Bought a Gift Before Black Friday? Target and Best Buy Will Refund the Price Drop, Only If You Ask

If you buy a gift at Target or Best Buy this week and the price drops on Black Friday, both stores will give you the difference. Neither sends it on its own. You have to notice, and you have to ask.

That’s the deal. The store is betting you won’t.

The guarantees, in plain English

Target’s holiday price match started November 1. Buy an eligible item in store or online, and if Target’s price goes lower on or before December 24, you can get the difference back. Bring the receipt or order number. Target says screenshots or pictures can’t be accepted, so the lower price needs to be showing on Target.com or in your store when you ask. For BestBuy.com orders you’ve already received, Best Buy lets you check price-match availability on the order details page.

Best Buy’s version covers most products bought from October 30 through December 31. If Best Buy’s own price drops, you can claim the match through January 15.

Here’s the catch both stores share: they only match themselves.

Target’s page says the lower price must be at Target.com or a local Target store. Best Buy’s holiday guarantee “does not apply to price matching competitor’s prices.” Best Buy’s everyday policy does match some competitors, but not during the week that matters. It excludes any competitor’s sale price from the Thursday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after. This year that’s November 19 to November 30.

Translation: Amazon’s Black Friday price is Amazon’s problem, not Best Buy’s.

What waiting is worth

Adobe’s holiday forecast says online discounts run up to 14% off list in early November and up to 30% during Cyber Week, the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday on November 30. It expects electronics to peak at 30% off, toys at 29% and TVs at 23%.

Run that on a $500 list price. At 14% off you pay $430 today. At 30% off it’s $350. That’s $80, and the store keeps it unless you show up with your receipt.

The verdict: buy early at either store if you want the item in hand, then check the price again Thanksgiving week. You lose nothing by buying now. You lose $80 by forgetting.

Do this now

Save every receipt from Target and Best Buy in one place, paper or email. Put two reminders on your phone: Black Friday, November 27, and Cyber Monday, November 30. On each day, look up what you bought.

If the price fell, claim it. At Target, go to Guest Services or chat online. At Best Buy, use chat, call 1-888-237-8289, or walk into a store.

Read the exclusions before you count on the refund. Target won’t match if your purchase came with a promotional Target GiftCard, if the item has a gift card promotion running now, or if you want to stack a Target coupon on the match. Best Buy excludes marketplace sellers, phones bought with a carrier contract, AppleCare+ and holiday decorations.

Then put the difference toward the next gift. Our budget planner helps you set a holiday number before the sales start setting it for you.

The detail

Target’s extended holiday returns cover purchases from November 1 to December 24, with the clock starting December 26. Most electronics and entertainment items are due back by January 24, 2027. Apple and Beats products and unlocked or prepaid phones are due January 8, 2027. Outside the holiday window, Target’s normal price-match limit is 14 days after purchase. Best Buy’s Holiday Price Match Guarantee applies to products sold by Best Buy that are new and immediately available, and its other price-match terms still apply.

How Candid Yak makes money. Some of the products we write about pay us if you apply or sign up through our links. That never changes our verdict, our rankings, or the numbers in this article. We call a bad deal a bad deal whether it pays us or not. Some brands shown in our comparison tools are placeholder examples while we finalize partner agreements, and we label them as such.