So I’ve been price-matching bananas on occasion at Walmart, but I’ve never done any price-matching besides that. However, because so many of you suggested I try it after repeatedly being disappointed in the fruit selection available at Aldi, I finally worked up the courage to try it today.
Guess what? It was easy-peasy! And I’m wondering why I took so many years to try doing this. I’m hooked!
Here’s what I bought:
Walmart Shopping Trip
Suave Professionals — used free coupon
5 packages of strawberries — price-matched to Aldi $0.99 each price
Watermelon — price-matched to Aldi $2.99 price
Gain dish detergent — $0.97, used $1/1 coupon from the P&G Solutions coupon booklet = free
Spic & Span — $0.97 each, used $1/2 coupon from Coupons.com (no longer available) = $0.47 each
KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce — $1.42 each, used $1/1 coupons = $0.42 each after coupons
3 packages blueberries — price-matched to Aldi $1.49 each price
3 Sugar & Spice Yarn — $0.50 each (these were in a big clearance bin)
Grapes — bought two pounds and price-matched to Aldi’s price of $0.89/lb.
Just My Size tank — $5, used $5/1 May All You magazine coupon = free
Ivory Soap — $0.97, used $1/1 coupon from the May P&G insert = free
My total after coupons was $19.70.
How I Price-Matched
Walmart says you don’t need to bring in an ad, but I brought the Aldi ad with me just to make things go more smoothly — and so I didn’t have to remember all the different sale prices!
I split my order up on the belt and had the non-price-match items go through first and then handed the cashier the ad and asked her to price-match the remaining items on the belt with the prices listed on the Aldi ad.
It was a very simple process and I have no idea why it made me nervous to try this! Best of all, the produce was better and the selection was leaps better than Aldi.
THANK YOU to each of you who suggested I try this. I can’t believe it’s taken me all these years to figure out how easy this is. I’ll definitely be adding this to my arsenal of money-saving/time-saving things to do!
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Hi, I wanted to price match strawberries and blueberries as Crystal did above but don’t see them in this weeks ad…does that mean I can’t price match them? Were those items from last weeks ad? Thanks!
Our Aldi ads run Tuesday through Tuesday, so the new ad started today.
Oh, okay – thanks! 🙂
You can price match with Aldi’s ad!!??? THANK YOU!! I have to drive about 45 minutes to our nearest Aldi, and while I love that store, I spend more in gas getting there than I save! This is a wonderful idea!!
Walmart has the worst produce at any of their stores I have ever been to. We have a Meijer and I love that they have organic produce and a huge amount of fresh produce-not weeks old like our Walmart especially. Some may be ok elsewhere…not here:o( I rarely go to Walmart unless I need dry goods that I know are cheaper. I have noticed that they really have been hiking up prices, too. Here, they are only about $.03 cheaper on most items when compared to Target or Meijer-which are just nicer experiences while shopping. It used to be dollar differences! I used to like Walmart because they were lower priced, but we don’t buy many fruits and veggies unless they are organic. That aftertaste on grapes-it’s pesticides. I never knew until I switched to organic. Kinda scary.
I price match Walmart each week! With only a small-town grocery and Walmart, I get the ads from the nearest big town to price match. Saves me a bundle every week!
See some of my price matching deals at: http://thriftytexan.com/2011/06/my-18%c2%a2-walmart-shopping-trip-99-savings/
I have price matched several things before at Wal-Mart using ads from other stores but never with Aldi’s. How does it work? I thought if you were price matching something with an ad from a local competitor the item had to be the exact same brand. Since Aldi has different brands than Wal-Mart I am curious as to how this works. I shop at Aldi for their cheap meat and fruit, but I would love to be able to get those items at Wal-Mart for the same price. Any help/tips would be great!!
You’re lucky! My local Walmart won’t price match discount stores like Aldi. 🙁
I love price matching. I get the weekly flyers for about 8-9 local grocery stores in the mail every week. I use to scan the entire ads to see what was on sale and who had the best price on it, but that got rather time consuming. Now I just look at the produce section specifically for produce I want to buy. I especially like it since there are so many Hispanic grocery stores here in Fort Worth and I can often get avocados for a great price (we love guacamole!) It’s very convenient for me to not have to drive all over town to get the best price on produce.
I did my first produce price matching at Wal Mart this past Saturday. It went wonderfully, my cashier (my favorite one there, she’s great) didn’t even look at my ads, she just asked me how much each item was. I had all the stuff to price match at the very front, so we took care of all that and then just scanned the rest of the stuff. The cashier said she loves helping me check out because I’m always so organized, it was a nice feeling 😀
I can’t find the Spic and Span spray anywhere in my store 🙁
Does anyone know if it is a regional product or where in the cleaning aisles I may find it? I’m in Las Vegas. TIA 🙂
I have to say that I love my local Wal-mart. The cashiers are usually quite friendly and helpful. I’ve only had them refuse coupons once, when I accidentally printed them in Black ink instead of color. I have even had cashiers price match for me on some big savings when I didn’t know about the price match, but they were aware of it. We only have 4 grocery stores here and only one of them ever beats Wal-marts prices on anything.
This week at Wal-Mart I price matched Pepsi 12-packs (4/$11 at our King Soopers) and Nabisco Crackers ($1.99 at KS). I hadn’t planned on getting crackers on my “quick” trip into Wal-Mart until I saw the manager plastering the display with $1 off 2 peelies making them $1.49 instead of $2.50 after coupons and price match! I always take the ads and my binder for just-in-cases like this!
Too funny, I did the same thing this Saturday! I find it easier, if it is a week when many stores have things I want on sale, to bring all the adds it Walmart (instead of going to 4 or more different stores). It takes a while at check out, but saves on gas!
I had a terrible time this week getting Walmart to match a CVS raincheck. And the price was written right there on the CVS raincheck. Two other cashiers were consulted, a manager was called before they made the decision to honor the CVS sale price. The cashier kept asking me what the Walmart price was (a dollar higher), but I didn’t feel that was really relevant.
I can’t imagine trying to get them to match my Aldi ad, or going in with no ad at all!
Luckily, my local Aldi has great produce, so I’ll stick with them. My overall bill comes out much, much cheaper, and I’m not exposing my two-year old to all the marketing junk.
This is great. I will be doing it even if it is just for produce.
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been nervous to try Wal-Mart price matching too. I’m glad you worked up the courage to do it and share with us!
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been nervous to try Wal-Mart price matching too. I’m glad you worked up the courage to do it and share with us!
Great shopping!! I haven’t tried price matching produce but will definitely try now after seeing your post!
Has anyone ever price matched showing the ad on their phone? I don’t always get the Aldi’s ad in the snail mail (Iowa) and I’d rather not print it out.
PS: I asked Fareway if they price match Aldi on their facebook page earlier this year and they said YES! I feel bad doing it on them though because I don’t feel like they have enough buffer to be able to handle it.
I saw your post about pricematching and was so excited. I checked the Aldi website. I had trouble printing the whole ad large enough to be able to read the prices. After multiple prints and much wasted ink, I finally got it though. I got all the produce and was even excited to see the cherries in a 1lb clamshell just like the ad.
But then, at checkout, the very nice checker said, “We can only price match for the exact items.” meaning brands. She spoke to a manager, and he agreed to do it this time, but not again.
So sad. I guess I won’t be able to price match unless it specifically states chiquita grapes, or whatever brand the fruit is.
I know this makes sense for other stuff, I don’t expect an ad to say $.99 soap instead of Dial soap, but I would expect produce to be different because it is so seasonal.
oh well.
I still had a wonderful cashier. Most of the cashiers at my store are friendly. They kind of know me well as I am in often because I work across the street.
Do you have to have the same “brand” of fruit to price match at Walmart? The brands off the top of my head are Dole and Chiquita or do they price oranges/apples/etc. fruit/veggies of like quantities? i.e. per pound, 10 count bag, etc?
My Walmart never makes you have the same brand of fruit. I’ve never even seen the store ads here list a brand when fruit goes on sale. The ads just say “blueberries or bananas.”
The fruit “brand” baffles me. Our local stores often have two or three different brands of strawberries (and other berries) and tomatoes simultaneously.
I wrote a post last year about my first experience doing a price match. It was at Target…and I haven’t attempted one since. ugh.
http://www.ihadacoupon.com/2010/03/target-toy-story-1-toy-story-2-deal.html
It’s very encouraging to hear that even you get nervous sometimes! It’s really hard to try something new, so good job for giving it a shot! Price matching isn’t my first choice, but so often Walgreens or Target are out of the deal I went in for, so it really gives us another opportunity to snag a deal we otherwise would have missed out on.
Oops! Lol nevermind that!
How do you price match with Aldi’s? There isn’t one in Maine is there?
Ad match savings or not, I won’t shop at Wal-Mart for moral reasons. They are bad for America, American,s and the other county they mercilessly exploit: China! We live in a rural area and a Wal-Mart is where many people ‘claim’ they ‘have to’ shop, but after 3 years of living here we have not shopped there. We are a family of 5 with one modest state employee income, so each penny counts for us.
Make a choice and options will open to you. Vote with your dollars!
I shop at Walmart for most everything, but find that the produce, while it is often cheaper, is cut-rate and doesn’t last. I’ve taken to going to Costco to find AWESOME quality produce…as long as it makes sense to buy the quantities, I prefer to get fresh items there. I save produce buying at WalMart to things I’m going to consume the same day or the next day at the latest.
I was gonna ask if you were still allowed to use coupons after they price-matched, but I just saw someone said they do. I had no idea they would price match without the ad… that’s awesome! Now I can use my $5 off John Frieda Full Repair coupons. Our CVS NEVER had it in stock last week, but Walmart did (theirs was $5.97). I’ll be heading there tonight to grab those! Thanks, guys!
Watch for Kellogg’s peelies this week! There is a coupon for $1 off fresh fruit wyb 2 Kellogg’s cereals listed on the coupon. I was able to price match those strawberries for $0.99 ea at walmart and use the coupon to get those free:) I saw the peelies at both Walmart and CVS.
I had to give up Walmart shopping a few months ago since the nearest one is almost an hour away and I am NOT bringing my 4yr old, 2 yr old, and 8 month old that far to do big shopping!! For now I have to stick to local, and try to take a little consolation in the gas savings. But the one time I tried price matching a couple of years ago, I was told they did not match food!!
I am so jealous of your yarn find! I go through those babies like hot cakes I love em so much and for .50! WOW! I think that was your best deal ever LOL
I don’t know if you have a Michaels nearby, but I saw that brand of yarn on clearance for only $1. Not $0.50, but there was a lot to choose from 🙂
We have an Aldi opening within the next month. Our Wal-Mart said they wont price match with Aldi because they don’t have a weekly ad. I’m not sure if they really know what they are talking about because they also said they aren’t worried about the competition because Aldi only carries organic items. Do they have an ad or not?
Aldi does have a weekly ad, which we get in the mail here. They don’t carry only organic items; actually, I think very few things there are organic. Their milk is labeled as hormone-free, though.
Aldis does have weekly ads they just aren’t widely distributed in a lot of areas BUT they ARE available online now (started recently) and also instore if they haven’t run out
Last summer our Walmart didn’t want to price match a local grocery so they cleared the shelves and put the stock in the back until the other store’s sale was over. This happened for a couple of items every week. You could ask a worker for the item, but if they saw that you had the ads from the other store they would refuse to give them too you. I’m so glad I learned to coupon, so I never shop there. My kids tend to have a meltdown in the 20 min we have to wait in the checkout line. Publix is MUCH better!
Wal Mart IS ALL I HAVE. We live in a VERY RURAL area and I PM almost everything. I STILL SAVE A TON! Even without rite aid, cvs or wags! ITS AMAZING THE SAVINGS!
It may be way too early to think about such things as “Back to School” sales, but as a teacher summer was always my time to stock up for my classroom and now for my children too. Price matching at Walmart with other stores back to school ads (including Drug Mart, Dollar Store, CVS, Staples, etc.) was amazing for me last year. I got many things much cheaper than the walmart prices. Our local Drug Mart had advertised a 4 pack of Expo brand markers for 99cents, but were out of them when I went. Took the ad to Walmart and viola! Bought 5 packages at 99cents each, while they were still priced $3.99 at Walmart. It worked great for some of the 1 & 5 cent sales and other deals other stores were offering and I didn’t have to worry about them being out of what was on sale. Milk is something I love to price-match at our Walmart too if I’m there to get something else.
I probably wouldn’t have thought to do price matches on the back to school items, thank you for planting that seed! 🙂
Good job!!!!! Your Wal-Mart sounds easy to work with. Tried price-matching at the Wal-Mart in our hometown, and they wouldn’t price match. I was sooooooooooo disappointed!!!
I went into my walmart here in lawrence, ks this week and tried to price match aldis pineapple, blueberries, cantaloupe and strawberries. I was told they no longer price match aldi’s produce because alid’s doesn’t carry name brand fruit. I was very upset but there is nothing I can do. I am really disliking walmart these days.
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been really nervous to try price-matching too, for some reason … and your courage empowers me to at least test the waters. Thanks! 🙂
My Walmart will not price match Aldi’s or BigLots. 🙁
(part 2)
By this time, checkers were accused of being thieves if we personally admatched our own groceries (by the store manager). Many of the cashiers became discouraged and irritable about this program. We had our customers yelling and angry with us (rather than management) because we had changed it up so much. Some checkers were just grumpy and lazy about it anyway, acting as if admatching was taking money out of their own pocket. (Ignore those cashiers, and their attitude, btw!!)
We did have quite a few customers taking complete advantage of the program and who lied all the time about what the prices really were. When all of the changes were being made to the program (and as we were being labeled as thieves), we were told that if the customer asks for an admatch, you are to give it to them. No matter what. You are never to question them or make them feel bad about asking. Even if they ask for milk at 1.35 and you know it’s cheapest price is $1.77 that week. Even if they admatch every single item and you know it’s not on sale. The most important thing was that the customer have a happy shopping experience, and then go tell their friends about it.
I suppose my point in all of this is to say this: 1. Don’t be afraid to admatch. Just remember to ask for it; 2. Bring your ad. Even if you don’t have to! If other stores rolled out their admatch program like our walmart did, the cashiers may just be covering themselves from a management who does not know what they’re doing; and, 3. Don’t let the cashier ruin your experience. WM allows admatching, according to their program they want you to do it, so don’t let some stingy cashier make you feel bad!
Thanks so much for taking the time to post this! It is great to get the perspective of a *nice* and *efficient* WalMart or former Walmart employee. I hardly ever go there, price matching or not, because the employees tend to be so apathetic and even rude. Plus, the prices have gone up so much in the past few years that I make out better at Kroger with coupons.
I tried shopping at a Walmart that carried a grocery selection. I discovered that even though for example, bananas said 49c lb on the sign, they rang up 69c at the checkout. Same for potatoes I only needed a few of.
The couponing rules change according to the cashiers. I didn’t know they didn’t take RR’s for $ off. The cashier and CS told me they didn’t take it because it said Walgreens on it. They didn’t know what was on the latest policy. Some time ago I got the argument they couldn’t take a coupon because it wasn’t the same as the picture on the coupon even thought the coupon gave a choice of items. Yeah, I see the show of hands familiar with that one 🙂
I might price match for milk now that I know but other than that, my fruit store nearby is fine. Fresher and cheaper.
Thanks for your perspective, Christine. Its also sad that people who don’t know about the price matching won’t be told beyond the signs they may not pay attention to. I’ve also noticed the prices at the store jumping all over as I am there often enough to know. Candy I previously bought went up nearly $1, the body washes that were free with the $3 coupons a few weeks ago are now $3.74. There is never any consistency. A “roll back” may last a week or two then totally disappear with a huge price hike.
I completely agree that they’ve made a lot of this such a confusing mess that people are nervous to even try it. At our store we weren’t allowed to admatch store coupons (Safeway, Albertsons, Walgreens, etc) IF they had a “gimmick” attached. i.e. The Safeway coupons usually had a requirement to purchase $10 worth of product in order to get the item on sale. However, the Walgreens store coupons never had any gimmick attached, so while we wouldn’t actually take the coupon (our system can’t read their store coupons), we would simply admatch the price. Unfortunately, the problem is that not every store interprets the “rules” the same.
I hardly shop there anymore myself, as my local Smith’s (a Kroger company) also always has the best prices. Plus, you can’t beat the Kroger program for the Fuel Incentive!!
Its not even the store interpreting-its the cashiers.
We have Food 4 Less here which I guess is Kroger co since that is the main brand they carry. With coupons and even without I do well there and I like the Kroger brand. For fruits and fresh veg I go to the local fruit store. I am outside of Chicago and not rural at all so have many stores within a couple miles if not blocks. Some of the F4L have the fuel but not near me and in areas I wouldn’t go to if they were the last stores around.
I will go to Walmart but only for things I know are cheaper there. I always notice the price changes and lately they have been a dollar or so. Use to be a few cents.
I’m just tired of things ringing up wrong everywhere and cashiers changing the rules as they go and being rude. Wish you worked around here 🙂 I wouldn’t need a sedative every time I go through the checkout lane 🙂
Here’s a perspective from a WM cashier…. (This is a little long, so I may have to break it up into a couple of posts.) Maybe it will help with some of you who wonder about the program and the odd little rules about it?
I started working at Walmart as a cashier when they rolled out the ad-match program in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Recently, I was able to quit working at Walmart (as a cashier) several months ago tho (thank the Lord for that! LOL).
To say the ad-match program was all over the map is an understatement. Frankly, I absolutely LOVED it. I even bought my own calculator (I know…big deal, but hey!) so that I could make sure to be able to convert produce we sold by “each” to “by the pound” for the sale prices. I believe our store rolled out the program differently then other stores. We had one cashier who would tediously go through all local ads and come up with our admatch list. Each cashier would get one, and we’d try to memorize as much of it as we could. At the very least, the most popular things. I would happily tell each customer when I matched their items. Because, hey, who doesn’t like to go to the store and hear that they just got their strawberries for .88 cents instead of 2.98, right? After about 8 months of the store managers encouraging us to admatch ON OUR OWN, they realized they were taking a huge loss (duh!).
We were then told to stop admatching unless requested. This was very difficult for me, as I really enjoyed doing that for people. I kept doing it anyway, as I had quite a few customers who sought out my line because they knew i knew what the ads were and they’d get the best deal. Apparently, there is a printout that shows who is discounting what items, and I was near the top of that list. So I was confronted by the managers and asked if I was continuing to admatch. I said yes, and was told that I absolutely had to stop that and could not do it unless specifically requested by the customers.
Once the customers realized that we weren’t admatching prices for them, they were pretty upset. Understandably so. Then we were told we couldn’t admatch “stone fruit” if it wasn’t on ad sold by “each” fruit (since that’s how WM sells it). Try explaining to a customer why you can take the time to calculate and admatch their oranges sold by each orange to the “by the pound” sale price, but not their plums or peaches.
I have an awesome cashier at my Walmart. I will wait in his line no matter how long it is. He makes his own list of price match, and will tell you “this is on sale for x.xx at —–. Love him!
I’m going to try this at least once this summer and see how it goes. I’ve never had any luck with Walmart and their coupon policy in the past.
I didn’t even realize that Walmart did that! Now I wish my Walmart had produce. 🙁
you use an expired coupon for the Ivory? Has the expired coupon policy changed?
There were a few items in the May P&G that had later expiration dates. I was pulling out my expired coupons the other day and was surprised. Usually the whole P&G insert can head to the trash after the end of the month. Era, Gain, etc had 6/30 expiration dates.
I live in Canada and have stared Ad Match shopping at Wal-Mart recently. Wal-Mart here does not carry produce or fresh meat but it is still worth it. It saves me so much time, gas money, and I am getting great deals. So far I have had not trouble getting my matched prices but we do have to bring in our ads to show the cashier. It has shortened my shopping routine to 2 stores, my general grocery shopping at Atlantic Superstore and all other items at Wal-Mart because they have the best price or sale item, and ad match. We are getting a Costco soon and I look forward to seeing what deals I can find there.
Sad to hear your Aldi doesn’t have good produce. I hear this every so often from others about their stores. The one near me has the best stuff and is such a nice store. To bad they are not consistent with that in all their stores. I do not like the Walmart which is right across the street so I am glad I don’t have to PM there but am glad you were able to get what you needed by doing it. 🙂
My Walmart will not price match if I do not have the ad with me. They don’t care about the new policy. So far i have done it 3 times. The first time the associate didn’t know how to do it, the second time I tried doing it when I only had the item I needed cut out of the ad and they said they needed the whole ad, and the third time, they said that they needed to keep my ad.
I would email corporate because then they talk to the store manager (and they in turn talk to the CSMs) which usually helps things like this. There are certain gray areas where things are left up to the manager but they cannot just decide to go against a very black and white rule on the corporate policy (that’s why they have it). It’ll only take you a minute to do and might save you (and others) time in the future 🙂
I just started price matching at Target a few weeks ago, and I prefer that to Walmart just because I can use Target coupons as well as the manufacturer’s coupons. I think you do need the ad (at least I have brought it just to make things easier), but the only problem with price matching fresh stuff at our Target is that they carry different brands than the local grocery stores.
My Target will not let me price match and use a T coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon at the same time. That was from the manager! Needless to say, I rarely shop at the local Target. I’m fortunate to have 4 Walmarts within 30min though I have not tried price matching at all of them.
I don’t know about our Wal-Marts (I don’t shop at Wal-Mart) but most stores around here won’t price match anything fresh (produce, meats, etc) – because of the quality issue. Many places can sell these items cheaper b/c the quality isn’t as good.
I had a good shopping week. And my first overage at the grocery store resulted in cash back. Woohoo!
Wow that’s rare!! Usually they price down or make you add something to the total!
Yes, I was pretty surprised. But, our stores have strict coupon policies (as in NO double coupons), so I guess they have to get customers somehow 🙂
I love price matching at wal-mart!! I use all of the local (and not so local) ads and make one stop. So much nicer than in and out with five young children. I live in a rural area so we don’t have many options either. But with price matching I can take advantage of the sales without the hour drive to many chain stores.
I’m glad to hear your success at Walmart. Last time I tried price-matching there they wouldn’t honor it if it was a store that used a loyalty card (i.e. CVS, Kroger, Food Lion, etc). AND, they were very nit-picky about the sale ad. Our Aldi’s produce is one of the best around (better than Kroger) and I hear from many that their Aldi stores are terrible. I guess somehow we lucked out and get the really good stuff.
I’m still waiting for Publix to get here (grew up with them)…they blow the rest of these stores out of the water!
I always keep the policies in my coupon holder. Walmart’s PM policy specifically states that they let you match “card” prices. Now they won’t do things like ECB, RR, Target giftcard type offers but will let you match sales with card
I’ve found it depends on the employee. Same thing with Target, I’ve had trouble matching CVS/Rite-Aid b/c it will way “with card”. Because of the new coupon policy at Wal-Mart you could easily challenge it.
Our Aldi has very good produce, too, but Wal-Mart’s is not good at all. We don’t have a lot of the other stores that people talk about all the time (Publix, Kroger, Food Lion, Rite Aid, etc.).
Yay for PM
Also here is the policy
http://walmartstores.com/10563.aspx
At my Walmart we have to bring in the ad for proof of the price. They will match all prices except the Buy One Get Ones. Walmart will also take other store coupons (I’ve used Target coupons at mine so you can get more of a savings). They will take any coupon (even CVS) except for the $3 off $20 or more type coupons.
I’m finding Walmart to be the best place to save money for us.
Print out a copy of the ad matching policy and bring it with you. It states “We do not require customers to have the ad with them to honor a competitor’s ad.”
Looks almost exactly like what I ad matched this week! Since they have loosened their ad match policy and improved their coupon policy I find myself shopping at wal-mart more. Which is a good and bad thing!
That is great! I’ve been wanting to try out the price matching for awhile but my walmart is always so packed and I really I hate going there I never feel like taking the time to do it. But I think I’ll have to try!
Our Walmart has a huge bulletin board at the front of the store with all the competitors’ ads on it.
That is great! Usually, the checkout lanes will clip the local ads above the register. I usually check an empty lane if I have a question about a price or wondering what stores in the area they tend to price match.
I just did the same thing at our Walmart. I price matched a bag of doritos, grapes, pineapple, and strawberries too. I take the ad …just in case. It is great to go to ONE store for the few things I wanted to get at another store.
I love price matching at Walmart! I price match more than produce…… My Walmart will price match anything from local grocery stores or drugstores. Remember you can add a coupon on to a pricematch at Walmart. For example, you see a Walgreens sale on shampoo that is cheaper than Walmart and you have a coupon for the item. You can pricematch and then add the coupon on also. I agree with you Crystal, although the new policy is that you don’t have to bring in the ad, I always do anyway. If you have trouble getting fliers conveniently, go to the store website and print them out. Hope this helps.
I price match often at Wal Mart. To make it easier for me, I also divide it up on the belt, but when I make my list I put the price and PC (Price Choppe), H (HyVee ), or A (Aldi) beside it just in case I get any questions, which I rarely do. Although I prefer not to shop at Wal-Mart, with a 2 and 1 year old, it limits the number of stops we have to do to save us the most money possible. Last week Wal Mart did not have blueberries or raspberries which I was hoping to price match, so I ended up having to go to the store too. I also think generally WalMart as poor quality, over ripe strawberries.
Driscoll’s berries seem to be fresh the longest from what I’ve seen, alot longer than Dole. I get them at Schnucks, but you could probably check their website to see what other stores carry them.
I am not a usual WalMart shopper, but I may try this, because I too am often disappointed with the quality of produce at Aldi.
I’ve been price matching for a while at Walmart. I’ve never had a problem and love it! It’s especially handy for produce, because just as you say, the quality is sometimes low at Aldi and my Aldi frequently runs out of the really good deals. Except, I would rather not shop at Walmart at all…this gimmick gets my business though. I even post a weekly price matching list on my blog with all the best deals I see in my area’s ad! The only thing I don’t really price match there is meat, because I don’t like the added solutions.
Love price matching at Walmart! Not having to drive around to other stores has saved me so much time and gas money.
The only snag that I’ve run into is that they will not match a competitor’s price if it requires a separate purchase. For instance, a competing store had a coupon in their ad stating “Philadelphia Cream Cheese .99 with separate $5 or larger purchase” and Walmart would not match it because of that wording (don’t ask me why!)
And as another person already mentioned, they will not match a competitor’s ad if it only says “Buy One Get One Free”. There has to be a price specified for the item or they will not match it.
If your lucky enough on the BOGOF items, the other store will put how much one item costs (or how much you’re saving) in the printed ad. I’ve never had a problem price matching using that amount. For example, if it was advertised as “toothpaste BOGOF (save $2!)” I just tell the Wal-Mart cashier that I have a price match for toothpaste at Such-n-such store for $1 on each toothpaste. My walmart is good about the price matching. Some cashiers don’t check the ads AT ALL, others will look at them briefly. I can’t ever remember having them refuse a price match. I’ve even pm’d one store’s generic for walmart’s generic, without them blinking an eye.
Sorry for the corky question, is price matching is where one store allows you to purchase an item, for another store’s price? Thanks! 🙂
Yes & recently Walmart has said they would do it even without the ad. But it’s according to how friendly your store is.
Thanks! 🙂
I have never tried price matching at Walmart, simply because we do not have a Super Walmart close by. I have tried it at Target a few times, and while it works some times, most often it is quite a hassle.
We don’t get an ad with the produce prices from Aldi, I sure wish we did.
JR
Frugality Is Free
Target’s corporate policy, I was told, is to have customers bring all items they want to price match to the customer service counter, and they will give you a refund. I tried this and decided it was easier going to multiple stores.
Yes, Rachel I agree too complicated. It also has to be the very specific item in the ad not a different variety, and they do not take the BOGO deals either.
I have had success with price matching with Walgreens though, as getting to Walgreens is usually a hassle for me, and then they never have anything in stock.
I quite shopping at Walgreens for this reason. Even if I go early on the day their sale starts, they are always out of the items I need.
I usually checkout at customer service the items I’m going to price match. Sometimes if they’re not busy they’ll checkout all of my items (usually the case at my small town store).
Whenever I have done it, I give the cashier the ad and they override the price in the scanner.
I wondered about price matching produce with other stores like Aldi. I didn’t think they would price match if it were different producers of the fruit and vegetables. In our area, it seems there aren’t any other groceries that would have the same producers to price match with.
I have price-matched every week at Walmart for years. Once you get used to the little rules it is great. And the associates all know how to do it, unlike Target. They also will match prices our local Hispanic grocery store’s ad , where the produce prices are unbelievable!
I have the same problem as Meredith. They always tell me it is “off by 2 ounces” or something crazy like that. They are so rude when I price match food that I just can’t give them business. Also, it is their policy to card everyone in the checkout party if you buy beer. While I’m not opposed to this at all they would not sell me beer the other day because my seven year old did not have an I.D. She told me I could be giving it it to her. Seriously? After that comment I left my entire cart at checkout and walked out.
Yeah, carding your 7 year old is pretty pathetic! I don’t blame you for leaving.
I got carded the other day for buying spray paint-I had to be 18 or older. That’s a new one for me. Although I bought a can that was on clearance a few weeks ago and I wasn’t asked my age.
This is the case in a lot of states. 18 or 21 🙂
That is crazy :/
That is totally ridiculous. I worked in grocery stores in high school and was told to card anyone who looked under 40– but not a KID! I would have called the store manager and gone right up the corporate customer service chain.
Please call or write a letter and complain. That is simply unacceptable. Some cashiers need some people skills training. I don’t blame you for walking out.
I agree with the comment above me made by Meredith. Walmart often doesn’t “match exactly” with whatever it is I’m trying to price-match.
I haven’t price-matched at my Walmart in a long time, and I’m a little leery of it after what I saw last weekend. The couple in front of me were price-matching several items. They were trying to get things that the competitor’s add had listed as “Buy One Get One Free”. Because the ad didn’t give a “price” on it, the cashier wouldn’t do it. I casually mentioned to the lady that the Walmart policy is to price match even without an ad present, so she asked to see a manager. The manager on duty brought over a printed policy (no idea how up to date it was) and still wouldn’t do it. The lady gave up and bought the items that did work. She thanked me for my patience and told me that she had never had this much trouble before.
I guess it all depends on who is working etc.
Thirding what Meredith and Kimberly said. My WalMart store won’t price match unless everything matches *exactly*. A couple of times I’ve even noticed that they will have a different brand of say, strawberries than they would normally carry when another store has the regular brand on sale. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but it certainly seems a little sketchy.
Wal-Marts corporate policy states they will only match a “buy one get one free” if the ad specifically states the price. Almost all that I’ve seen never have the price on the item, just the BOGO.
They actually say in their policy (and Target does as well) that they will only price match bogo type offers if the price is listed and they will not do % off offers. This case was the store doing the correct procedures
The Walmart near me has really good prices on produce but it is all of very poor quality as is the meat. The store is also pretty nasty to shop at even though it was just remodeled last year.
Great job price matching! Maybe someday they will build a nice Walmart near me (though I do sometimes go to the one near my mom’s house which is a million times nicer but is 30 minutes away and doesn’t sell produce).
I agree. I’ve never been happy with the quality of produce at Walmart. We don’t have an Aldi’s, but if their produce is worse than Walmart’s, yikes!
I think that no matter what chain you are talking about, it varies by the store. My Walmart has pretty good produce but the prices are high (with the exception of one or two different items on a good sale at a time) and our Aldis usually has awful produce but good prices. So Crystal’s scenario works for me as well (but know that some people’s produce is good at Aldis and bad at Walmart). The thing I pricematch the most is the Mexican groceries. They have awful quality produce and meat but amazing prices. 🙂
It’s such a case by case kind of thing. Our Wal-Mart has great produce MD), but when we lived in NM, it was HORRID. Our Aldi here is fabulous.
I think the product varies at Aldi’s, sometimes the strawberries are great and the price is great but other times the strawberries look awful and the price is cheaper elsewhere due to a sale. I always tried to be flexible when shopping at Aldi’s, knowing your prices (or having a price book) helps tremendously. That way you can pick up anything you need at another store. (Where we used to live Aldi’s, Kroger, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, K-Mart, and Meijer were all really close together.)
It does vary by store. Our local Wal-Mart has terrible produce, but Aldi’s is great, so I do most of my shopping at Aldi even though it’s a little farther away. Price matching for me wouldn’t be worth it if the quality isn’t as good.
Yes, yes! I am very fortunate to have a Sam’s, Walmart, Target, and Randall’s very close to where I live, and I’m able to figure out exactly what I can save on at Sam’s and what I should just buy elsewhere. I’ve found that Sam’s has a gallon of milk and an 18-count pack of eggs that are up to .50 cheaper than anywhere else. We go through a lot of milk and eggs, so this alone pays for the membership fee. We also LOVE On The Border tortilla chips, and they are much cheaper at Sam’s! (Unfortunately, it took me two years to figure out where all of the stores were and who had the best deals and how I could plan a shopping route to maximize my time…and now we’re moving to another state!)
Oops…this was supposed to be in reply to Rachael above…not sure how I biffed this! 🙂
On the produce…it’s interesting to read all of these comments. We have a Sprouts that has the best produce in town, hands down. After that, Sam’s and Walmart both have very good produce. In fact, I prefer to get my leaf lettuce from Walmart over Sprouts because it is usually much better. The Target and Randall’s here both have very mediocre produce. My husband even commented on the quality of asparagus once when I switched from buying it at Randall’s to Sprouts.
Don’t get me wrong on this comment–I really don’t mind shopping at Walmart. However, I actually have quite a hard time price-matching at ours. I was told I can’t match the oranges because the other stores sell by the pound, whereas my Walmart sells oranges individually (and many other fruits, too). They also won’t price match to every grocery store (no “markets” or whole foods stores). In addition, they’re clever with packaging and almost never have the same ounces etc as other stores. For instance, Walmart had a 150 oz bottle of Purex but not the 170 oz one that Target had. Even their Dole bagged salads are of different names, but same product. Instead of Just Lettuce, it’s Seven Lettuces. I find it very convenient that they don’t seem to ever have “exactly” what is listed in a competitor’s ad, even though the competitor carries what every other store carries.
I agree. Crystal, you are enjoying easy price matching because WalMart is struggling to keep their customers. Many of us have figured out their tactics and have found other stores who welcome our business. If you’ve read the news lately and seen their new commercials, you will find they are suddenly “realizing” (as if they didn’t know) that their prices aren’t the lowest in town. WalMart and Sams are “gotcha” stores – you have to be extrememly careful there. My advice is to keep a price book and be sure you are truly getting a good deal.
I agree. A few things I consistently find to be lower priced at Sam’s include milk, gas, flour, tortilla chips, and yeast, however.
I have had such an awful time with coupons at Walmart I stopped shopping there. I always felt like a criminal!! I have also tried price matching and found the same thing to be true as you Meredith!
I’ve never had this problem. Maybe because the grocery store ads here always have a size range (example an ad for a box of cheese crackers says a size range 8-15 oz.) The Walmart here always has a size within that range.
Crystal, that is exciting that you had such an easy time. I am tempted to try it! I am very leery about the Walmart by me, but there is a new one across town that I may try. I get over that way once a week or so, so I would not be making a special trip (wasting gas!).
We all have to get over feeling like we are trying to do something wrong we are not! We are just trying to do what is right for our families.
Crystal,
I stopped crochet some time back however, I have discovered the yarn at .50 works great for package ribbon (for mailing gifts it is a great way to add color and it does not get smashed in transit plus it is cheap!)
I just thought some other readers might like this tip.
You’re right Janet. It’s Walmart’s decision wheather or not to do this. If they say it’s o.k. why should we believe it’s not.
I’ve been price-matching bananas on Thursdays for years, but I can’t believe I never thought to price-match Aldis! They almost always have good produce prices. (We probably will still go to Aldis for oranges, because theirs are the best, believe it or not!)
I really like Aldi’s bags of apples too.
I agree! I will now try to price match Aldi’s ads for produce. Great Idea! How does Wal-Mart know what the price is if you don’t bring in the ad? Do you just tell them?
When I do it I just tell them the price and the store. Once or twice, when I’ve price-matched for a BIG discount, I’ve had them get upset with me, and then I just politely asked if they could check with their manager, then it’s always been fine.
I just started price matching slowly too and I’m excited since walmart is closest to us. How did you get the Aldi ad? We have several Aldi’s in the area but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad.
Our Aldi’s ad comes out in our Monday newspaper. I live in Iowa.
It’s on their website, too!
My Aldi’s ad comes out in Wednesdays paper with the rest of the grocery store flyers.
Crystal – Blueberries and strawberries were $0.99/ea at my Aldi this week – I didn’t realize they had that much variation between stores!
The produce at my Wal-Mart is horrible. Isn’t it funny how different everything is?
My WalMart has really bad produce also. I always recommend Aldi to everyone because theirs is so much better where we live!
Our aldi’s produce is VERY nice! I hardly look at Walmart’s produce anymore…
Great site. Thanks!