What is Amazon’s Policy on Doing a Price Match?

Amazon completely changed the way we all shopped for goods. Shopping online on Amazon is like going through an entire warehouse of goods. There are so many things you can discover just from browsing through the site. They even have programs on their websites that allow you to explore unusual finds. Amazon also features everyday deals and other special deals that will entice you to even just take a look. Aside from everything that Amazon sells, they also feature thousands of third-party sellers from all over the world that have user ratings on the site. Online shoppers never have to worry about the legitimacy of products on Amazon because of the reviews.

Many people buy most of their everyday items through Amazon nowadays. They even sell dash buttons that allow you to order products as needed. You can place the dash buttons all over your house where the household products may be, and once you see that it’s ready to order, you can just push the button and Amazon will automatically process the order for you. It’s an amazing convenience that only Amazon can provide.

What is price matching?

As much as we shop through the online site and as much money as we spend on it each year, it only makes sense to know what the company’s price match policy is. Price matching is when a retailer is made to lower their item prices in order to match another company’s cheaper price. The customers typically present price matches to a retailer, and usually, the retailer will have to respond with either a full price match or no price matching at all. Every single retailer has a policy on price matching that might only pertain to specific items or to products that range in specific prices. It would make sense for customers to know a company’s price match policy before putting in the efforts to obtain a price match.

Amazon’s price match policy

As of 2016, Amazon has discontinued it’s price matching. This was something that was done quietly and in steps before they fully discontinued their price match program. Back in the days, customers had a huge protection policy with Amazon when it comes to returns or price matching. As large of a company as Amazon is, they were able to fulfill price matches with no issues. At the beginning of 2016, Amazon discontinued the program but still continued to price match on televisions. Televisions are usually big-ticket items and the price matching on those didn’t equate to a huge difference in the end. But eventually, they got rid of that as well. When it was first established in 2016, customers who were trying to get a price adjustment after purchase would get an email or a message detailing the new policies of the company. Today, Amazon’s website specifically says the following when you get to their price match page: “Amazon.com consistently works toward maintaining competitive prices on everything we carry. Amazon.com doesn’t offer price matching.”

Why doesn’t Amazon offer price matching?

While some people might think that it’s completely anti-consumer not to have price matching, we really can’t blame the company. Within the last couple of years, a few software apps have come about with the primary goal of finding price adjustments for consumers. Apps such as Earny and Paribus got consumers some money back on items that they’ve recently purchased. These apps could be directly linked to an Amazon account, and their sole purpose was to find adjustments that consumers might not typically have access to. It was a loophole in the system that someone figured out, and Amazon simply shut the door to everything else.

Now that Amazon has completely shut off their price-matching program, the apps will have to work with other retailers that probably don’t get the same volume that Amazon got. It doesn’t make much of a difference to Amazon fans, however, because they believe that Amazon still has the best prices in comparison to most websites online or even compared to physical retailers. In short, Amazon still has the upper hand—price matching or not price matching. When it comes to convenience and affordability, not much else out there can really compete with the giant.