editor
Updated November 13, 2026. Policies change and have exclusions, so confirm the current terms on each store’s site before relying on them.
Price matching isn’t what it was. Target stopped matching competitors in 2025, Walmart only matches its own website, Amazon has never matched, and several stores that do match pause it during Black Friday. If you’re counting on asking one store to match another’s doorbuster this year, you’ll mostly be disappointed.
What still works well is the price adjustment: many stores will refund the difference if their own price drops after you buy. That changes how you should shop Black Friday. Instead of hunting for a store that will match, buy early at stores that protect you, and keep an eye on the price.
This guide explains the difference, goes through each big store’s 2026 policy in detail, and shows you exactly how to claim the money back.
Price match vs price adjustment
These two terms get mixed up constantly, but they’re very different:
- Price match: you show a store a competitor’s lower price, and it charges you that price. Example: Best Buy matching Amazon’s price on a pair of headphones.
- Price adjustment (or price protection): the store refunds the difference if its own price drops after you buy. Example: Costco refunding $40 because a TV you bought two weeks ago is now cheaper at Costco.
In 2026, price adjustments are more common and more reliable than price matches, especially during Black Friday, when most stores exclude holiday sales from matching.
Store-by-store policies for Black Friday 2026
| Store | Matches competitors? | If its own price drops | Black Friday catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | No | Stores match Walmart.com; no adjustment online | Store manager decides |
| Target | No (since July 2025) | Within 14 days | Own prices only |
| Best Buy | Yes, 19 competitors | During the return period | Competitor matching reportedly paused Nov 19β30 |
| Amazon | No | Generally no | Check price history first |
| Home Depot | Yes, approved competitors | Within 30 days | Excludes Black Friday sales |
| Lowe’s | Yes, approved competitors | Within 30 days | Paused for Black Friday and holiday events |
| Costco | No | Within 30 days, same channel | Some manufacturer deals excluded |
Walmart
What Walmart will do
Walmart stores will match the price of an identical item advertised on Walmart.com. If you’re standing in a Walmart and the same product is cheaper on the website, you can ask for the website price at checkout or the customer service desk. The store manager has the final say, and restrictions apply.
What Walmart won’t do
- Match competitors. Walmart doesn’t match Amazon, Target, Best Buy or any other store, in stores or online.
- Adjust online prices. Walmart.com doesn’t refund the difference if a price drops after you buy.
- Match marketplace sellers. Prices from third-party sellers on Walmart.com don’t count.
How to shop Walmart on Black Friday
Because Walmart won’t adjust prices after you buy online, timing matters more at Walmart than anywhere else. Its main Black Friday Deals event starts online on November 23 (Walmart+ members) and November 24 (everyone), with in-store deals on November 27. If an item isn’t at a great price during the early event, it may drop again on the 23rd. Our guide to Walmart+ early access explains how the member window works.
Target
The big change: no more competitor matching
For years, Target matched Amazon, Walmart and other big retailers, and in some years ran a holiday price match guarantee. In July 2025, Target ended competitor price matching. If Amazon or Walmart has an item cheaper, Target won’t match it.
What Target still does
Target still matches its own prices. If an item you bought drops in price at Target.com or a Target store within 14 days of purchase, you can ask for the difference. The item has to be identical: same brand, size, color, quantity and model number.
How to shop Target on Black Friday
Target’s daily deals run from November 1 to December 24, and its 14-day own-price match makes buying early fairly safe. Set a reminder to recheck the price within two weeks. Many of Target’s best offers are Target Circle deals you add in the app, and Target Circle Card holders get 5% off on top of sale prices.
Best Buy
Normal policy
Best Buy’s Price Match Guarantee normally matches 19 major competitors, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam’s Club, Apple, Home Depot and Lowe’s. The item has to be identical, new and in stock, sold and shipped by the competitor itself (not a marketplace seller), and the price has to be available to everyone, not a members-only price.
The Black Friday pause
During Black Friday, Best Buy reportedly pauses competitor matching from November 19 to November 30, 2026. If Amazon drops a price on Black Friday, Best Buy won’t match it that week.
What still works: Best Buy’s own price drops
Best Buy will match its own lower price if it drops during your return period. For most products that’s 15 days from when you receive the item, or 60 days for My Best Buy Plus and Total members (not on Marketplace purchases). Limited-quantity Black Friday deals may be excluded. Best Buy’s holiday return policy also helps: most items bought from October 30 through December 31, 2026 can be returned until January 15, 2027.
How to shop Best Buy on Black Friday
Buy early if the price is good, then watch it. If Best Buy drops the price before your return window ends, ask for the difference by chat, phone or at the customer service desk.
Amazon
No price matching
Amazon doesn’t match other stores’ prices, and it generally doesn’t refund price drops after purchase.
What helps instead
- Price history: Amazon now shows up to a year of pricing data on many product pages. Use it to tell whether a “deal” is real.
- Deal alerts: save items to a Wish List and Amazon can alert you when the price drops.
- Holiday returns: Amazon usually extends its return window for November and December purchases into late January. If a price drops a lot, returning and rebuying may be an option for items sold by Amazon, but check that the item is still in stock at the lower price first.
How to shop Amazon on Black Friday
Because there’s no adjustment, patience pays at Amazon. Its Black Friday Week runs November 19β30, with extra deal drops at midnight and 8 a.m. PST on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If an item isn’t at its low yet, wait.
Home Depot
Competitor matching
Home Depot matches a lower price on an identical, in-stock item from approved competitors, including items sold directly by Amazon and Walmart (not marketplace sellers) and Wayfair. It doesn’t match warehouse clubs like Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s.
Black Friday exclusion
Home Depot excludes Black Friday sales from price matching, along with clearance, open-box, rebate and BOGO offers, and bundles. So it won’t match another store’s Black Friday doorbuster.
30-day price adjustment
If Home Depot lowers its own price on an item within 30 days of your purchase, you can request a price adjustment with proof of the sale price. Tools, appliances, decor and hardware generally qualify; installation and special-order items don’t.
How to shop Home Depot on Black Friday
Tool deals have been running since November 5, appliance deals start November 26, and doorbusters land on November 27. Thanks to the 30-day adjustment, buying a tool kit or appliance early is low-risk: just recheck the price after Black Friday.
Lowe’s
Competitor matching
Lowe’s matches identical, in-stock items from competitors such as Home Depot, Amazon, Walmart, Menards, Best Buy and Wayfair. Amazon and Walmart items have to be sold by those stores directly, and physical competitor stores have to be local.
Black Friday exclusion
Lowe’s suspends price matching during Black Friday and other holiday promotions. It also excludes rebates, BOGO offers, clearance, refurbished items and warehouse club pricing.
30-day price adjustment
Lowe’s offers a price adjustment within 30 days of purchase if its own price drops on the same item.
How to shop Lowe’s on Black Friday
Join MyLowe’s Rewards (free) for early online access to Black Friday Doorbusters the day before they open to everyone. Buy early with the 30-day adjustment as your safety net.
Costco
No competitor matching
Costco doesn’t match other stores’ prices.
30-day price adjustment
Costco will refund the difference if its own price drops within 30 days of your purchase, but only within the same channel: an online price drop won’t adjust a warehouse purchase, and vice versa. Bring your receipt to the membership desk for warehouse purchases, or contact Costco.com for online orders. Some Black Friday deals are manufacturer-funded and may not qualify, and warehouses have some discretion.
How to shop Costco on Black Friday
Costco’s sale came in waves: an early holiday sale from October 30, Holiday Savings from November 16, and a Black Friday sale from November 27 to 30. With a 30-day window, items bought in the early waves can still be adjusted if the price drops on Black Friday. Mark your calendar.
What usually doesn’t qualify anywhere
Across stores, these are the most common exclusions:
- Limited-quantity doorbusters and other stores’ Black Friday sales.
- Marketplace and third-party seller prices.
- Members-only prices (Prime, warehouse clubs, loyalty programs) at other stores.
- Clearance, open-box and refurbished items.
- Bundles, rebates and BOGO offers.
- Coupons and gift-card promotions (“get a $50 gift card”).
- Price errors and items that are out of stock at the competitor.
How to claim a price adjustment, step by step
- Keep your receipt or order number. Save order emails in one folder for the season.
- Check the store’s own price regularly within the window. Our deal pages and price alerts can help.
- Screenshot the lower price, showing the item, model number, price, seller and date.
- Contact the store within the window: online chat or phone for online orders, the customer service desk for in-store purchases.
- Be specific: “I bought this on November 20 for $199; it’s now $169 on your site. Can you adjust the price?”
- Check how you’ll be refunded: usually to your original payment method, sometimes as store credit or a gift card.
A worked example
Say you buy a pair of headphones at Best Buy on November 20 for $199. On November 27, Best Buy lists them at $169. Because you’re still within the return period, you can contact Best Buy with your order number and a screenshot, and ask for the $30 difference. If the same headphones drop to $159 at Amazon instead, Best Buy won’t match that during its November 19β30 pause. Your options would be to return the headphones to Best Buy within the return window and buy them from Amazon, or keep them.
What to say at the counter or in chat
Keep it short and factual. A good script:
“Hi, I bought [item, model number] on [date], order number [number], for [price]. It’s now [lower price] on your website. I’m still within your price adjustment window. Could you refund the difference to my original payment method?”
If you’re asking for a competitor match at a store that still offers one outside Black Friday, add where the lower price is, confirm it’s sold and shipped by the competitor itself, and have the page open on your phone. If the first answer is no, ask politely whether a supervisor can check, especially at Walmart, where the store manager has the final say on matches with Walmart.com.
Credit card price protection: mostly gone
A few years ago, many credit cards would refund you if an item’s price dropped after you bought it, even at a different store. Most major card issuers have dropped that benefit, so don’t count on it. A small number of cards may still offer some form of price protection, so check your card’s benefits guide. Credit cards do still give you stronger fraud protection than debit cards, and some add extended warranties on electronics, which is worth knowing when you’re tempted by a store’s paid protection plan.
Holiday return windows: your backup plan
When an adjustment isn’t available, a long return window gives you another way to get a lower price later. Most big retailers extend returns for holiday purchases:
- Best Buy: most items bought October 30 through December 31, 2026 can be returned until January 15, 2027 (January 31 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members on purchases through December 3). Phones and other activatable devices keep shorter windows.
- Amazon: usually extends returns on November and December purchases into late January. Check the return date in your order.
- Other stores: most extend holiday returns too, with category exceptions. Check each store’s holiday policy before you buy.
Returning and rebuying is a last resort, not a strategy: it takes time, stock can run out, and some items carry restocking fees. But it’s a useful safety net for big purchases.
A quick checklist before you buy on Black Friday
- Is the price at or near its lowest on our price history?
- Is the store one that refunds its own price drops (Costco, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Best Buy)?
- If not (Amazon, Walmart.com), are you confident this is the low?
- Is the item sold by the store itself, not a marketplace seller?
- Have you saved the receipt or order email and noted the adjustment window in your calendar?
- Is the item returnable, and until when?
If the adjustment window has closed: return and rebuy
If a store’s adjustment window has passed but its return window hasn’t, you can sometimes return the item and buy it again at the lower price. Before you try:
- Make sure the item is in stock at the lower price.
- Check that it’s returnable (clearance, open-box and some electronics may not be).
- Watch for restocking fees on some electronics and large items.
The bottom line
In 2026, the best protection on Black Friday isn’t price matching: it’s buying from stores that refund their own price drops, and checking the price history before you buy anywhere that doesn’t. Costco, Home Depot and Lowe’s give you 30 days, Target 14 days, and Best Buy your full return period. At Amazon and Walmart.com, be patient and buy at the low.
See what’s live now on our Black Friday deals page, read how to spot fake Black Friday discounts, or check our Black Friday shopping tips.
FAQ
Does Best Buy price match during Black Friday 2026?
Best Buy normally matches 19 major competitors, but it reportedly pauses competitor matching from November 19 to November 30, 2026. It can still match its own lower price during your return period, though limited-quantity doorbusters may be excluded.
Does Target price match Amazon or Walmart?
No. Target stopped matching competitors’ prices in July 2025. It now matches only its own lower price at Target.com or a Target store within 14 days of your purchase.
Does Walmart price match?
Only its own prices. Walmart stores will match an identical item’s price on Walmart.com, at the manager’s discretion. Walmart doesn’t match competitors, and Walmart.com doesn’t adjust prices after you buy.
Does Amazon price match?
No. Amazon doesn’t match other stores’ prices and generally doesn’t refund price drops after purchase. Checking the price history before you buy is the best protection.
Do Home Depot and Lowe’s price match Black Friday deals?
Not competitors’ Black Friday deals: both exclude Black Friday and holiday promotions from competitor price matching. Both offer a price adjustment within 30 days if their own price drops.
Does Costco price match?
Costco doesn’t match other stores, but it refunds the difference if its own price drops within 30 days of purchase, as long as the lower price is in the same channel (warehouse or online). Some manufacturer-funded deals may not qualify.
What’s the difference between a price match and a price adjustment?
A price match means a store charges you a competitor’s lower price. A price adjustment means a store refunds the difference when its own price drops after you buy. In 2026, price adjustments are far more common than price matches.
Can I price match a Black Friday doorbuster?
Rarely. Most stores exclude limited-quantity doorbusters and other stores’ Black Friday sales from price matching. Some stores will adjust to their own doorbuster price if it’s available to you, but limited-quantity items are often excluded.
Do stores match marketplace sellers on Amazon or Walmart?
Generally no. Stores that match Amazon or Walmart usually require the item to be sold and shipped by Amazon or Walmart itself, not a third-party marketplace seller.
What do I need to claim a price adjustment?
Your receipt or order number, proof of the lower price (a screenshot showing the item, price and date), and to ask within the store’s window, by chat, phone or at the customer service desk.
Do credit cards still offer price protection?
Mostly not. Most major card issuers have dropped price protection in recent years, though a few cards may still offer it. Check your card’s benefits guide before relying on it.
Does Walmart match Amazon prices on Black Friday?
No. Walmart doesn’t match competitors, including Amazon. Walmart stores will only match an identical item’s price on Walmart.com.
Which store has the best price adjustment policy for Black Friday?
Costco, Home Depot and Lowe’s give you 30 days to claim a lower price on their own items, Target gives 14 days, and Best Buy covers your return period. Costco’s applies only within the same channel (warehouse or online).
Does Kohl’s or Macy’s price match on Black Friday?
Neither is known for competitor matching, and their Black Friday savings come mainly from stacking sale prices, coupon codes and rewards (Kohl’s Cash or Star Money). Check each store’s current price adjustment policy before you rely on one.
Is it better to return and rebuy instead of asking for an adjustment?
Sometimes, if the store’s adjustment window has closed but the return window hasn’t. Check that the item is still in stock at the lower price and that it’s returnable before you try this.
