How To Ask and Get an Amazon Price Adjustment (Even On 3rd Party Items)

Updated January 12, 2024 by Kyle James
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It looks like this will only work on TV’s now, stay tuned to see if this new Amazon policy sticks. Because Amazon changes prices so frequently, I think they’ll get a lot of backlash for changing their policy. Bottom-line, be persistent as I have heard reports of some shoppers still getting Amazon price adjustments. YMMV.)

Amazon Price Adjustment

One of my favorite blog subjects is Amazon, more specifically, how to save money at Amazon in ways you’ve probably never considered.

One of the least advertised, yet most effective ways to save money at Amazon is to ask them for a price adjustment if the price of an item drops after you get it delivered to your home.

As a matter of fact, you can’t find anything “official” posted on the Amazon website detailing their price adjustment policy.

And furthermore, did you know that you can often get a price adjustment on items not sold directly by Amazon, but instead by a 3rd party seller?

Yup, it’s true. Here’s the skinny so you can make it happen…

How to Ask For an Amazon Price Adjustment:

1. You Have 7 Days From Delivery to Request Adjustment

There’s been some recent discussion over how long you have to request a price adjustment at Amazon.

To set the record straight, you have exactly 7 days from when the item gets delivered to your doorstep to request an Amazon price adjustment.

2. Keep an Eye Out For a Price Drop

Nobody has the time to check daily if the Amazon price drops on something you bought.

So use the free site CamelCamelCamel.com and they’ll do all of the leg-work for you and email you when a price drops.

3. What to do When a Price Drops Within 7 Days

You can either call Amazon customer service at 1 (888) 280-4331 or start a live chat session to get the ball rolling on your price adjustment.

How to Start a Live Chat Session

Starting a live chat session on Amazon can be a bit confusing but I feel it’s by far the best way to get a price adjustment.

At the bottom of this customer service page, under Step 2, select “More order issues” from the first drop-down menu and “Other order question or issue” from the second drop-down menu.

You’re then given 3 ways to contact Amazon: E-mail, Phone, or Chat. Simply select “Chat” and follow the instructions.

See Also: Amazon Hack: Use Their Satisfaction Survey to Get Price Protection

Does the Item Have to be Sold Directly by Amazon?

Officially, yes. But if you’re a loyal customer, the answer is surprisingly “No”.

I recently ordered a product from a 3rd party seller and the price dropped by $23 the day after I received it.

On a whim, I started a chat session and low-and-behold they gave me the $23 price adjustment anyways.

They explained it this way, “However since you are a loyal customer for one time exception I am refunding the difference to your gift card balance.”

I had the $23 in my account gift card balance within 2 hours.

Interestingly, this wasn’t a “one time exception” as they did the same thing for me back in December when I requested a price adjustment on a different item sold by a 3rd party.

Moral of the Story?

Always politely ask about a price adjustment, no matter if Amazon shipped it to your directly, or you bought it through a 3rd party, ALWAYS ASK.

Whether you’re a new or longtime Amazon customer, the worst they can say is “No”.

More often than not, with just a few minutes of work, you’ll end up with some extra money in your Amazon account for future purchases.

See Also: 6 Brilliantly Slick Ways to Get Amazon Prime for Free

Here’s how my Amazon chat session went down (BTW, in case you were wondering, my wife is Aimee and our account is under her name, haha):

Amazon Chat Session

Ask The Reader: Have you ever requested a price-match from Amazon? Was the item sold by Amazon or a 3rd party? How did it go?

Happy savings.


By Kyle James

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Ketch Rogers

I tried this today and the person on the chat said that since their pricing is dynamic they don’t offer price adjustments.

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Steve

They no longer offer this. Have tried several times. Even after explaining that the item has free returns and that i am trying to save them shipping costs by not returning it and placing a new order. They are extremely stubborn. They would rather pay for shipping 3 times (original order, original order returned, new order) then simply just credit the difference. Even in the form of Amazon gift card. Such a waste of time and money. I’ve had to place a new order and ship the original item back 3 times recently.

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David Hubbard

Same thing happened to me just today. In fact on phone with Amazon support after chat support, and same thing. Right now they’re contacting UPS to try to cancel delivery for me. But needing to contact Ascurion as well when she’s done since it was an item I decided on a warranty for. *sigh* Very disappointing, considering. Mine hasn’t even arrived yet and the price dropped by $25…no assistance whatsoever outside of “refuse delivery and reorder the item”. And this was a PRIME Reseller. Fulfilled by Amazon directly although reseller is Cnest-Direct.

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Brian

Same here, crazy thing is my order isn’t even shipped yet and I’ve waited 2 months. It’s finally going to ship in 4-5 days, but there is a $102 off promotion so I asked. The first rep was super rude and disconnected before I finish typing my message. The second rep told me to reorder it. But the thing is all the new orders will have another 2 months wait to ship. Super disappointed, its also ship and sold by Amazon too, not some 3rd party seller.

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Rob B

I was able to get this to work, I believe. The chat agent I spoke with said they would refund the difference (which admittedly was a small amount) of $1.95 but the email I received said it would be $5 more than that. They say it will take a few days to process so who knows for sure but it seems promising. Feels like with the comments here it’s just a crap shoot on whether it will work for you or not. I’m a prime member so that may make a difference as well.

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Pete G.

I just tried to do this when a TV I ordered (bought on Amazon but fulfilled by a 3rd party) had its price drop $100 within a week (and Amazon even sent me a marketing e-mail with the new product). I followed this suggestion and was denied, as they said they cannot price match. They suggested returning the TV for a full refund and ordering a new one.

I tried to argue that the return/refund/new order method would simply be wasting everyone’s time and money, and that it’d be in everyone’s benefit to just refund me the $100, but to no avail.

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Tim R.

I just tried to get a price adjustment today on an item I ordered 3 days ago as well and was denied in two separate chat sessions. Amazon said they don’t do price adjustments (“As we receive new inventory at new prices and hence the price drops or increases. We no more offer price adjustments as we sell the products according to the prices we receive them”). As others have said I was told to refuse the package and re-order. I assumed that like most all other major retailers they had a price adjustment policy which they obviously don’t. Very disappointing and a bad policy for a major retailer.

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Philip

Same here. And it’s an Amazon product. So, I returned it and ordered the same product for $50 less.

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Eddie

Just tried and got a ten dollar credit on an advent calendar I bought last week. Just be polite and persistent.

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Kyle James

Cool!

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Brian M

quote from amazon “We work hard to find the best prices out there and make sure our prices are as low or lower – changing our prices instantly if we find a lower offer somewhere else. Therefore, we don’t offer post-purchase adjustments.” This was in reference to a monitor I bought and that went on sale the day I received the monitor. I was going to return it and just purchase the monitor locally but by the time I figure in the shipping I would have to pay through Amazon and the loss of the warranty I bought it was not worth it. I would recommend if you have a high priced item you buy locally unless you know you are getting the best deal possible from Amazon. No hate to Amazon as all vendors have to have a policy but to purchase an item then have it go on sale through Amazon the same day you receive it kind of just.. sucks.. Anyway, I figured I would share maybe it would help someone.

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John

I was denied as well. Which is ironic, I flat out told them I will just reorder and then return the item back to them, they will be paying shipping both ways in 2020!

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Kyle James

Yeah, it’s going to cost them more in shipping costs then to give the price adjustment.

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Bonnie

i am glad I saw your site. A desk I received just today that I paid $47.48 for had dropped in price today to $34.18…What a shock! After searching the amazon site could find no help. Saw your site and did the chat…couldn’t help me…saying there was no team that dealt with this..getting a price match or refund. So I insisted twice on talking to someone who could help me so they had someone call me and in 5 minutes they refunded the difference to my credit card! It pays to be persistent!
Glad I found your site!!

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Becky

I tried this today and they wouldn’t do it It was a $50 price difference on Echo buds that are arriving today. He only offered me a $5 credit to my account. So I’m going to return these echo buds as soon as I get an order another set. What a hassel – especialy for an Amazon product.

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NickiB

I tried this, as I felt like it never hurts to ask. Years ago, Home Depot refunded me the sales difference on a washing machine I purchased a few days before it went on sale- so I figured I could do the same with Amazon, right?
Nope. I bought an electronic on a Tuesday. It was delivered Wednesday and on Thursday, it was $70 cheaper- almost half off!
I nicely asked for the difference, as I had just received it and it would actually save Amazon the money if I didn’t send it back and re-order at the sales price. Someone told me that they would make a one time exception. 5 business days pass and nothing refunded to my bank account. And the product is no longer on sale at that point either.
I again contact customer service and was told by someone higher up that Amazon prices constantly fluctuate, they are a marketplace, and that the person who offered me the refund would be “taken action against,” as they were not authorized to offer the refund.
When I expressed my displeasure at the fact that Amazon would not honor what had been previously offered, and that I would be returning and not re-purchasing, all I was told was to have a nice day and thanks for contacting Amazon.
Because they wouldn’t honor what I had initially been offered as a “one time exception,” they have lost a loyal customer.
It really wasn’t about the money and if they had simply stated at the beginning that they couldn’t do it, I could have just sent it back and reordered, but more than likely I wouldn’t have.
They will be losing all of my Christmas orders this year and any subsequent orders I make online. Extremely disappointed in their lack of decent customer service.

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Diane

i had an item delivered 4 days ago and price dropped by $100. Amazon would not price match. They would not help. They would rather I returned the item….very heavy and large….and reorder. That is a crazy business decision. I send them this information here on this site about How to Ask For an Amazon Price Adjustment: They said that is NOT their policy. They can not do outside of their policy.

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Shefshell

They refused my request as well. And when I told them I’ll just be returning the item the rep told me that there will be a restocking fee. As if!

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Kim

I just received my item today & it went down $9. After wasting 20 minutes with 3 different people on the chat line, the last person tells me that they don’t do price adjustments anymore. I would have to return the item and then buy it again.

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barti

is it worth your time ? $9? i would agree if it is $50 0r $100 but $9?

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exoHD

I postulate that those who actually granted a price adjustment did so because they had the means, and not because Amazon granted them permission whatsoever. Perhaps some of those reps know the system enough to provide refunds.

I’ve worked at a place before where we had the option to give customers a huge discount if they were family or close friends. Technically I could’ve just abused that option to give the big discount to anyone I wanted (obviously not frequently). Maybe it’s like that with the Amazon reps.

And so to those rare Amazon reps: God bless ya! The world needs more of you folks.

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Alan I

I bought a smart device for $249 but then the price dropped to $216 so I returned and bought it at the cheaper price. Then 4 days later the price dropped to $206. I felt guilty and asked them to adjust the price so they wouldn’t have to pay shipping. Nope, they would rather I return it. Amazing that this company makes so much money they can implement dumb policies like this.

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mycatsadiva

Thank you for this HELPFUL article. I just saw the vacuum sealer I purchased on 7/13/2021 for $289 dropped to $229. I contacted Amazon using the number you provided and they honored the new price. I received a $60 credit to my Amazon account. The only thing I missed was the tax. The tax paid at $289 was $28; tax at $229 is $22. Had I mentioned this at the beginning of the call, I probably would have received a larger adjustment; but the account representative had already issued the $60 credit. I recommend people consider the tax when asking for an adjustment, especially on expensive items.

Thanks Kyle for taking the time to post this write-up. Your knowledge saved me from having to go through the return process and and the reorder process to get the savings.

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