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A home is best associated with the comfort it brings. A small abode filled with your favourite things, designed the way you like it, with the people that make you smile.
One of life’s greatest joys is the process of making your home your own.
That is why Home Depot is a fun place to visit for all homeowners. With everything from electrical fixtures to paints to tools to storage, Home Depot has been a one-stop-shop for most needs that could arise in upgrading your home.
While finding whatever you need to renovate your home is a given at Home Depot, it is also known for price matching. The Home Depot Price Match, aka the Home Depot Guaranteed Low Price, is a great way to ensure that you get the most competitive price for your purchase. The procedure? A simple search to find the most competitive price, checking if it is an eligible competitor, producing proof at Home Depot in order to request a price match.
When it comes to requesting for a price match, it is important to know the Home Depot price match policy. Which products are eligible for a price match? Which competitors are eligible? Will Home Depot price match Amazon? Are sale prices qualified? Knowing the rules will make the entire process much easier and will save time.
Price matching is a competitive tactic applied by retailers to lure customers with the best prices. In simple terms, if you find an item at a lower price at another store while shopping in a particular store with a price matching policy, you can present proof of the lower price and request for the retailer to match the price. There are standard rules in place when it comes to price matching. The product needs to be an exact match in terms of brand, model number, color, size, etc. Only stores that are part of the eligible competitor list are allowed. Products bought from a third-party retailer are not allowed. The product needs to be in stock. Proof of the lower price needs to be shown. Promotional offers are often not included. Therefore, it is necessary for the customer to be well-versed with the price-matching policies of the store in question in order to request a price match.
Every brand that allows price matching will have rules around the process. It is important to familiarize yourself with them as a customer in order to make the most of the benefit.
Here is a list of the basic criteria for Home Depot’s Price Match Policy:
The product must be the exact same in every aspect including brand, model, color, and specifications. Substitutions or alternatives are not allowed.
The product must be readily available and in stock, in order for the customer to ask for a price match.
Seasonal promotions such as Black Friday and holiday offers, one-time-only offers, rebates, free offers, special events, bundle offers, clearance promotional prices, etc. by competitors are not eligible for price match at Home Depot.
The competitor must be a local, authorized retailer within the same area as the Home Depot store where you're making the price match request. "Local" typically means within the same market or a reasonable distance from the store. Also, the competitor must be an authorized seller of the product, which means they must be a recognized and legitimate business selling genuine items, not third-party sellers or marketplace vendors.
In order to request a price match, the customer must bring proof of a lower price of the same product available with an eligible competitor store.
Before requesting for a price match, look up the rules for Low Price Guarantee in order to avoid potential confusion around the subject.
Here are some of the exclusions as per their website:
Specially ordered items that are customized according to your specifications, are excluded from price matching.
Products that are marked for clearance, closeout or are discontinued are not eligible for price matching.
Competitor pricing for any professional services, including labor and installation costs, are not a part of price matching policy at Home Depot.
Open-box merchandise, reconditioned, refurbished products, previously discounted products, floor models, demonstration units, products with any wear and tear, are not eligible for price matching.
Volume/wholesale pricing by competitors is not eligible for price matching at Home Depot.
If you’ve used a third-party/discount site to buy the product, it is not eligible for price matching as it is not bought directly from the list of eligible competitors.
In case a competitor has advertised pricing for a product with an error in the pricing, this will not count for a price match.
Pricing offered on products sold by membership-based retail wholesalers is not eligible for price matching.
Special pricing offered through credit terms or financed offers, is not included under price matching.
The detailed rules can be found on their official site. Also, it makes sense to keep track of their price matching policy in case of any updates.
In order to request for a price match, it is important to confirm if the eligible competitor’s price is lower than the price Home Depot is offering. The price must be current and active.
To be eligible for a price match, you must be able to show valid proof of the lower price offered by an eligible competitor through a current advertisement, website listing or official store display.
Ready with the valid proof, you can then visit the customer service desk and ask for a price match.
The support staff will then process the price match request. At this juncture, it is important to ensure that you have all the necessary information and documentation such as the receipt in case the purchase is already made, and the valid price proof.
Home Depot is known to price match with a range of competitors, provided the criteria are met. Fair competition is key while maintaining quality standards for Home Depot.
The prominent competitors such as Lowe’s, Menards and Ace Hardware are naturally the first names that come up when it comes to price matching at Home Depot. Prices of products found at these stores are considered for price matching.
Within a specific geographic radius, legitimate home improvement stores that sell products through authorised channels, are also considered as competitors under the price matching policy.
Specific online hardware stores qualify as eligible competitors for price matching. However, it is best to check with the customer support staff as to which ones apply. For instance, does Home Depot price-match Amazon? The answer is a little complex. As a lot of third-party retailers sell products via Amazon, these cases won’t qualify for price matching as products that are not sold directly by a competing retailer are not eligible.
Except for temporary pop-up stores and unauthorised retailers, Home Depot considers a variety of physical retail stores as valid competitors for price matching. It is best to confirm with the customer support staff of Home Depot if a specific geographic radius is also taken into consideration for these stores.
An important point to note is that competitors must be authorised to sell the product in question in order to qualify as an eligible competitor for Home Depot’s price matching policy.
It depends on a number of factors such as the traffic in the store, the availability of customer service staff and the particular case in question. It also depends on the preparedness of the customer, such as having the proof of competitor pricing or receipt ready to be shown. In case the proof can be verified easily through official channels, it becomes easier and quicker to process. However, there are cases where the staff may need to contact the competitor in order to confirm the pricing. The number of items is also a factor that can increase the time taken to process the request.
Owning a home comes with upgrades as part of the deal. Therefore, a trip to Home Depot is always a good idea. With price matching as a policy, you get to ensure that you find the best deals as well. You can also keep yourself informed of the best deals at Home Depot that make sense for you, by using apps like flash.co that reward you for all your shopping!
Keeping track of any new updates in the price matching policy is important to ensure that if you ever raise a request for price matching, you are able to get it sorted in a timely and efficient manner.
Does Home Depot match prices from online-only retailers?
Stores like Lowe’s and Walmart that also have a strong online presence, are eligible competitors for the price matching policy at Home Depot. However, for specific online-only retailers, it is best to check with a customer support representative.
Can I combine price matching with other Home Depot discounts or promotions?
No, you can either request a price match or use a Home Depot discount, coupon, or promotional offer, but not both on the same item.
Can I price match using Home Depot's mobile app?
Yes. Once you locate the item on the Home Depot app, you can contact the customer care (via the live chat feature in the app or calling them up directly), share the competitor’s price details (via a spreadsheet, link, or screenshot), and the representative will adjust the price for you once it’s approved.
Do I need to bring the product to the store to request a price match?
In order to request a price match before the purchase of a product, it is necessary to provide valid proof of the competitor pricing. It is not necessary to bring the actual product.
