How to Win at Price Matching in Canada

When shopping around for the best deals, price matching is your best bet. This will absolutely help you when finding deals and turn you into a savvy shopper.

The bonus? It could save you some serious time. Read on to find out what is a price match and how to get started.

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Essentially, price matching is where a store agrees to match a lower advertised price from a competing store. As in, that store will let you buy the same product for the lower price.

The idea is that these stores are really keen on making sure they’re offering the best deals (duh, they want to profit!). To stay ahead of the pack, large stores will offer to price match so that they’ll keep business. Furthermore, it’s hard for them to know whenever a competitor changes their price, so they offer you the opportunity to do so.

It’s pretty awesome if you think about it – you get a lower priced product without needing to go to another store, and the store gets your business.

Keep in mind that not every store does this and even if they do, their policies may differ. For example, some stores will refund the difference from an advertised rate, whereas others will only honour it if you show them the lower price right when you make a purchase.

Different Types of Price Matching

Why yes, there are different types of price matching in Canada!

Again, different stores have different price match policies, so you’ll need to check to make sure. Typically though, price matching will be one of the following types:

• Rewards – Some stores will offer rewards in addition just giving the lower price.
• Standard price match – A store will just match the lower price from another store
• By percentage – the store will beat another’s store price by matching it, then lowering it with a certain percentage.

Can You Really Save Money this Way?

In a nutshell, yes. First off, you’re saving time, especially if the store with the lower price is pretty far away. Secondly, if you can find a place where they price match and offer additional discounts or rewards, you’re saving even more money.

However, it may not always be worth your time unless you’re going to be saving significant amounts of money. As well, you’ll want to know what each stores’ rules are before going off and trying.

Granted, each store has different requirements, so you’ll want to look it up before you go. For example, many brick and mortar stores won’t honour prices found online.

Other restrictions include:

• No rain checks
• Ads need to be in the same area
• You’ll need to provide the original copy of the ad/flyer
• Special deals (e.g. Buy One Get One)
• Clearance products
• Free offers

How You Can Price Match

Price matching seems pretty easy, but it may not be as smooth of a process. To increase your chances of success, you’ll want to make sure you’re well prepared, be confident and do your research before heading to the store.

First, read store flyers as soon as you can when you know the item you want to purchase. There are many websites you can check out or even check your mailbox if you get some mailed to you. You want to do this as quickly as you can because if the advertised deal is really good, the store in question may not have in stock soon.

Yes, you’ll need to make sure the item is in stock at both stores – at the one you want to buy at and the competitor store. Next, you’ll want to see if the model number (it’s not enough to just get the product description) matches. You may need to do some digging online to see if this is the case, or else it’s usually in small print in the physical flyer.

Then you’ll want to look at the price matching policy at the store in question. First, do they even have a price matching policy? What do you need to get the actual price match? For example, some stores will need a physical flyer while others are OK with the original source from your smartphone. This is also a good time to check other stores, especially if there are multiple stores with the same item. That’s because you may be able to save more such as if a store price matches and gives an additional discount.

Once you have all you need, gather it all together before heading to the store. As in, bring the entire stack of flyers or have on hand the website on your smartphone. You could even print out the price matching policy for the store you’re going to. Seriously, you can never have too much! As they say, it’s better to be over prepared.

Once you’re ready to head to the store, you’ll want to be confident and calm. If you’re confident, you’ll be more likely to stand your ground, even if you get a no. If you’re calm, you’ll be less likely to act like a jerk, losing your chances of getting those savings.

All you need to do at this point is get the item you want, had to the cashier and provide all proof of the price match. If the cashier denies you, feel free to head to another one. Don’t be afraid to speak to a manager if you need you. If you’ve really done your homework, you could be more knowledgeable than the cashier. Again, be calm, state your intention and back up your claims with proof.

Unfortunately, not all managers are nice either, so you may need to call the head office to speak to someone there. It may not always happen, but it never hurts to have the number of the store’s head office with you just in case. Luckily, in most cases it could just be a miscommunication.

Other things you can do to make the whole experience more smoothly:

• Try to match multiple items at a time. If you’re doing so at a supermarket, try to divide the items into two piles: ones at regular price and ones with price matching. That way, you’re organized and save you time. You won’t make anyone annoyed, such as the people in line and the cashier.
• Shop early in the morning to avoid crowds and ensure the manager or cashier is in a better mood.
• However, busy times may be a good idea too as the store may be overwhelmed and will give the price match much faster to keep up with the lines.
• Try different types of stores. For example, if you’re looking to price match for a tool, try places like gardening stores instead of just places like Canadian Tire or Home Depot.

Stores that Price Match

Below are stores that price match in Canada. Make sure to click on the link to read their price match policies:

Grocery Stores

• FreshCo – beat other stores by a cent (Freshco Canada Price Match Policy)
• London Drugs – matches competitor prices (London Drugs Canada Price Match Policy)
• No Frills – price matches up to 4 items (No Frills Canada Price Match Policy)
• Real Canadian Superstore – matches competitor prices (Real Canadian Superstore Price Match Policy)

Clothing

• Designer Shoe Warehouse – matches competitor prices
• Adidas – get a price adjustment within 14 days of purchase
• Reebok – get a price adjustment within 14 days of purchase

Department Stores

• Walmart – matches competitor prices (Walmart Canada Price Match Policy)
• eBay.ca – Will price match with Amazon.ca, Best Buy or Walmart
• Hudson’s Bay – matches competitor prices
• Giant Tiger – aaa (Giant Tiger Canada Price Match Policy)
• The Bargain Shop – aaa (The Bargain Shop Canada Price Match Policy)

Equipment

• PartSource – matches competitor prices
• MEC – matches competitor prices
• National Sports – matches competitor prices
• PeaveyMart
• Sport Chek – matches competitor prices in store
• Staples – matches competitor prices (Staples Canada Price Match Policy)

Electronics

• 2001 Audio Video – matches competitor prices
• Best Buy – Beat competitor prices by 10% (Best Buy Canada Price Match Policy)
• Canada Computers – matches competitor prices
• Henry’s – matches competitor prices
• Lenovo – Lenovo Affinity members will get an extra $20 off competitor pricing
• Memory Express – Beat competitor prices by 10%
• NCIX – matches competitor prices at their discretion
• Newegg.ca – matches competitor price and gives you a store credit
• The Source – matches competitor prices
• Vision Electronics – Beat competitor prices by 15%

Home and Garden

• The Brick – Beat competitor prices on certain products (The Brick Canada Price Match Policy)
• Bed Bath & Beyond – matches competitor prices
• Canadian Tire – matches competitor prices at their discretion (Canadian Tire Price Match Policy)
• Home Depot – Beat competitor prices by 10% (Home Depot Canada Price Match Policy)
• IKEA – Price protection up to 45 days after purchase
• Home Hardware – matches competitor prices (Home Hardware Canada Price Match Policy)
• Kitchen Stuff Plus – Beat competitor prices by 10%
• Linen Chest – Beat competitor prices by 10%
• Lowes – Beat competitor prices by 10%
• Rona – matches competitor prices (Rona Canada Price Match Policy)

Children and Pets

• Toys R Us – matches competitor prices (Toys R Us Canada Price Match Policy)
• Babies R Us – matches competitor prices
• PetSmart – matches competitor prices
• PetValu – matches competitor prices at their discretion

Should You Give Price Matching a Try?

Price matching is great as it can save you some serious cash. Sure, it may be just few dollars here and there, but that can add up. Also, if you’re thinking of purchasing a large ticket item, you could be looking at hundreds of dollars saved.

The idea is to get into the practice of price matching. It may seem overwhelming at first, but it’ll be worth it. Just do your research, be prepared with the store policies and keep pressing for your savings.