How To Get a Refund from a Price Change on Amazon

As a major online retail giant, Amazon tries to go the extra mile to provide its customers with the best service possible. In fact, the company used to have one of the most liberal and generous refund policies, and you could get a no-questions-asked refund on almost anything.

But a few years year ago, the policy changed, and there are certain limitations now. To answer the question right away, you probably won’t be able to get a refund for a price change on Amazon. Instead, if they agree to something, it’ll be the option to send back the item and then buy it again at the new price.

That said, there are still some price-protected items for which you can get a refund should there be a significant drop. This is why it pays to take a closer look at the refund rules on Amazon.

A Short History of Price-Protected Refunds

At the start, Amazon offered a 30-day price guarantee on any item that they sold and shipped out. Soon after, the guarantee period went from 30 days to only 7 days, and then it got suspended. This means you pretty much cannot get a price change refund nowadays, but there is a silver lining.

Although the number of items you can do this with on Amazon has lessened, some users still report being able to get a refund. So it’s worth it to at least try, but you should be careful because Amazon keeps a watchful eye on all refunds and returns. Some users got banned since they went overboard with the requests.

How to Ask for a Refund

The process of asking for a refund on Amazon is pretty straightforward.

Navigate to the Returns and Refunds page, go to the Help section, and select Need more help. There you’ll find a link to Contact us.

On the other hand, it’s even easier when you log into your account.

Go to the order you want to refund and put it in the query.

Choose Returns and Refunds from the drop-down menu, then Other return or refund issue to provide more details.

Type “partial refund, price change” in the correct box and choose the contact method – email or chat.

Things to Remember

The refund email needs to be in a firm but friendly tone. Try to briefly explain the price change. Needless to say, you should be super polite regardless of whether your request gets refused or accepted.

There is a strong possibility you’ll get a refusal email as soon as your request gets processed, but all is not lost. Feel free to contact customer service by phone and talk to the agent about your problem. Again, it’s necessary to stay calm and composed; passionate disputes are not likely to get you what you want.

Don’t forget that there is a 7-day window to start the refund process. In case the item’s price goes down after 7 days, the partial refund is not eligible.

Alternative Methods

Aside from Amazon, you might be able to get a refund from your credit card company via their price protection policy. You need to file a complaint (with the credit card company, not Amazon) and request a refund for the price change.

In general, this works for online purchases if the price goes down within a designated period of time (60 to 90 days after the purchase). This way, the credit card company refunds your money. On the other hand, you can also ask for a full refund from Amazon.

Return the item and buy it again at the discounted price. However, you should be careful with the full refunds because if you do it too many times, Amazon might ban you.

Why Did Amazon Change the Price Protection Refund Policy?

There is no official statement about the reasons for the change, but it’s safe to assume that the increasing number of requests is one of the culprits. For example, partial returns may surge around Cyber Monday, Black Friday, or Prime day.

In addition, the company reported certain issues with handling this type of refund. On top of that, some customers abused the liberal policy by asking for illegitimate returns, which, in turn, cost Amazon a pretty penny.

How to Keep Track of Amazon Prices

There are quite a few tools and browser extensions that help you monitor price fluctuations on Amazon. They save the time you spend on tracking down the best deal. You also get a notification the moment the price changes on the item you are interested in.

Veni, Vidi, Visa

Despite the fact that Amazon tightened its returns policy, there still might be a way to get a partial refund. And if you get refused, there is always an option to file a request with your credit card company.

However, it’s best to save yourself the trouble and avoid impulse purchases. Take some time to track the prices and shop once you stumble upon a bargain.