The Best Buy price match policy serves as a great way to always get the lowest price when shopping for electronics. Surprisingly, I recently had a Best Buy employee tell me that not many shoppers take advantage of their fairly liberal price match policy. So I figured that maybe shoppers just aren’t aware of it and how to best use it to save money. So this article idea was born. Here’s exactly how Best Buy’s policy works, along with some insider tips to help you use it most effectively.

How Does the Best Buy Price Match Policy Work?

The price match policy at Best Buy can definitely save you some money if you know how it works.

If you find a lower price at a local retail competitor, or from a qualifying online retailer, Best Buy will happily match that price.

To get a price match, the item must be identical in terms of brand, model number, and color.

When in-store, just find a “Blue Shirt” and show them the competitor’s ad or website (via your smartphone or tablet) with the lower price displayed.

The Best Buy employee will then do all the legwork required to get you the lower price.

See Also: 7 Insider Tips to Save Money at Best Buy

Who’s Considered a “Local Retail Competitor”?

It’s a little technical, and ONLY applies to an in-store price match, but here are the main points:

• 25-Mile Radius – Competitor must be on approved list (more on this below) and located within 25 miles of the Best Buy store you’re purchasing from.
• New, Factory Sealed Products – Items gotta be brand spanking new and still sealed in the box. No open box specials, refurbished items, or “outlet” deals that are repackaged.
• Warranty Required – Products must come with the same factory warranty as Best Buy.

Hack Alert: I think the 25-mile radius “policy” may have some wiggle room in it as I’ve been able to score a price match from a store over 40 miles away.

Which 19 Retailers Will They Price Match?

These days Best Buy will ONLY price match the following 19 retailers, they include some heavy-weights in the consumer electronics category and offer a great opportunity to find a lower price.

This applies for BOTH an in-store price match AND an online price-match.

• Abt
• Amazon
• Apple
• Bhphotovideo.com
• BJ’s Wholesale
• BrandsMart USA
• Conn’s
• Crutchfield.com
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Home Depot.com
• Lowe’s.com
• Menards.com
• MicroCenter
• Nebraska Furniture Mart.com
• P.C. Richard
• RC Willey
• Sam’s Club.com
• Target.com
• Walmart.com

When shopping in-store, just show a Best Buy employee the product page from one of the above sites on your smartphone or tablet and they’ll verify the price and quickly get you a price match. The store MUST be on the above list and within 25 miles of the Best Buy your standing in.

When shopping online, you’ll need to either Start a Live Chat -OR- call them at 1-800-BEST-BUY for a price match request. From their site, “Best Buy will then review and verify the price match request on a Best Buy device.”

Which Items Won’t They Price Match?

These are there price match exclusions:

• Refurbished Items
• Clearance Items
• Open Box Specials
• Contract mobile phones sold by any online retailer.
• Competitors’ service prices.
• Special daily or hourly sales.
• Items for sale Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Fairly small list. The biggest one is no Black Friday price matching.

Can You Get a Match After Your Purchase?

Yes, absolutely.

Also known as “Price Protection” or a “Price Adjustment”, this is when you buy something from Best Buy only to have the price drop via a sale or a new everyday low price.

Crappy feeling for sure! The good news for you is that Best Buy now offers 15-day price protection.

From the Best Buy website, “If we lower our price during the return and exchange period (15 days), we will match our lower price, upon request.”

Just keep your receipt and head back to the store to get the lower price.

For online purchases, call them at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289) and request your price adjustment.

See Also: All the Stores that Offer Price Adjustments (32 Retailers and Counting)

3 Insider Tips for Success:

Here are a few insider tips to make the Best Buy policy work for you.

1. Use the Amazon App

A very easy way to check Amazon for a lower price is with their free app (iOS, Android).

Use the app to scan the product’s bar-code when standing in the aisle at Best Buy. If Amazon has the item cheaper, you’ll get that price. No Prime membership required.

2. Costco and Sam’s are Local Competitors

Surprisingly, Best Buy considers warehouse clubs like Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club to be local competitors. \

So if you find a lower price at any warehouse club, simply bring in evidence and show any “Blue Shirt”.

Look carefully at model numbers and SKUs as the product may look identical but in actuality be made specially for Costco and thus not be 100% identical to Best Buy.

Top Brands in Common: Samsung, LG, Apple, Vizio, Sharp, JVC, Canon, Nikon, Bose, Sony, and Yamaha.

3. “Local Competitor” Hack

Until recently, Best Buy would accept a price match from ALL local stores, not just one of the 19 large retailers that I listed above.

If you find a local competitor that has a lower price, but is NOT one of the 19 stores, TRY to get a price match anyways.

Since Best Buy changed their policy without any notice, I think you’ll still have decent success getting your price match.

I’ve been told manager’s are still being fairly lenient on this new policy as many shoppers aren’t aware of the change yet.

Ask the Reader: Have you ever used the price match policy at Best Buy effectively? If so, how much cash did you save and was it an easy process?

By Kyle James