normally match key competitors’ current prices, it won’t match a rival’s price from the Thursday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after. Its own lower prices are a different story.
2. Target’s window is through Christmas Eve, with exceptions
Target may match a lower Target price if you bought the item at Target that day or within the past 14 days. The lower price has to be Target’s own, either online or at the store where you shop.
What’s changed is what Target will match. For 12 years, you could ask Target to match a competitor, but CBS News reported that ended in July 2025. Now it’s Target’s own prices or nothing.
There’s another trap. If you bought it in one store and the lower price is at a different Target store, you’re out of luck. Target also excludes clearance and closeout items, and you can’t stack a match on top of Target coupons.
Target’s Holiday Price Match Guarantee is back. For any purchase made on or after Nov. 1 where Target’s price drops on or before Dec. 24, you can ask for the difference. Outside those dates, the standard 14-day window applies.
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3. Macy’s gives you just 10 days
Macy’s says that if an eligible item’s price drops within 10 days of your order date, you can request a price adjustment.
Ten days go by fast in December, so this is the one to watch closely. Macy’s warns that some merchandise, promotional offers and clearance items may not qualify.
To ask, bring your receipt to a Macy’s store if you bought it there. For online orders, call 1-800-289-6229. Macy’s says furniture and mattresses go through a separate line.
4. Walmart won’t give it back
Walmart’s position is blunt. It says it doesn’t adjust the price on items you bought on Walmart.com that later got cheaper, and it doesn’t match competitors’ prices online. Its reasoning is that its everyday prices are already as low as it can make them.
There’s one narrow exception. If you’re shopping in a Walmart U.S. store and the identical item is advertised for less on Walmart.com, the store will match that online price. Walmart says the manager on duty gets the final say.
That’s a match at checkout, not a refund later. So with Walmart, do your price checking on your phone before you pay. If you’d rather shop where competitor matching still exists, here are seven retailers that will match Amazon’s prices.
5. Your backup plan when the store says no
Even with a generous policy, the money only comes back if you claim it. Three habits make that easy.
- Keep every receipt from now through New Year’s, paper or digital, in one place.
- Set a phone reminder for each big purchase a few days before that store’s deadline — roughly day 12 at Best Buy outside the holiday window and day 7 at Macy’s.
- Check your credit card’s benefits. Consumer Reports notes that some cards include price protection, which can pay you back if an item gets cheaper soon after you buy it.
And look at your receipt before you leave the store. Scanner errors are a separate way to overpay, and here’s how to get your money back when the register rings up the wrong price.
Bottom line
These policies aren’t secret, exactly. But as Checkbook notes, few retailers advertise them.
Don’t let that silence cost you. Checkbook found that most adjustment windows run 7 to 30 days, which means the clock starts the minute you walk out the door. Know your store’s deadline, watch the price and ask. The worst they can say is no.
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