As many people start their holiday shopping early in the year – to avoid shortages – shoppers ask a good question: What if you buy something now and the price drops dramatically around Black Friday?
Mandy Bova is one of those buyers who is already crossing items off her list.
“I would say shop earlier than usual,†she said. “Buy whatever you can.”
She can’t help but wonder if her wrapped Christmas presents will be on sale in just a few weeks.
Kelly Goldsmith, who teaches marketing at Vanderbilt University, says consumers can protect themselves.
“The good news is that for those of us who are looking for deals, those big Black Friday shoppers, many stores are still honoring the deals,†she said. “Even if you buy it now, they’ll honor the deal later, and they might give you back some of the price difference.”
How to get a price adjustment
Some stores promise price adjustment guarantees.
Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Costco are some of them. For example, Costco agrees to give you the cost difference if a buyer buys now and the item goes on sale soon.
Walmart will even match the price if the consumer finds the product elsewhere. In many cases, the customer can request the price match through the company’s website.
Costco offers price matching for 30 days after purchasing a product. Target limits it to 14 days. Walmart and Best Bbuy do not provide an exact timeline.
Even if a store doesn’t have a price match policy, experts say shoppers should be bold and ask the retailer the difference if they spot a sale elsewhere.
Stores won’t notify you when the price of an item you just purchased drops, so you need to check to make sure you don’t waste your money.
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