Walmart charges more in store than pickup.

[HeatherC]

Guess I never noticed before. Today I went to get some pool shock and algaecide. I paid and then realized that my receipt seemed higher than I though it should be when I checked on the app for the prices. It was approximately $10 higher for two items so I went back in to customer service. They would not honor the app price but said they would return the items and order for pickup. But I would need to go back 4 hours later. I had the items right there, but they wouldn’t do anything about it. So I returned the items and left.

Does anyone else find this frustrating? We weren’t talking a few cents more either. Two items were $10 more. Can you imagine how much more expensive a larger order might be simply by going to the store?

Looks like I will be doing more pickup and Amazon.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, sometimes the online price is different than the in-store price. Most places will price-match their own website though, but it's such a hassle. They wonder why retail is dying.

 

[piccolopat]

Carter's does the same thing. Online prices can be lower, even when you are selecting store pickup.

 

[rangerxenos]

Just had this happen 2 weeks ago at Target, they were more than happy to match the price of the Lego set I bought in store, which was $7 higher than their website price.

 

[mgarbowski]

I'm not surprised. In the app they're trying to get you to come to the store, or at least to order from them instead of other alternatives on your phone or the web. When you're in the store they already have you. Not price matching seems a bit much.

 

[Moliphino]

I've noticed this at Petco with our elderly dog's hemp treats. Always marked down online, but full price in store.

 

[dez1978]

Target does the same thing. So does Petsmart. They always price match tho

 

[GAN]

Guess I never noticed before. Today I went to get some pool shock and algaecide. I paid and then realized that my receipt seemed higher than I though it should be when I checked on the app for the prices. It was approximately $10 higher for two items so I went back in to customer service. They would not honor the app price but said they would return the items and order for pickup. But I would need to go back 4 hours later. I had the items right there, but they wouldn’t do anything about it. So I returned the items and left.

Does anyone else find this frustrating? We weren’t talking a few cents more either. Two items were $10 more. Can you imagine how much more expensive a larger order might be simply by going to the store?

Looks like I will be doing more pickup and Amazon.

I always figured it would be the other way around.....

 

[EACarlson]

Online they have to compete with Amazon, Target and anywhere else that has the item you're looking for. Once you're in the store you're going to buy it unless the price is outrageous.

 

[HeatherC]

The problem I have is they wouldn’t price match their own store. Fine, I just ordered it from Amazon and they lost a sale. So ridiculous.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow-I just learned something! Actually I would have expected the opposite to be true also. After all, if I actually go into the store to buy something, I rarely walk out with just that thing. I usually see one or two other things I forgot I needed, or just look like something I want to buy.

 

[focusondisney]

I’ve seen it in the target app, but it will say Online Only. So I’ve ordered & picked up in store. I didn’t know they would price match themselves tho. That’s good to know.

 

[barkley]

I always figured it would be the other way around.....

that's been my experience with them. a couple of times i was going to do pickup but i noticed the prices were higher than i had recently paid in store so i didn't do the order and found the prices lower when i went inside the store and shopped for myself. they DO charge MUCH MORE for the identical item if you are having it shipped to home.

 

[shh]

Guess I never noticed before. Today I went to get some pool shock and algaecide. I paid and then realized that my receipt seemed higher than I though it should be when I checked on the app for the prices. It was approximately $10 higher for two items so I went back in to customer service. They would not honor the app price but said they would return the items and order for pickup. But I would need to go back 4 hours later. I had the items right there, but they wouldn’t do anything about it. So I returned the items and left.

Does anyone else find this frustrating? We weren’t talking a few cents more either. Two items were $10 more. Can you imagine how much more expensive a larger order might be simply by going to the store?

Looks like I will be doing more pickup and Amazon.

I order online/pickup constantly and usually find I paid MORE than if I bought inside the store. I guess it depends upon inventory levels and region.

What really annoys me is Sam's Club. I pay extra for their premium "plus" membership and a main perk is supposed to be free shipping. But when I'm shopping, only selected items qualify for free shipping. Many cannot be shipped, carry an extra shipping charge or the price of the item is higher if you choose the "free shipping" option. Very deceptive.

 

[mom2rtk]

My Walmart did price match for me.

 

[kdonnel]

The problem I have is they wouldn’t price match their own store. Fine, I just ordered it from Amazon and they lost a sale. So ridiculous.

Sometimes the online store operating under the same name as the brick and mortar store is not the same company.

Not sure if that is true for Walmart.

I know in the past, not sure if true now, Target was an example. Target online was not the same as Target in store.

Even when they are the same company but different divisions it can be strange.

I agree it is stupid though. I too would have just returned the items and bought elsewhere.

 

[thinkerbell]

We bought a bicycle at Christmas and noticed it was $10 cheaper online at Walmart. They didn’t want to but they finally did honor the online price. We don’t have a problem with getting Target to price match their own items.

What really annoys me is Sam's Club. I pay extra for their premium "plus" membership and a main perk is supposed to be free shipping. But when I'm shopping, only selected items qualify for free shipping. Many cannot be shipped, carry an extra shipping charge or the price of the item is higher if you choose the "free shipping" option. Very deceptive.

We just recently discovered this. Can’t remember what it was that we were going to order for delivery but when I changed it to pick up, it changed the price by about $3 so we look at both options now just to make sure. Most of what we order is available for free shipping and we use the heck out of it. I do feel the occasional price change for “free” shipping is deceptive though.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This has been the case for years really only in general I find it to be the opposite where online pickup is more expensive than in store. This is if you're talking about grocery pick up.

That said with online/app pricing you have to ensure it is available for in-store pick up or sold and shipped by Walmart. They have a ton of 3rd party purchases that can be pulled up for lower or higher pricing and those do not qualify for any price match.

Here's Walmart's price match policy as it pertains to the OP.







Target now does explicitly state "when purchased online" and tells you they will not honor necessarily the app pricing if you're purchasing in-store.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sometimes, but I only really react to it if it is an expensive item. Pretty sure Amazon is driving a lot of these strange behaviors. They have a contract rule that anyone who sells with Amazon can't undercut the online prices so stores need to jockey in all sorts of odd ways to gather profits. I tend to keep a list of things that are priced this way at stores in my area and make a larger delivery order at one time to get free shipping on everything.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We just recently discovered this. Can’t remember what it was that we were going to order for delivery but when I changed it to pick up, it changed the price by about $3 so we look at both options now just to make sure. Most of what we order is available for free shipping and we use the heck out of it. I do feel the occasional price change for “free” shipping is deceptive though.

Costco is somewhat similar although they are very upfront that the item may be available in your local warehouse for less. This is because they build in shipping an item into the pricing of the online item especially when it ships for free. We've bought clothing items for the same price as our closest Costco with free shipping but then we've bought paper towels and toilet paper that were more expensive online ship to house for free than in our closest Costco. But I will say a decent amount of stuff seems to be free shipping with Costco.

Just to pull an example this is a random shirt from Costco's online site: