A Walmart customer was perplexed by a location’s trepidation in honoring its own prices. TikToker Big Bet Gaming (@_big_bet_gaming) posted a viral clip that’s accrued over 374,000 views delineating his experience.
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The patron relayed how a video game cost $10 less for same-day delivery versus buying it in store. Furthermore, when he asked Walmart employees to match the price in-store, he was met with some resistance. This confused him, as the game wasn’t offered by a third-party seller. Additionally, his trip to the store meant a worker didn’t have to leave the premises to deliver the game in a snowstorm.
$29 vs $39
The TikToker records his video from the interior of a car while speaking directly to the camera. “Someone really has to explain to me how Walmart works because I came here today, picking up this Monster Jam game for my kids, because they like monster trucks, and I go to the store because they have it in stock and it’s close by. And they say, ‘Oh it’s $39 at the store, but if you buy it online, it’s only $29.’”
Confused by this discrepancy, even though it’s the same retailer selling the game, the TikToker questioned the difference. “But I looked to make sure that it was sold and shipped by Walmart.com because I know they don’t match prices of third party vendors. I thought to myself, ‘Well, that’s a little silly. It’s $39 if I buy it in store, but if I add it to my cart and have someone deliver it to my house an hour and a half from now, it’ll be like $10 less. What sense does that make?’”
At this point in his trip to Walmart, the TikTok user decides to ask the employee about a price match, which he thought wouldn’t be an issue, given that it’s Walmart selling the product. “So I asked the young guy there, I says, ‘Hey, you know, can we just do a price match here, and we’ll go on our business, and I’ll take the copy home, and you guys don’t have to worry about delivering to my house today in this snowstorm?”
Denied
However, Big Bet Gaming says the employee was reluctant to match Walmart’s own delivery price. “He’s like, ‘No, we really can’t do that because it has to fall under certain circumstances.’ I’m like, ‘Well it’s sold and shipped by Walmart.com. It’s in stock in store; it’s in stock online. And if I buy it online and have it delivered shipping—not just delivery, like actually have it shipped by a shipper—it’s still gonna come from this store, and it’s gonna come the same day, an hour and a half later.”
Next, he decided to walk around the store and discuss the issue with other employees. Many of them provided the same response as the initial store worker he spoke with. Ultimately, he was able to get the price match. “No one at the store wanted to price match it. No one wanted to. They’re all terrified of being in trouble for price matching their own price, according to their own price match policy.”
Numerous viewers shared why they believed Walmart featured the price difference. According to one, it’s so it could sell customer information. “Because if it’s ordered online they get your name, phone number and address! Then you save 10 dollars. But they sell your info to everyone for thousands and have access to your phone data.”
Someone else chimed in, stating that it’s part of the retailer’s business strategy to encourage online shopping. “They’re trying to encourage you to shop online instead of in store. Because they want to try to compete with Amazon.”
Another person urged Big Bet Gaming to just get the product delivered in the future. “They are pushing their Walmart delivery hard. Less people in stores means less theft. They want to rival Amazon. I’m a spark driver. Save the $10 cuz I would have made $11 delivering that to you.”
Several other commenters replied that Walmart workers should match their own online pricing in store. “Fiancé works at Walmart. Policy is if it is labeled sold and shipped by Walmart they HAVE to give you the online price. Call corporate.”
Meanwhile, others remarked that workers were probably afraid of retaliation from higher-ups at their job. “As someone who worked at a Walmart. When your only source of income can be taken away from you because a higher up gets mad arbitrarily. It’s not worth risking it just for a 10$ deal.”
“Dude, these are people being paid $7 an hour. they don’t care about your price match,” another echoed.
@_big_bet_gaming I don’t get it @Walmart #gaming #gamer #playstation #nintendo #xbox #videogame #retrogamer #retrogaming #sega ♬ original sound – _big_bet_Gaming
Policy
According to Dealnews, Walmart does indeed offer price matching on online items in physical locations. Like Big Bet Gaming and commenters stated, this shouldn’t be an issue if the item is sold via Walmart.com. “To get a Walmart price adjustment in-store, simply locate the identical item online (sold only via Walmart.com). And show it to a sales associate. The associate may require a supervisor to override the price. So long as the item matches and is available for purchase online, there should not be any additional hassle.”
However, the same outlet states getting price matches for online purchases is another story. Furthermore, Walmart’s website states that it may not always price match between its other retail locations. “It is not our policy to price match our own stores since we are not in competition with ourselves.”
Moreover, the brand explains that some physical locations may institute clearance specials. Also, inventories, supplies, and item popularity vary from store to store, which is why sometimes price matching items from other Walmart stores may be rejected by workers.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart via email and Big Bet Gaming via TikTok comment for further information.
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