Harvey Norman Rejected What I Considered to Be a Straight Forward Price Match

OzyBe on 13/07/2025 - 12:19
Last edited 13/07/2025 - 15:32 by 1 other user

I asked Harvey Norman for a price match on a Brother HL-L2445DW printer yesterday and was surprised when they declined (as I did not consider it to be any different to other price matches I have done in the past).

Amazon Australia had it for $110.39 with free delivery. Harvey Norman were selling the identical unit for $138. I was happy to pickup in store, saving them freight.

They confirmed the competitor's price, and then said the price was too low.

"After review unfortunately this price falls below market value and as per our price match policy, we are unable to match this today. I'm so sorry for that."

"If you would like to view our price match policy, you can do so at the following site: https://www.harveynorman.com.au/customer-service/price-match….

Computing Brother Laser Printer Printer

Related Stores

Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman

Comments

Search through all the comments in this post.
              • HuzzahIndeed on 17/07/2025 - 10:43

                @YellowDieselGolf: No, I was saying that you don’t appear to be overly intelligent. Your last response has just further reinforced that.

                • YellowDieselGolf on 17/07/2025 - 11:26

                  @HuzzahIndeed: Besides retail, what other professions are below you?

                  (profanity) Gerry.

                  • HuzzahIndeed on 17/07/2025 - 12:08

                    @YellowDieselGolf: Do I think retail is entry level work, yes. Do I think that there are some people like yourself with low intellect that do retail work because they don’t have the skills to do much else, that retail work is suitable for, yes. Do I think there is anything wrong with working in retail, no. Do I look down on and mistreat/am I rude to retail staff, no.

    • WayneOZ on 17/07/2025 - 09:26

      Just came across this post and I believe this is why. A good example, live.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/16735295/redir

      • AssociatedHardlyNormal @ Harvey Norman on 17/07/2025 - 21:22

        Ours is even cheaper now???

        • WayneOZ on 18/07/2025 - 10:39

          Yes, but not by the time the reply was posted I believe. Besides HN is cheaper now doesn't change the fact that it was a frustrating experience for that customer. Imagine what if HN didn't react to JB's promo? (I believe it happened more than those when HN reacted) It would be just another ordinary day for another disappointed customer. This is just my 2c from a third party perspective. I'm no JB nor HN fanboy.

    • Muppet Detector on 17/07/2025 - 14:34

      I'm ASSuming that different stores generate/realise more profit than other stores do.

      Couldn't it just be that some stores experience greater profits and thus have more wriggle room than stores who generate less.

      Perhaps store in question here aren't necessarily tight arses, just weren't experiencing enough room to make a loss atm.

  • AustriaBargain on 14/07/2025 - 21:46
    +1

    You need a Prime membership to get free shipping usually. You should just order from Amazon anyway, returns will be a lot easier. And you get a free cardboard box sometimes.

  • cybapete on 15/07/2025 - 08:54
    +1

    i don't really believe in price matching if i find a cheaper deal elsewhere that's where i'll buy
    why reward an overpriced business instead of their cheaper competitor?

    • gromit on 15/07/2025 - 15:11

      I very much concur with this sentiment. If I know something is cheaper elsewhere I buy there, at most I will sometimes ask a business what is the best price they can do for me, if it isn't better then I will buy where it was cheapest. I have done a few price matches in the past, but only because going to where the cheapest price is was inconvenient.

      • serpserpserp on 16/07/2025 - 14:43

        People do it for the thrill.

  • Morphio25 on 15/07/2025 - 11:23
    +1

    Seems like an easy choice then, buy it from Amazon for the cheaper price with free shipping. Why bother wasting time trying to get HN to help you if they have said no already?

    • holdenmg on 15/07/2025 - 11:29

      OP says they bought it from The Good Guys.

  • sauce2k on 15/07/2025 - 15:47
    +1

    A lot of stores dont price match against Amazon/Costco

  • p3nf0ld on 15/07/2025 - 23:06

    This is a very deceptive post. OP fails to mention that the price on the printer was part of a the Amazon "Prime" promotion. Many memberships and promotions e.g. Ebay Plus will sell a limited number of products at a loss to generate subscribers. It would be like if I went to Big W and asked them to give me a free copy of Forza because its on games pass and they need to price match. Anyway I would advocate recognizing the company that has the lowest pricing and support them.
    Regardless the OP did well to get the Good Guys to price match.

  • kaleidoscope on 16/07/2025 - 12:31

    Well… One time HN employee/ floor manager went above and beyond to not only deny a price match, but also to call the other HN with lower priced item to adjust their pricing 🙃. (I was asking to price match their own catalogue item from a different store as this was the closest store to me)

    ——

    I’ve heard different stories from JB being hit or miss with amazon price match, i recently did a price match for amazon item, and the employee said they look for “sold by field” on the listing which must be amazon australia

  • OzyBe on 16/07/2025 - 15:10
    Merged from Another Harvey Norman Price Match Rejection

    OK, I know people will give me curry for looking at the Harvey Norman website in the first place, but I was looking at the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB 3.1 Type-C 256GB Flash Drive for $58.90, when the Microsoft price popup showed that the same item could be purchased from Kogan $32.50 with free delivery.

    So, seeing as though I was already on the HN site, I asked if they could price match Kogan via chat.

    No, as it is a being sold by a market place seller.

    OK, fair enough. I could see that Amazon were selling the same item $34 so I asked if they would price match this?

    No, as it is a different product. Really? The model names are the same on both sites "SDDDC2-256G-G46", turns out the chat person, was stating the products were different as the image on the Amazon site was showing the USB A side of the device, and the picture on the HN site was showing the USB C side of the device - ie. different photo angle, exactly the same product.

    We worked this out, and he then admitted it was the same product.

    He then stated that "Apologies after looking further into this these are identical models unfortunately however, this item is unavailable for a price match as the competitor is currently selling this item below market value".

    "The market value of a product is determined by what the majority of the leading Australian retailers (the market) are selling it for at the time of the price match request".

    Needless to say, I will just purchase it elsewhere, but what a joke and waste of time. Using the excuse that an item is below market value is a cop out.

    This would make a great Monty Python sketch.

    • jv on 16/07/2025 - 15:13
      +2

      Using the excuse that an item is below market value is a cop out.

      It's part of their policy…

      What are the exclusions?
      Offers which include cash back, bonus, bulk purchase, quantity limits or packages.
      Pricing with included delivery or installation.
      Offers not available to the general public - including trade, special event, club or membership offers.
      Clearance, seconds, refurbished, ex-demonstration or display products.
      Products shipped from or sold by third-party sellers on marketplace, auction or classifieds websites.
      Products supplied through unauthorised distributors (known as 'grey market' items) or delivered directly to customers from an overseas distributor.
      Pricing errors.
      Products with pricing set significantly lower than the recommended retail price or market value.
      https://www.harveynorman.com.au/customer-service/price-match…

      Just buy from Kogan…

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 16/07/2025 - 15:30
        +2

        It's part of their policy…

        Op doesn’t want terms and conditions, they want to be outraged!

        Just buy from Kogan…

        I draw the line at Amazon

    • AssociatedHardlyNormal @ Harvey Norman on 17/07/2025 - 21:23

      call a HN store who will be happy to take your business, the online franchise chat bots are horrible for this

  • jinkerjinx on 16/07/2025 - 20:14

    true 'pricebeat' would come from buying a older brother for ~30 bucks off marketplace saving a further $100..
    and the price per print on the older models is like 1/5th the cost (at least on my hl-2270dw) .
    and replacement drums are 1/2 cost.. $25.

    But yeah, the downsides on marketplace are: no warranty, no tax deduction, interacting with a random human, the printer could be full of cockroach eggs.. 2nd hand is not for everyone.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join