You’ve probably seen the weekly ads from different stores, like Best Buy or Target that fall out of your newspaper every Sunday. If you immediately dump these fliers in the trash, you might be missing out on some serious money-savings deals.

Use Weekly Sale Ads to Get the Best Deal

These ads are an important tool in helping you become a more savvy shopper, and that’s because of the recent popularity of ad matching. Ad matching (or price matching) is a practice by retail stores which allows customers to bring in a competing store's ad to their local store and then purchase the advertised item in their local store for the competitor’s lower price. Many of the large retail stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy offer price matching.

So now when you get the weekly sale ads each week, you can usually pick one retail outlet for all your lowest-price shopping needs instead of planning on shopping at each one to get the absolute best deals on products you regularly buy. That will save you time and gas. Though the rules will differ slightly for each retail chain you shop at, the basics for getting the best deal are generally the same. Here’s what you should know in order to get that low, low price.

Look Out for Ads and Coupons

The best places to look for ads and coupons is in Sunday’s newspaper inserts and online at store websites that offer previews of their other weekly circulars. Serious ad matchers usually have a list of all items they want discounted, and the corresponding competing ads in some kind of organized binder or folder.

Know the Store’s Policy

To make sure you always get the best price, know the store’s policy. 

The corporate website of most any company, including the retail giants Walmart and Target, should have a general policy outline on their customer service page. Though you may find a company-wide practice for ad matching, it is sometimes up to the individual outlet to determine how they should handle price matching. A phone call directly to the manager before your shopping trip is the best way to get all the details on how price matching is done. Ask the following questions to get a feel for their policy:

  • What stores do they ad match?

  • Is price matching limited to ads from the same city or area of the store?

  • Does the ad brought in for the price match need to be an original (or will they take scanned copies?) 

  • Do they match ads from online retailers?

  • Do they match their own online prices?

Also find out how they would like the ad matching to occur. 

  • Will you need to present the ad with the products you want matched before they are rung up? 

  • Will a manager need to be on hand? 

  • Can you use the self-checkout line for ad matches?

  • Is there a limit to the number of items you can match?

Knowing the answers to these questions will ensure a smooth shopping experience and that you choose the best place to do your shopping. If one store doesn’t match prices from online retailers, another might, and you can’t do any harm by asking for a competing price--even if they don’t explicitly state in their policies that they will match online prices.

Know Your Ads

Know your ads. Since you will be using the competing store’s ads as your “evidence” for price matching, be sure you’ve looked them over really well. Pay attention to the product being advertised and look for the brand, variety, size of product, and any special packaging that might exclude it from being ad matched. Be aware of the date that the sale runs. (Not all ads run a full 7 days, and some sale prices are good throughout the entire month.)

Be Aware of Ads Even After You’ve Made Your Purchase

Many stores also allow you to ad match AFTER your purchase. That is usually only allowed for ads from the same store, but it still guarantees that you get the lowest price on things you need to buy from the store where you like to shop. And if you know a store will price match after purchase you can always stock up on something you need right away even if you know the item will be on sale in a few days. Stores that honor their own low prices will usually let you bring in your receipt showing a previous purchase within 30 days, and will credit you with the difference, so always, always make sure to keep your receipts.

When Won’t a Price Match Work?

Some common reasons for price matches not being honored include:

  • Products are different sizes: For example, the size of a particular beauty product at one store offered 25% more product than the item at the price matching store. Because the product wasn’t exactly the same in volume, it didn’t qualify to be price matched.

  • One product is a special edition: For example, A DVD at one store contains a special “bonus disc” as part of a unique promotion for that retail chain. The price matching store won’t be able to price match, as they do not offer the same bonus disc promotion, and so the product isn’t comparable.

  • Location conflict: Some stores won’t honor price matches from specific stores within their area, based on agreements they may have with the corporate office and as part of a franchise arrangement. Just because the store is located within the same zip code or city as the price match store, it’s still a good idea to ask before you shop.

Additionally, there are some special prices that are almost never matched. They include buy one, get one free offers, free or discounted products that require another in-store purchase, and sale prices that were incorrect due to a misprint. If a deal just seems to good to be true, it usually is.

And lastly, many stores won’t offer price matching on items from their bargain or clearance racks, or on items that were special one-time offers as part of a holiday or promotional event. Remember that just because it’s clearanced out, doesn’t mean a product is significantly discounted or even a very good deal!

The quick and dirty tip for getting price matches is to be prepared and be polite. If you’re going to be doing many price match requests in the future from a particular retailer, it’s always in your best interest to be on your best behavior and build a relationship that is beneficial for both you and the store of your choosing. With some planning and perseverance, you can shop at your favorite stores only, and pay only your favorite prices.

This has been an episode of Dealista’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Getting More for Less, brought to you by Wise Bread, a personal finance blog that helps you live large on a small budget.

Send us your questions, comments, and tips to dealista@quickanddirtytips.com or call 206-203-0282

Until next time!