Note: I know that many of you do not like Walmart. However, I want this discussion to be productive. So, for the sake of this post, “I Hate Walmart” comments will be deleted.
I have received many inquiries about price matching at Walmart since Walmart reiussed the coupon policy in April. I am not by any stretch an expert on Walmart, so this was an interesting experiment for me. I went to Walmart to test out a few price matching deals. (see Price Match Policy Here)
Before I go into details of the trip, here are a few things that I am taking into consideration:
- The closest “real” grocery store is 17 miles from my house.
- My preferred grocery store is 26 miles from my house.
- CVS and Walgreens are about 20-25 minutes from my house.
- The price of gas is approximately $3.99 and my wildebeest of a vehicle gets 12 miles per gallon, 16 miles per gallon on a good day.
- Walmart is 3.2 miles from my house.
Before I left, I chose 5 things I was going to price match. For this experiment, I chose 5 separate stores to price match with 1 product each.
- I went to the customer service desk to see if they had a copy of the price match policy (just for fun,because I had my printed policy). I asked them what stores they considered to competitor due to the distance. They did not seem to have an issue with any of the stores ads. {Note: It states that you don’t need an ad for the price match – I highly suggest your bring your ad).
- When I got to the register, I told the cashier I wanted to price match. She look at me and hesitated for a minute – and said ok.
- She did ask for the ads. There was one question on an item and I was able to show her the fine print that included my items.
- She was able to price match all the items I had, including a BOGO sale were the price was listed in the ad.
- I priced matched fruit without a problem. (the container size just had to match the ad)
- Overall, it was painless and I saved $8.00 before coupons.
So, my final assessment of Walmart’s Price Match:
PROS
- No need to run around to different stores.
- Can save money on gas if you don’t have stores close by.
- If a store runs out of stock, you can price match without having to get a rain check and risking your coupon expiring.
- Some stores do not allow internet printable coupons, this would allow you to use internet coupons.
- Walmart is offering overage on coupons.
- Walmart accepts Buy One, Get One Free internet coupons
CONS
- Walmart does not double coupons.
- Could be very time consuming.
- You may have issues with an uneducated manager or cashier.
- May not be best to do at peak shopping times.
- Isn’t necessary if you have access to the stores and stock is in.
- Must take the time to determine if Walmart is a better deal.
Reader Jessa sent me an email with how she strategically shopped at Walmart. She made a spreadsheet and determined what the best price was after coupons. With this, she was able to decide where to buy her items.
Do you price match at Walmart? What are you thoughts on Walmart’s price matching policy? Are there any PROS or CONS that I missed?
Man says
Walmart will eliminate other grocery stores this way I have already seen 2 different stores close in my area once they get rid of there competitors they will raise there prices and you will have no choices it might save you a couple dollars now but think about it in the long run support your local grocery store
M says
I’m so thankful I’ve stumbled across your website. Thank you for enlightening me. I ad match from time to time at Wal-mart….and have become more involved in couponing…but at the novice level. Our Dillion’s store was just wiped away by the E5 tornado that rolled through Joplin, MO which is where I used a lot of coupons. I’m so thankful to see the post about ad matching guarantee/coupon policy. Since Dillion’s is gone, I wanted to ad match products that would require the Dillion’s saver card. I was so excited to find the deals on things we needed. I called the store and the lady who answered said they would NOT honor those prices (insert popping sound of my excitement balloon.) However, after seeing the guarantee, I have a leg to stand on to call back and/or print off to argue my case.
Thanks again!!!
Shannon says
M,
Sorry to hear of your losses out there in Joplin. I am happy to hear you will be able to get the deals at Walmart.
Misty says
I personally like getting all the deals I can from walmart, because I feel if anyone needs to be giving free stuff away, it should definitely be them. (Altho I know companies get money from their coupons, so it doesn’t work that way-but I like to pretend it does haha) Plus I constantly make them price match, even multiple times on the same transaction. I read previously that one person saved on gas this way, very true since my family and I live in the middle of nowhere. So I say make them reduce their prices as much as you can! :)
Jack Fritz says
Price matching for freebies.
Last week at our local Walmart I price matched 30 items of Scotch tape.
Staples had a sale for Scotch Tape for $1.00 a roll. They would not take my $1.00 coupons because they said ‘1 per purchase’. After speaking with the manager I he said that they would take them except the picture was for a different scotch tape even thou the coupon said ‘any’.
I explained to him that they needed some education and that it was fine and they could cancel my order and I would walk next door to Walmart who would gladly take my coupons.
I walked to Walmart with add in hand. Picked up 30 rolls of scotch tape and proceeded to check Out.
I let the cashier know that I had 30 rolls of scotch tape (she counted to confirm). Rung them up for $1.00 each. (normally 1.22). Scanned my coupon which beeped for some reason. She called a manager over to discuss the coupon. The manager gave approval because it said ‘any scotch magic tape) and stated that she could ring all 30 up as 1 big vendor coupon as to not have to beep each coupon.
My total was $1.80 – I just had to pay sales tax.
Zina says
I would love to start price matching at wal mart! I’m unsure how it works when a product has an UP Reward from Rite Aid or EBucks from CVS. Do you use the price before UP or after?
Example: Razors this week are $9.97 with a $4 UP Reward. Would Wal mart use $9.97 as the price or $5.97?
Thanks for all of your hard work. It really helps me financially!! :)
Shannon says
Zina,
There is no clear cut policy for this. I have not done it using an item that ECB/UPR
Zina says
Ok, thanks. I think i’ll try it on a item & see how it goes…
Zina says
A friend of mine who prices matches with wal mart weekly just said that they use the price after UP reward every time she has done it….
Shannon says
Zina,
Yeah, I have heard alot of people who haven’t been able to get it after UP or ECB, so go to the same store she does :)
Jill says
Walmart is about 4 minutes from our house so we do all of our shopping there. We just look at the Sunday paper ads before heading out and if there is something we were going to buy anyway for cheaper we will make a note on the shopping list to price match at the register. We’ve done this with produce, movies, diapers, etc. Their prices are cheaper anyway and they accept competitor coupons so it’s a great deal! We love Walmart!
Jamie says
Shannon,
I noticed in your original post you said you don’t always like to get a raincheck and risk letting your coupon expire. My CVS honors coupons with a raincheck as long as the raincheck was written before the coupon expires. I don’t know if all stores do that or not, but it may be worth checking into.
Shannon says
Jamie,
Unfortunately, Rite Aid won’t accept expired coupons. I don’t really shop CVS (it’s one of the furthest stores from home), but I may start with the new coupon policy!
Melissa McK says
I was thinking about trying this soon because my friend just shared her experience with me the other day. She was cashing out and the cashier said “These yogurts are on sale at Shaws for $.xx this week.” And went on to not only give them to her for that price, but explained it’s their jobs give the customer the sales prices if they are aware of them. She was so excited!
Leighann says
I have price-matched at Wal Mart several times, usually at least once a month. The last time I did price matching there was last week; CVS had the big powder containers of Similac formula on sale for $19.99 and I had $5/1 coupons, so I got the big containers for $14.99 each. I picked up five of them and we’re stocked up pretty well for a while.
Last year I got an AMAZING deal on All detergent. Big Lots had it on sale for like $2.50 each and I PMed at WM (this was actually a big hassle, and involved me contacting their corporate but I got a very apologetic message back from them and they let me come in and price match even after the ad had expired) and used $2/1 coupons and got the All for 50c each. We bought 14 of them (one of the only times I have ever cleared the shelf) and are still using one of the bottles! We’re on our last one, but a year’s worth of laundry detergent for $7 using price matching and coupons.
Wal Mart doesn’t always have the best deals, but you CAN save money there. My cashiers are usually pretty good about price matching and coupons, but if you get a bad cashier don’t hesitate to go to corporate about it, they don’t want to lose a customer (especially not a customer who reads and comments on blogs and in forums).
melissa says
So I woke up this morning thinking about price matching at Walmart–sad, huh? Anyway, I have a question. Will they price match a price from a drugstore if there’s an ECB or UP reward with it? For example, if something is $5 with a $1 UP, will they price match it for $4?
jill b says
same question here! Will Walmart price match an ecb rr or up?
the policy says they wont give you a gift card but it says nothing about ecbs rr or ups… i want to try again at a walmart, thinking ill try late at night when there will not be tons of customers behind me in line getting mad.
Jen says
I have only tried to price match once at Walmart. The current ad has Purex on sale for $1.98. But since the ad said “With Card” they wouldn’t price match. I think that is not right considering every other place has a shoppers card except for Walmart.
Anonymous says
that’s stupid, “with card” simply means SALE………….WHAT I find is they change their policies all the time, week to week, even though signs say “you do not need ads”, all depends on how stupid the cashier or mgr is…………………………..
Angela says
Thanks for sharing this! I never really looked into the price matching but will definitely do so from now on.
Raina says
I tried to price match at WalMart for the BOGO deals, because usually their prices are cheaper, but if the ad has the bonuscard symbol, or the weis card symbol, they will not match it. Also, my WalMart doesn’t take internet coupons that are BOGO anymore. That’s mostly what inspired me to start shopping elsewhere for the groceries. I still get lots of WalMart brand products there though that don’t have coupons running for the brand product.
Sarah Spends Less says
I just did my first price match at Walmart today– we were completely out of trash bags and I didn’t feel like going to Rite Aid (crazy, right?) so I took the Rite Aid ad in and they price matched it with no problem. They didn’t even verify the date of the ad- they just adjusted the price without any questions and let me use my manufacturer coupon.
My question about their policy- will they let you stack other store coupons with manufacturer coupons? Like a Target Q and a MQ?
Tricia says
Weird…..I was just thinking about looking into if it would be in my best interest today!!! I will use the price match to a point. A great option with all the constant policy changes everywhere.
Eva Jessee says
We price match at Walmart all the time & use manufacture coupons & other competitor coupons at Walmart with our price matches. We have had some of the BEST experience doing this & it enables us to truly do “one stop shopping”. We save TONS of money. We have price matched everything from fruit to razors to pop. I would have to say that there are two main issues that we confront however. The first is that we live in a rural area so if you don’t get to Walmart pretty soon after something goes on sale, there is a slight tendency to find a random item “out of stock”. However, they are GREAT to check inventory for you & let you know when it should hit the shelves so that is not bad at all for us. The thing I HATE the most about it is standing in the check out lines! LOL! It is a small price to pay. We always get VERY knowledgeable, friendly service with absolute zero hassles from the checkout people. We go in prepare & with their coupon policy in hand & they are absolutely fabulous about complying with the policy & getting us in & out. We were just there today & scored huge on razors, deodorant, ketchup, toilet paper, pork & beans & a variety of other things. We highly recommend you give them a try!
Barbara Norris says
I was planning price matching this week because there is an item on sale at a store for 99 cent next week and I have a $1.50 off coupon which will give me a 51 cent overage and its for an item my husband uses every day so this will give us about a year supply for free plus about $7 in overage so rather then going to walgreens who is gonna tell me i can only use 4 coupons and that they are gonna lower it down to price of item i rather go to walmart save me the gas :-)
Andrea Thompson says
Since I live in a rural area that only has one grocery store (overpriced) and no grocery stores within 100 miles that will double coupons I usually travel 15 miles to the nearest Walmart store to do my shopping. I have never had an issue with them matching a competetors price, even competetors that are 60 miles or more away. I take my ads with me but have never been asked to show them. The only issue I have ever had was with the limited selection of brands and sizes. The Walmart I shop at does not carry some of the brands (in the specific sizes stated in the ad) that the other stores do. Other than this issue they have always been more that happy to help me. As a way of making coupon and price matching easier for the cashier I will hold all the price match items to the side and give them to the cashier AFTER he/she had rang up the other items I purchased. This way nothing gets missed. I will write the purchase price of any “free” items that I get on the coupon prior to giving it to the cashier. I shop either early in the day or really late in the evening so as to not hold up the line with my price matches and coupons. All in all I think the experience is enjoyable and has saved me on average $200-300 per month (for my family of 5).
yulean says
I like to shop at Target more than Wal-Mart but when it comes to price matching I would preferred Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is very good with price matching as long as I show them the store ads, I will never get a price match from Target if the ad says “with in store coupon”. Sometimes Wal-Mart could be a pain when using coupons, last time the store won’t let me used 2 of PDF coupons they said it because PDF has the same bar codes number. Overall I love Wal-Mart only when I needed price match :)
Jamie says
All of my major stores are within five miles so I don’t price match unless I only need a or two things from each store. I feel that I owe something to the business putting the items on sale at some point. Plus I have little to no problem at the grocery stores and can count on it taking at least fifteen mins to check out at Walmart. I have had to speak to the manager about uninformed employees in the past but I am an optimistic person and always hope for a good experience. I think price match in moderation is the key. :)
Aubrey says
I only go to two stores a week and those are Wal-Mart & Rite Aid! I have two very small children (3 and 8 months) so going to multiple stores is just not an option due to nap times. Wal-Mart is 16 blocks from my house and they aren’t picky at all about price matching. I only have to show the ad if it’s a toiletry item (which is rare since I get almost all toiletries from Rite Aid) and I’ve almost never had an issue with coupons. Price matching is so popular in my area (Yakima, WA) that the shelves are often cleared at Wal-Mart if there’s a great price at another store in town! Another reason why it’s so great to price match is that I often come with an item to price match only to find out that Wal-Mart’s regular price is the same or less than the other store’s.
TURD FERGUSON says
I moved to Phoenix from Ellensburg. I’m a 509 girl…
Michelle F says
I am pretty organized when I go to Walmart. I have a sheet and all necessary coupons pulled out. I happened to get behind an older non english speaking lady and her adult daughter in the checkout line. The had a jumbled mess of ads and it was pretty much a cluster. They kept running back and forth swapping out there items. So really I was annoyed with there lack of organization not the price match policy. Thanks for letting me rant.
Sharon says
Thx so much for this post! I haven’t ever price matched at Walmart as the other stores are a bit closer to me and I only go to Walmart 1-2 times per month to get items that are always cheaper there. My husband has priced matched at Walmart a time or two (before the new policy came out) without a problem, but he did take the ads with him. I had never thought about price matching at Walmart when another store is out of stock on a sale item. That is a fantastic idea!
Oanh says
I’ve never done a price match before so this is a helpful guide for me. I rarely go to Walmart because it’s about 20 minutes away and I get better deals at RA, CVS, Target near my house.
Vickie says
The last time I did a price match and had a coupon the register wouldn’t take it and the cashier said the journal read that a coupon could not be used on a price match. IDK – it’s never happened before – this was about a month ago.
Jamie says
I live in Utah and where we live it is a 5 minute or less drive to 5 different stores to get groceries, Walmart included. Even with lots of stores to pick from close by it is very easy to just stop at Walmart and get everything in one trip. We have never had problems price matching at our store. None of the stores here double coupons so it is no loss there by using Walmart. As far as making price matching simpler at check out here is a tip I just heard. Take a Sharpie marker with you and as you put items in your cart write the price match on the packaging. Then when you get to the cashier explain your method. I have heard it makes things quite fast but I haven’t tried it yet.
Jen says
I LOVE that they price match, and generally get great deals on produce and meat, without having to run to 3 or 4 different groceries. (I’m lucky enough to live close to some.) I do have confusion when it comes to matching Rite Aid and Wags ads when it comes to whether or not they’ll match the in-ad coupon price or not. Seems like different managers have a different take, so I avoid those. But if what Kelli says is true, I’m absolutely appalled. It does seem that the shelves are clear when I try to match things that come out free, but I just assumed they were fellow couponers.
Thanks for sharing this. I think if more people do it, it’ll get easier to do in the long run!
Whitney says
I think the price-matching at WM is great! I was not a huge WM shopper before but the gas savings alone persuaded me to try it out. I live in Utah and our WMs (Utah County) have also started doubling coupons to compete with a local grocery store (Tuesdays only- up to $1). Has anyone else heard of this in other states? You are not allowed to price-match AND double your mqs- you have to pick one or the other. I also price-match produce regularly and have not had a bad experience yet.
Amber says
I’m in the same position you are. My town only has one other grocery store that Wal Mart see’s as a competitor, so things are always more expensive and that other store, is really expensive. I price match frequently at Wal Mart. My husband hates going with me on those days. But it’s amazing how much cheaper things can be at the Wal Mart in the town I work in because there are more stores there for competition.
I have found price matching at Wal Mart on Black Friday is a major plus, especially if you have a long drive to some of those other stores. The other Wal Mart that I frequent has started asking before doing a transaction if you have any coupons or price matches.
Jaime says
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but in the TV ad at the very end, the words “Our stores will match the price of any local competitor’s PRINTED ad for an identical product”. So now I’m confused. Do they, or do they not, require the printed ad for price matching? I would always bring an ad just in case, and I really can’t imagine that if I walked into a store and said “You know the bottle of Tide you are selling for $8.99? Well, Target has it for $1.” that anyone would believe me (even if it was true); I’m just envisioning all of the fraud that is going to happen if they don’t require some proof.
Shannon, you need to move closer to civilization. : )
Shannon says
Jaime,
LOL no thanks .. I moved AWAY from civilization. I have several acres of land and a horse farm behind my house, it’s peaceful here.
Kelli says
The problem I have with price matching at Wal-Mart is that most of the time if it is a really good deal that you are trying to match the price on, my local Wal-Mart pulls the items off the shelf. I went last night to Wal-Mart to price match several things and at least 4 of the items I wanted Wal-Mart had pulled them off of their shelf. I know they didn’t run out of every single item I wanted. It is frustrating because this isn’t the only time they have done this.
AKelly says
oh, yeah, and the last time i did this, i got a survey on my receipt. some of the survey questions were regarding the price matching experience and if i thought i’d shop more at WM because they price matched. so, i think this is a hot topic with WM right now given all the TV commercials for this as well. i had a positive experience and told them so via the survey.
April says
I have price matched at Wal-Mart and had no problem. I like to shop at the other stores too just to spread my business out a little and not give it solely to one store. I feel like I’m helping more people keep their jobs that way :)
Linda says
I know they don’t match internet pricing, but if I print the store’s ad from their website, rather then have the color version, will they accept that?
I know they don’t require a copy of the ad, which I think is silly (how do they know you aren’t beating them?).
beth says
It’s supposed to be the store’s responsibility to have copies of the local ads. If they don’t have them they have to take your word for it.
Shannon says
Well, I guess it would depend on what is local. They priced matched a store 30 miles away today, because I am somewhat rural. I would still take the ad.
Melissa says
I highly recommend price matching at Wal-mart. I let the high value splenda coupons expire by mistake since Walgreen’s was out of stock for a few weeks and I could have bought them at Wal-mart. I had them do a price match today on the drink mixes on sale at Walgreen’s for .59 with no problems.
Keli says
I’ll price match at WalMart if I’m there. I have 2 grocery stores close to my house, and the closest WalMart is surrounded by at least 4 other grocery stores. The only reason I go into WalMart is to get things I know are a lower price (enchilada sauce and dog food) I like how you listed the pros and cons of your trips. I’ll have to try it out. thanks!
Trina says
I price match weekly at Walmart. I make out my list and get my coupons and sale ads before I even get started. Two weeks ago with coupons, BOGO sales and price matching I saved $99 on my two week shopping trip. I don’t like to have to run around to all the other stores and sometimes Walmart is actually cheaper than the sale ads. Good luck and thanks for the information.
Linda says
@Karla – That ad airs here all the time, too, lol.
@Samantha – I clicked on the “Reader Jessica” link and it to me to her blog. At the bottom of her blog, she has a link to the spreadsheet. I wanted the same thing :).
@Shannon – I’ve been thinking about Wal-mart ever since their coupon policy came out. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
melissa says
I don’t shop at Walmart very often, but when there’s something there that I need (socks, etc.), I often bring along my ads and price match some other stuff. A huge advantage for me (with three kids) is that it’s a one-stop deal. No buckling and unbuckling kids to run into a store for the 3 or 4 “deals” that they have.
Occasionally I’ll run into the issue of Walmart not carrying the same size (or even the same product… i.e. Libby’s vegetables) that is advertised, but usually I’ve done well. I circle the pictures and prices in the ads before I go, so I can find them easily and I write on the top of the ad which items I’m price matching from that ad. Then when I put my stuff up on the conveyor belt, I tell the cashier right away that I have some price matches to do and I do those first.
One other bit of advice… you sometimes need to do the math for the cashier. For example, yesterday, I bought something that was 4/$5 and she looked at me with a blank look on her face. She was relieved when I told her that meant they were $1.25 each.
Angela R says
I just price matched today for the first time. I am like you…I only have a Wal Mart and Super Target…other than that just local grocery stores which are usually higher.
Hy-Vee had Oscar Mayer hot dogs on sale for .99…Wal Mart had them on roll back for $1.28…They matched at the register (I did bring the ad).
I bought 6 packages and had three $1 off 2 packages coupons…so I ended up with 6 pkgs for $3.00 or $.50 each. I was pretty happy.
Didn’t know you could price match produce…I will have to keep that in mind.
Wal Mart has never been my favorite store…but since I started couponing and watching prices I have noticed that are usually the best deal and now when they are not I can price match and save a lot of time and money!
Samantha says
Would it be possible to get the clickable version of the screenshot to be larger so it’s easier to read?
I remember my dad would price match at Walmart all. the. time. growing up. When we got a Super Walmart near us we did all of our grocery shopping there. He brought all the local ads, and his pile of coupons and he would SLASH the grocery bill. I remember it being quite tedious, but it must have been worth it!
I’ve been trying to focus on grocery savings lately (kind of took a back seat to Rite Aid/CVS for a while) and this may be something to consider, even though I have 3 Weis, a Wegman’s and a Giant closer than my Walmart.
Shannon says
Samantha,
I didnt get permission from her to use it, so you would need to click thru to her site.
samantha says
Easy enough! Totally missed the clickthru to her site. :)
Shannon says
Thanks :)
Karla says
Last week, Safeway had a Friday only sale and they had a 24pk of Pepsi for $5. I also had the $2/2 from the Pepsi Moments insert. By the time I made it to safeway after work, they were ALL out.
I grabbed a safeway ad on my way out the door and went to walmart. I told her right off the bat that I wanted to pricemath and she looked at the ad, and the ad dates and the store thae ad was for and then quickly price changed my 4 cases to $5 and still let me use my $2/2 coupon. It was my first and only expierence pricematching and it was effortless.
Im sure that it helps that here (Portland, Oregon) the Pricematching commercial for walmart airs ALL THE TIME. :)
Rosey says
I was just wondering if you used any coupons on price matched items? This is one place where I can never seem to get a straight answer at Walmart.
Shannon says
Yep I did, they just scanned them after.
Karen says
I price matched today. Our local Walgreen’s ad had 7-Up products for $1 for the 2 liter bottles. I love Diet Dr. Pepper, but figured it would probably be sold out by the time I got to Walgreen’s. So I got it at Wal-Mart for the $1 a bottle price. The cashier didn’t have a problem. We’ve price matched before without a problem.
Christie says
I tried price matching on Powerade for the first time last week and I must say I had a positive experience. I’d recommend going at 7 or 8 am and taking the ads with you.
Bree says
I did the same thing w/ the Powerade. Kroger had Powerade for $0.69 so instead of paying $0.78 for it, I saved 9 cents a bottle. That really helps wen you have to buy lots of it for a hubby who works outside everyday!
Mel says
Did you noticed how they rang up the BOGO items? I was just curious how this would work with a BOGO coupon if there happened to be a sale. I wasn’t sure if they rang each product up half price or the whole price for one product.
Shannon says
Half price Mel.
Niki says
I price matched the Clean and Clear Body wash the other week (BOGO in Walgreens ad, plus BOGO coupon). They rang up one for $5.98 and the other for a penny and accepted my BOGO coupon for $5.98. Cashier had to call the manager over to do this though, guessing it will be a YMMV situation depending on cashier/manager.
Brooke says
Just out of curiosity, what types of items did you try to price match? I know you said fruit was one, but were they a variety of items or all grocery?
p.s. I love this site and have been known to check up to 10 times a day! =)
Shannon says
Brooke,
I did:
Grapes
Raisin Bran Kelloggs
Advil
Ragu Pasta Sauce
Olive Oil
Debbie says
Thanks for doing this experiment. I haven’t yet price matched and I wondered how it worked and where you did it (i.e. at the register or customer service desk). One note I’d like to ad, you may want to avoid doing a late night trip to try this. I am usually a very late night shopper to avoid crowds, and my experience has been the late night Walmart cashiers are the least informed about coupon policies.
Susannah says
Is there a limit to the number of price matches Walmart will do in one transaction?
sarah says
No there is not.
Anna says
No- I have price matched 15-20+ items at a time.
Anna says
Yes! I am a big fan of price matching at Wal-Mart. We are a good 30 minutes from a grocery store that doubles coupons, so when I figure in the price of gas and my time and sanity (shopping with a 2 year old and a 6 month old!), I think it really makes sense for me to price match at Wal-Mart. I also keep in mind that the grocery store that does double coupons only doubles up to 50 cents- so if I have high value coupons, I can actually get the same deal by price matching and then using a coupon. I usually only price match on food items- only because we have plenty of drug stores around to get much better deals on household/toiletry items. I also “cashier profile” when I price match- I know certain cashiers who do a better job with the price matching than others!
Twila says
I normally shop at Weis and CVS because they are closer to me than Walmart. I did try price matching at Walmart once, but then the cashier wouldn’t let me use a coupon I had. so it kind of defeated the purpose. Maybe this has changed? I do go there sometime for things like shredded cheese if I have a a dollar coupon and it’s not going on sale anywhere else.
April says
I do price match at Wal-MArt all the time. If I have a coupon for something that can be doubled at Giant Eagle and it is on sale, I will get it there. But usually Wal-Marts prices are cheaper and I have no problem using printable coupons there!
Charity says
here is policy on price matching
I personally have price matched and rember to take the ad policy states that you don’t need to but they don’t generally keep ads
next the coupon policy I have had isues with them excepting blinkie coupons stating they are store
as a general rule this is far from my fav. store but honestly the policies change some for the better and some for the worst and it may be worth the time
AKelly says
My mileage stats are higher, so this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I have price matched a little, and I do agree about bringing your ad (tried it once without and had to eat the price since the kiddo had already eaten the product). Kroger was out of stock on the Wisk last week, so I definitely price matched that one while I could. Now, I thought of skipping Food Lion (next door to WM and our only grocery store within 30 minutes) and price matching the Breyers ice cream, but WalMart doesn’t have an awesome assortment of flavors like Food Lion. But yes, I will definitely be keeping a running list to keep me from wasting gas money. I’m not sure my doubled coupons could pay for the gas these days to make a trip to Kroger pay for itself.
Pam says
I do a lot of matching around the holidays for toys and household products since Wal-Mart usually has the stock when the other retailers put the items on their “Black Friday” or super-weekend sales.
I haven’t matched groceries because of the coupons not doubling, but I do have a question after reading the coupon policy. They say they accept Catalinas with “manufacturer coupon” printed on them. Does it matter if I got the coupon at another store (say a manufacturer coupon from Meijer store catalina with Meijer printed on it) or do they consider the catalina with another store logo on it as a competitor coupon?
Melissa says
If the coupon says that it is a MQ, and has a valid address for reimbursement, they will accept it.
MK says
Hi work at Walmart! We do accept catalinas – but it does depend on what it is – for instance, it has to say “manufacturer coupon” at the top with a valid expiration date. we don’t accept ones that say $X off your next order. they have to be in coupon form such as Save $1 on a pringles, etc. We just have to be able to send the coupon in and receive credit for it.
the BOGO is tricky simply because our coupon policy states that the BOGO advertisement must state the actual price of the competitors item. This is because *generally* our price for the item is lower than the competitors. So for instance, say that Target is having a buy 3 12 packs of Coke, get one free. Their price for a 12pack is $6.98, but our price is $5.98:, we should ring up the first 3 12 packs for you, and then the third one we should take the $1 difference for the first 3, deduct it from from our price $5.98 and sell you the final one for the difference. so you would pay $5.98 x 3 and then the final one would be $2.98, which mathematically equals the same as what you would pay at Target. However, most of the BOGO ads do not show the competitors actual price for the item.
Also, your store should be price matching with out the ad – however, if it sounds too good to be true, we will probably check on it. I apologize if you are experiencing any issues at the checkout. At my store, we work very hard to train our cashiers thoroughly and ensure that they understand the coupon policies and that they are going the extra mile to make our customers happy!
Heather says
Walmart is less than 1 mile from my house, although its just a regular walart, a Super Walmart is being built accross the street and is supposed to open this summer. Because of that I do not price match very much at Walmart, especially since they have a small grocery section in the current store. I have price matched baby items, such as formula and baby food with no problems. I have two Rite Aid about 1 mile away and another Rtie Aid about 5 miles, along with a CVS 5 miles away, so if they are out of stock I will price match at walmart, unless there is an ECB or UPR involved, then I get a raincheck, since its not really costing me much in gas to return to the store and pick up my items with the raincheck. Once Super Walmart is open I will definitely be price match groceries! But I will be sure to compare my coupons, if I have ones under $1, I will be sure to compare with Weis, since they double coupons.
So overall I think the price match is a great thing, just two things:
1. I wish they did it with b1g1 items
2. I wish they price match non ad items, cause if a store has a “price cut” , like target, walmart will not match it cause its not in the ad (target is 45 mins away from me). Also I find that regular prices of a lot of items at target is alot cheaper than walmart.
jill says
Thank you for taking the time to do this and to post it! I haven’t been to a Wal-mart in months because my last few experiences weren’t that great – – however, after reading this I may give them another shot. Unfortunatly the closest one is about a 1/2 hour from me and I don’t really need anything at the moment :O)
Wendy says
I have been price matching at Walmart for the exact reasons that you stated. They are most likely always have more stock than the other stores that are offering the deals.
The only cons that I have noticed (not every trip) was that some of the cashiers are not educated on their coupon policy, but most of the other stores clerks aren’t either, so I would rather go to Walmart and get all my items that I can price match there:)
Thank you for this post. I wanted to know others thoughts on this subject as well:)
Brandi McCartney says
I do sometimes! i did last night to get 4-12packs of coke products for $10! I have price matched fruit, but not toiletries. Do they do that? While Walmart is not my favorite place, I do go there once a week and usually price matched at least one item.
Rachel says
I also price matched the pop and used a mfg coupon from another store ad (Alco) to get $2 off