Black Friday price matching policies

Walmart price matching during Black Friday — No

Normally, Walmart has a price matching policy, but it won’t price match for prices shown from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. This means if you’re looking for a specific item during the Black Friday shopping rush, do a little research beforehand to see if Walmart has the lowest advertised price on that item. Otherwise, you might be out of luck at checkout.

During other times of the year, Walmart will price match if a select group of 30 online stores has a better price. A few names on this list include Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's, Newegg and Target.com.

Target price matching during Black Friday — No

Like Walmart, Target doesn’t budge on its price matching exclusions during Black Friday. In fact, Target won’t match competitor prices for the entire week after Thanksgiving Day.

But during the rest of the year, Target’s price matching policy is actually pretty great. The retail giant will price match to any other retailer located within a 25-mile radius and 30 online stores, including Target.com. You can even use manufacturer’s coupons from the Cartwheel app on top of your price match at checkout.

Best Buy price matching during Black Friday — No

Best Buy is another no-go when it comes to Black Friday price matching. Unlike Target, Best Buy only blacks out its price matching policy from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, so you can still take advantage of this hack for the rest of the week.

Normally, Best Buy will price match local retailers up to a 25-mile radius away, as well as its online stores. An additional seven online stores are also on Best Buy’s price matching list:

Kohl’s price matching during Black Friday — No

Sadly, Kohl’s puts a hold on its price matching policy for Thanksgiving week, usually starting around the 18th and ending the Saturday after Black Friday. And since its policy is strictly in-store price matches, online Cyber Monday deals don’t qualify either.

JCPenney price matching during Black Friday — Yes

At JCPenney, you can always price match, even on Black Friday. In fact, JCPenney will do one better than match a lower competitor price — it’ll beat the price by 5%.

All you have to do is bring in the ad for an identical item sold by JCPenney within 14 days of your purchase to claim your savings. If you purchased an item online and found it for less somewhere else, call Customer Care at 800-322-1189.

Just a few exceptions to JCP’s price matching policy:

• Sephora, salon, optical, portrait, in-home custom window treatments and services do not apply for price matching.
• JCP will match prices on major appliances, TVs and TV accessories, but you don’t get the extra 5%.
• The extra 5% does not apply to prices matched between a JCPenney store and JCPenney.com.
• Purchases in Alaska and Puerto Rico are excluded.

Newegg price matching during Black Friday — No

Newegg’s price matching policy is a little different from most, but you don’t have to worry about it during Black Friday or Cyber Monday — Newegg doesn’t price match during these retail holidays.

If you want to take advantage of its price matching system the rest of the year, look for the “price match” egg next to an item, indicating it’s eligible for the price match guarantee. Note that price match requests will be honored in the form of store credit at Newegg.com.

Lowe’s price matching during Black Friday — Yes

Not only does Lowe’s price match competitors on Black Friday, but it’ll also beat its own prices on previous purchases from the last 30 days. So if you buy an item at full-price from Lowe’s in late October, you could cash in on its Black Friday price in November if it goes on sale.

Here’s how Lowe’s price matching works:

• Bring in the competitor’s ad from a local store or online, and Lowe’s will match the price.
• Some brands, installation labor, closeout, discontinued, clearance, refurbished, used or damaged items don’t apply.
• Price match limited to “reasonable” quantities.

Home Depot price matching during Black Friday — Yes

We spoke with Home Depot customer service to confirm that this company does price match on Black Friday. In fact, it’ll do one better and beat the competitor’s price by 10%.

There are a few exclusions, though:

• The extra 10% doesn’t apply to online items.
• Professional services, labor costs and installation fees aren’t eligible.
• Rebates, free offers or bundle offers don’t count toward price matching.

eBay price matching during Black Friday — No

In the past, eBay announced that it would match any prices that were lower than its “Don’t Wait for Black Friday” sale prices, which were available before Black Friday had officially kicked off.

The catch is that these pre-Black-Friday prices won’t be around for long, so you’ll need to get them while you can. Once Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday roll around, eBay’s price matching offer goes on hiatus.