Getting Sears to Price Match?
 

Has anyone ever tried to get Sears to actually honor their price match guarantee?

I found a new television that I'd really like to purchase sooner then later...a new Toshiba 52" DLP....to me it outperforms everything other then the plasmas which are simply out of my price range.

Most of the regular retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc have it for $2999, including Sears. A simple online search yields multiple places including J&R music and computer world selling it for 2299 (big savings!).

So I sent Sears an email with a screen shot of the order page b/c technically they are supposed to price match plus 10%, which would bring the TV down to close to $2K. J&R is an online store and a local store here in the tristate area....well Sears is definitely dragging their feet...anyone else do this?

Is it better to go to a Sears and try to get this done....I'm just trying to avoid stores right now, as my holiday is past (Hannukah) and the thought of braving the crowds, especially at Sears gives me the willies.....

Anyone with any advice?

Adam

It's doubtful that anyone at your local retail store has any decision making ability. Either they can or they can't, but they won't bend the rules that came down from upon high.

Most price match programs apply only to print ads from brick and mortar stores. In most cases, a "print ad" is a flyer or other commercially printed ad. Print-outs from web pages typically don't qualify. So, if you could get a flyer from the actual store, you'd be good to go.

The Sears website actually specifically says it can be a brick and mortar store's website advertisement. J&R is in NY (I'm in NJ) so techinically it is not local, local but around here NY/NJ/CT/PA are all pretty much local....

J&R prints a hell of a lot of ads in the NYTimes, I'll look and see if they had one for the TV you mention in last Sunday's edition. If so, I don't realyl see where Sears would have any room to balk.

I'll let you know.

Absolutely plus they require that the store that is selling the item with that price have it in stock and offer the same specials including delivery, tax, etc.

Many times the same item will have a different product number (unique to the large retailers i.e. Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.), so they are quite sure you're never going to get a 'price match' on the exact product from a competitor...do your competing ads have the same product # that Sears has?

Hey Keith-
Yep, same model number, etc...

Ice, have you ever bought from J&R? If Sears is a no go, perhaps I'll go with them...

Interesting, when I rechecked the J&R site you cannot buy the item online anymore, you have to call the 800#, probably got a run of purchases with such a low price and its backordered.....

I tried this with a laptop a year ago - a printed-out ad from a brick-and-mortar store that also sold online. Sears flat-out refused to honor the price match. The manager said he wouldn't do it, period. It was basically a "so sue me" attitude.

I've used JR Music World for many years and have always been very pleased with them. Initially their meet or beat prie policy was very flexible. You'd even be able to negotiate the price down as if with a car. In recent years they have stuck by published prices. Still a great company though.

Sears delivered on a Sony HDTV...even waived the usual delivery charge.

Might have just been a fluke....

Adam,

I checked the print copy of last Sundays NYT, they've got a listing for a 32" toshiba and a few others, but not the 52".

I've use J&R for several things, from cameras to components and they've always delivered without issue. Never had an issue that I needed customer service on, so I cant' speak to that. But considering that I haven't needed their intervention on a transaction is a good thing IMHO.

I'd buy from them without issue.

I got them to match a local price on a tool a couple of years ago, but the 10% guarantee is no Home Depot type deal(10% less than competitor's price). It's 10% of the difference in price. So IF you can get them to match J&R (best to mention they are a local store) you will be looking at:

2299 - ((2999-2299)*0.1)
= 2299 - 70
= 2229

We just did a price match deal at Sears on a microwave/convection oven. Sears had it for $749. We found it online for $549 with $50 delivery. Sears price matched to the $599 plus 10%.

Print out the online ads from J&R and bring any print ads you can find. Maybe even call them and ask them to fax you a quote. If that doesn't work with your local Sears, I would call the main office and complain.

My impression is that each Sears store is different. Some will bargain or match to a greater degree than others. You might just try another location.

I've been looking at a TV as well but am leaning towards the JVC 52" HD-ILA. 3-chip LCOS technology with no moving parts (like the color wheel with DLP).

Jon

Just bought a fridge from sears. We said we were gonna price check it at Circuit City. The guy punches up all the competitors prices in his computer. They know them all!!!! Then he dropped a few dollars, and we bought it. They know, they know, they know!!!

PS. If you're gonna buy DLP, absolutely make certain it is the second generation of production. Lots of bugs in the first, and they fixed them in the second.

Some people are still prone to seeing rainbows or getting headaches. Most have no issues though. Helpful to buy from somewhere that has a good 30 day return policy.

Jon