Lowest price and price match guarantees

The Good Guys no longer has a formal price match policy.They do have an add on service you can buy which enables you access to the Concierge 30 Day Price Guarantee whereby if you notice that the price of your product has dropped at The Good Guys or an “approved competitor” by more than $5 within 30 days of purchase, they’ll give you back 120% of the difference as a store credit.

Match online-only stores? Appliances Online only.

Location requirements: Will only match Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and Appliances Online. For physical stores, stock must be within 30kms of a Retravision store. (Note: Physical stores located in WA, NT and SA only.)

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes orders paid via Interest Free Finance, Humm, or Zip unless the competitor is offering the same payment method and terms.
• Excludes items advertised as Clearance, VIP Exclusive, Factory Seconds, Ex-Display or Scratch and Dent, selected brands (Asko, AEG, Falcon, Falmec, Gaggenau, La Germania, Miele, Speed Queen and Neff and more).

Other info: “Beat” price.

Match online-only stores? Yes.

Which stores will they match? Not specified.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes stock liquidations, cash back and coupon offers and commercial pricing. 
• Terms and conditions of store must be identical to those at Officeworks.

Other info: Beat price by 5%.

Match online-only stores? No.

Which stores will they match? Australian retail stores and their online sites.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Won’t sell below cost.
• Excludes demonstration, second-hand or refurbished products, duty free, factory outlets, warehouses, clearance centres, unauthorised reseller, online-only offers, specially negotiated prices (e.g. corporate rate, loyalty, subscriber or member offers), products discounted by means other than money (e.g. loyalty points).
• Myer’s physical stores won’t match their own “online only” or below cost offers on their own website.

Other info: “Match” price. No further promotional offers, e.g. bonus gift cards or gift with purchase.

Match online-only stores? No.

Which stores will they match? Australian retail stores

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes clearance/warehouse outlets.

Other info: “Match” price.

Kogan price matches on a case by case basis and does not have a stated price match policy. Instead, they simply promise to be “shocked” if you find a lower price. If you do, you can submit an online form and Kogan may choose to match it.

Match online-only stores? Not specified.

Which stores will they match? Not specified. When asked which stores they will match, they advised that price matching is “case by case” and that it’s up to the individual store manager to make a decision.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes cash back offers, store credits, bonus/bundled promotions, coupon promotions, grey/direct imports, commercial orders, members only/subscription prices, clearance products or products with limited quantities.
• Says it will match ‘competitors’ but when asked if they will match online-only stores, or if physical stores need to meet certain criteria to be eligible for price matching, we were advised this is “case by case and up to the Store Manager to make a decision” which is worryingly vague. 

Other info: “Match” price.

Match online-only stores? Yes.

Which stores will they match? “Leading Australian instore and online retailers.” When we asked Harvey Norman what constitutes a “leading” retailer, they indicated that they will only match specific stores for specific product types. For example for Whitegoods they will match Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi and Appliances Online. This information is not available on their website, so you will need to ask about a specific price match and they will then advise if they match that particular store.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes cash back, bonus offers, bulk purchase, clearance/seconds/refurbished/ex-demonstration or display products, third-party sellers on marketplace/auction sites, grey/parallel imports.
• Price must be available to the general public.
• Excludes pricing that is significantly lower than the recommended retail price or market value.

Other info: “Match” price within seven days of purchase.

Match online-only stores? No.

Which stores will they match? Australian retail stores and their online sites.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes auctions, fire or liquidation sales, rack, clearance and warehouse outlets.
• Any offers made by David Jones in respect of the product must also be identically available from the competitor.

Other info: “Match” price.

Match online-only stores? Yes. Will beat competitor’s online store pricing when shopping on the Dan Murphy’s website. Will not beat an online price instore.

Which stores will they match? Competitor store must be within 10km (if matching in a physical store).

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Won’t honour reproductions (photocopies/print outs) of competitors’ vouchers but will accept screenshots.
• Excludes trade buyers, members-only retailers, duty free, liquidation or clearance sales.
• Can’t adjust prices below the minimum floor pricing in NT.

Other info: “Beat” price. Will also beat a competitor’s Uber Eats price if it is cheaper than the Dan Murphy’s Uber Eats price delivering to the same area.

Match online-only stores? Yes. Will match a competitor’s online store price when shopping on the Chemist Warehouse website. Will not match an online price instore.

Which stores will they match? Australian retail stores.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes Click and Collect orders.
• Excludes online-only offers and products that are short dated, on clearance or discontinued or part of a promotional offers (e.g. Buy one get one free).

Other info: Beat price by 10% of the difference. For online price matches you’ll need to pay for your order in full then, once approved, you’ll receive a refund for the matched price.

Match online-only stores? Yes.

Which stores will they match? Australian online and retail stores

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes trade quotes, stock liquidations and MarketLink products.

Other info: Beat price by 10%.

Match online-only stores? No.

Which stores will they match? Registered Australian business with at least two physical stores in Australia.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes competitor’s clearance lines, display stock, liquidation sales, limited-stock offers, time-limited or special promotion stock sell-downs and grey/parallel imports (i.e. those shipped in from overseas without permission from the local trademark or intellectual property owner).
• Excludes certain brands including Miele, Apple and Asko as well as “other products nominated by Bing Lee” from time to time.
• Excludes products sold through eBay.

Other info: “Match” price.

Match online-only stores? No.

Which stores will they match? Competitor store must be within 10km and in the same state.

Tricky terms/exclusions:

• Excludes liquidations, trade quotations and clearance sales.
• Excludes prices that are dependent on a paid membership.

Other info: “Match price”.

From department stores such as Myer and David Jones to electrical retailers like Bing Lee and Harvey Norman, and countless others including Dan Murphy’s, Officeworks and Bunnings, businesses are slapping “lowest price”, “best price”, or “price match” signs on their goods. 

This seems to be shorthand for “don’t bother shopping around, we promise you’ll get the best deal here”. But should consumers believe the glitzy promises, or is there more (or less) to a best price guarantee than meets the eye?

Price-matching may lead to higher prices

Research from the Department of Economics at Harvard University indicates that lowest-price guarantees can actually work against consumers, potentially pushing prices up instead of down. 

The research analysed the prices of goods sold on Amazon before and after two major US stores (Target and Best Buy) announced a guarantee to match Amazon’s prices. 

The author of the study, Ran Zhuo, found that Amazon’s prices increased by six percentage points following the introduction of the guarantee, with larger price increases for initially lower-priced items.

Zhuo says there are a number of theories as to why price-matching tends to result in higher prices.

“One explanation that I find intuitive is that, price-match guarantees may reduce your incentive to cut prices because price-cutting no longer wins customers over as your competitors will match your prices,” she says.

When CHOICE shopped around at a number of retailers offering so-called best prices on their products, we found some interesting results. While liquor store Dan Murphy’s was hard for us to beat on price, we found lowest- or best-price guarantees were mostly not a good indicator that the store was cheaper than its competition. 

This isn’t surprising, considering many competitors in the same retail sector boast about their lowest prices.

Shadow shop results

Bing Lee

Product: Bosch HBF133BS0A 60cm built-in oven

Their best price: $779

Competitor’s price: $697 (The Good Guys)

Chemist Warehouse

Product: Nude by Nature Allure Defining Mascara

Their best price: $23.49

Competitor’s price: $16.77 (Priceline)

Harvey Norman

Product: Sunbeam Cafe Series EM7100 Espresso Coffee Machine

Their best price: $799

Competitor’s price: $636 (Appliances Online)

Officeworks

Product: Logitech Multi Device Wireless Keyboard K780

Their best price: $128

Competitor’s price: $89 (Bing Lee)

Retravision Online

Product: Bosch SMS40E08AU Freestanding Dishwasher

Their best price: $848

Competitor’s price: $799 (Bing Lee)

*Online prices March 2021

Price matching and tricky Ts & Cs

When you do find a cheaper price at a different store and want a competitor to honour it, you may find the process isn’t as simple as you’d expect. Price guarantees are riddled with tricky terms and conditions, so it pays to always read the fine print. 

Most stores require that an item be in stock at the competitor’s store before they’ll agree to price match, but some actually specify more restrictive terms and conditions.

Retravision Online claims: “…if one of our competitors has a lower advertised price for an identical product, we’ll beat it.” However, if you read the Terms and Conditions you’ll find Retravision have self-identified a very short list of their “competitors”, meaning they will price match with just four other stores (Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, The Good Guys and Appliances Online), so if you find a cheaper price at another store (like we did during our mystery shop) they won’t match it.

Bing Lee promises to price match any Australian business with at least two physical retail stores. But dig deeper in their terms and conditions and you’ll see they have a list of product brands that are exempt from their price matching policy, as well as “other products nominated by Bing Lee as being excluded from this Policy from time to time.” Retravision also has a long list of brands that are excluded from their price beat policy.

Harvey Norman’s Price Guarantee claims to match the prices of “leading Australian instore and online retailers.” However when we asked what constitutes a “leading retailer” we were told that it varies depending on the product, meaning it’s basically at their discretion whether or not they will choose to price match your product. 

Similarly, JB Hi-Fi promises to “enthusiastically match the price of an identically stocked competitor product”, but when questioned on which stores they will actually match, they advised that price matching is “case by case” and that it’s up to the individual store manager to make a decision, meaning you may just get unlucky when asking for a price match instore.

Dan Murphy’s quotes their founder in their Lowest Liquor Price Guarantee: “I beat all my competitors every month, every week, every day, every hour, on every price, on every product, on every bottle…” However, in their terms and conditions they state “Competitors’ premises must be within 10km of our store.” 

1st Choice Liquor has the same clause and also requires that the competitor’s store be in the same state. So tough luck if you live in a one-bottle-shop town or on a state border – no price matching for you.

Retailers removing price match guarantees

While some retailers are leaving themselves so much wiggle room in their terms and conditions that their price match guarantees are almost meaningless, others have removed them altogether. 

Big W no longer has a price match policy and The Good Guys have gotten rid of theirs too, although they do note that their prices are open to negotiation and team members may take competitor pricing into account when negotiating.

Price match breakdown

Stand up for your rights

While many stores profess to match or beat competitors’ prices, the reality can often be different from the expectation.

An ACCC spokesperson told CHOICE that if a business fails to honour the terms and conditions of its price match guarantee, that may be misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.. 

If you think you’re entitled to a price match and the retailer refuses to honour it, show them a copy of their corporate policy. If they refuse to price match despite you meeting the criteria in their policy, they could be breaching the ACL.

“Whether or not there is a breach of the ACL depends on how that guarantee was sold to the consumer,” says Julia Steward, CHOICE head of policy and government relations. “The ACL is all about making things fair when you make a purchase, so if a reasonable person would believe the business and it’s within the terms and conditions, then it’s worth following up.” 

The ACCC spokesperson suggests you “contact the business directly to request a price match, and if this is denied, request that the business provide the reasons for the denial in writing and point to any relevant terms and conditions of the guarantee.”

If the business denies you a price match you believe you are entitled to, you can contact the ACCC or your relevant State or Territory Australian Consumer Law regulator.

Bunnings under scrutiny in New Zealand

Bunnings continues to battle The New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) over 45 charges filed by the consumer watchdog in 2016, alleging Bunnings misled consumers by advertising the prices of its goods as being the lowest in the market.

While Bunnings promises to beat competitor’s prices on identical, in-stock items by 10%, many of their products are exclusive to Bunnings, making price matching impossible.

The NZCC charges allege that Bunnings’ advertising campaigns “gave an overall impression it offered the lowest prices for its products when this was not true”.

The ACCC looked into the retailer’s advertising claims in 2006 and 2016 but decided not to take no action.

When we asked our Facebook followers if they have ever tried to have a lowest price guarantee honoured, we received lots of comments about Bunnings, with a number of allegations of unfair conduct – though these have not been verified. 

Consumer experiences with price guarantees

CHOICE member Glenn61 told us he’s had some success with price match guarantees, but he’s also noticed some aren’t fair.

“…I have also found some price guarantees to be worthless as different packaging or model numbers might be specific to the retailer offering the guarantee, making them different to an otherwise identical product being sold by a competitor.”

CHOICE member Fred123 highlights another tricky tactic retailers can use to avoid price matching.

“Big W had 20kg bags of dynamic lifter for less than we paid for the 17.5kg bags at Bunnings, so we returned to Bunnings. They refused to beat Big W’s price on the basis the two items were not identical.

In our experience, the bottom line is that the products must be identical, and Bunnings tries to avoid stocking identical products, hence the 17.5kg dynamic lifter.”

But plenty of consumers say they’ve gotten a great deal using price matching

“I’ve had Dan Murphys price match from a catalogue in the past (I didn’t even have the catalogue with me to confirm, they were able to look it up), and recently JB Hi-Fi price matched an online price for a sound bar for me. Both were great about it, no hassle at all.” – Caitlin, Facebook comment

“I often ask Officeworks to price match and have never had a problem. They match the price less 5%.” – Therese, Facebook comment

“Yes, Good Guys, Sunbury. They fully matched an online competitor offer for a Bosch washing machine. Free delivery and removal of the old machine was included. No hassling required!” – Christopher, Facebook comment

If you don’t ask, you don’t get

Even if a store doesn’t offer a lowest-price guarantee, or if the offer you find doesn’t fall within their terms and conditions, you may find you can get a price match anyway at the discretion of the sales staff. It never hurts to ask, and it could save you big bucks.