Black Friday 2026 Returns and Price Matching, Store by Store

Black Friday returns and price matching at a glance

There is no single Black Friday return policy. Each store sets its own holiday return window, and most big US stores have now published theirs for 2026. Black Friday price match rules are stricter: several stores stop matching competitors during Black Friday week, while a few will still refund the difference if their own price drops. This table puts both rules side by side for every store whose own pages we could read on 31 October 2026. Black Friday is Friday 27 November and Cyber Monday is Monday 30 November.

Macy's, Lowe's, The Home Depot, Sam's Club and Sephora are not in the table: their policy pages did not open for our tools on 31 October, or they had not published a 2026 window. We will add them when we can read them on the stores' own sites.

Holiday return windows for 2026, store by store

Walmart

Walmart's extended holiday returns cover most items bought from 1 October to 31 December, which can be returned until 31 January. The standard window is 90 days. The exceptions Walmart names are wireless phones, protection plans, major appliances, Dyson products and select seasonal and luxury goods. Major appliances follow their own rule: a full refund within 2 days of delivery, or up to 30 days if unopened and uninstalled.

Best Buy

Purchases from 30 October to 31 December can be returned through 15 January 2027, or 31 January 2027 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members. Items bought with a third-party contract, such as phones, cellular tablets and AppleCare+ plans, are left out, and holiday decorations have 15 days.

Target

For qualifying purchases from 1 November to 24 December 2026, the return window does not start until 26 December. Electronics and entertainment (except Apple and Beats) must be back by 24 January 2027; Apple and Beats products and unlocked or prepaid phones by 8 January 2027; most Target Plus items, except seasonal holiday decor, by 24 January 2027. Target Circle Card holders and Target Circle 360 members get longer windows under Target's return policy.

Amazon

Amazon told its sellers that items bought from 1 November to 31 December 2026 can be returned until 31 January 2027, except Apple products, which can be returned until 15 January 2027. The notice says the window covers everything sold on Amazon.com, whether Amazon or the seller ships it. Amazon's standard window is 30 days. In 2025 Amazon also published a holiday returns article for shoppers; when the 2026 version appears, we will switch to it.

Kohl's

Kohl's offers free in-store returns through 31 January 2027 on items bought from 4 October to 30 December 2026. If you paid partly with promotional Kohl's Cash, the refund may be adjusted, and no Kohl's Cash is issued on a return.

Ulta Beauty

Eligible products bought in Ulta stores or on ulta.com from 1 November to 31 December 2026 can be returned through 31 January 2027, with the refund going back to the original payment. Ulta's Early Black Friday began on 25 October, so anything bought from 25 to 31 October follows the standard policy instead: a refund within 30 days and merchandise credit from day 31 to day 60.

Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta

The four Gap Inc. brands share one holiday rule: items bought online or in stores from 15 October to 24 December can be returned through 15 January of the next year, or within 30 days of delivery (online) or purchase (in store), whichever is later. Proof of purchase is needed, and items shipped and sold by third-party sellers are left out.

Tradeinn shops

Tradeinn, which runs Trekkinn, Motardinn and other sports shops from Spain, gives orders placed from 20 November to 10 December 2026 a 45-day return period, instead of its usual 30 days.

Not published yet, or not readable

Apple had published no holiday extension on 31 October: its online store gives 14 days from the day you receive the product. Costco's return policy is not covered here; we read only its price match page. Macy's, Lowe's, The Home Depot, Sam's Club and Sephora pages did not open for our tools, so their windows are not here yet.

Why the date you buy matters

A holiday window only helps if your purchase date falls inside it. Several start later than the sales they are meant to cover:

• Early sales can fall outside the window. Ulta's Early Black Friday started on 25 October, but its holiday window starts on 1 November. Amazon's window also starts on 1 November, so a 31 October Amazon order has the standard 30 days, until about 30 November.
• Standard windows run out fast after Black Friday. Bought on 27 November, a 14-day window ends on 11 December, a 15-day window on 12 December and a 30-day window on 27 December. That is why phones and Apple products, which often keep short windows, need checking.
• The clock does not always start on the day you pay. Target's holiday window starts on 26 December. Gap counts 30 days from delivery for online orders, and Apple counts 14 days from the day you receive the product.
• Some windows depend on membership. Best Buy gives Plus and Total members until 31 January 2027, against 15 January 2027 for everyone else.

Items with shorter windows or fees

• Phones and other activatable devices. Best Buy gives activatable devices 14 days (30 days for Verizon devices) and charges a $45 restocking fee on them, except prepaid phones. Walmart gives most wireless phones 14 days and lets opened unlocked phones be exchanged only. Target gives unlocked and prepaid phones until 8 January 2027.
• Apple products. Even inside holiday windows, Apple items come due early: 15 January 2027 at Amazon and 8 January 2027 at Target.
• Restocking fees. Best Buy charges 15% of the price on some listed items, but no fee if the product is unopened or bought in Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma or South Carolina. Walmart says returns of major appliances sold by Marketplace sellers can carry a restocking fee of up to 20%.
• Holiday decorations. Best Buy gives Halloween and Christmas decorations 15 days for everyone.
• Third-party sellers. Gap brands leave third-party seller items out of the holiday window. On marketplaces, check who ships and sells an item before you rely on the store's own policy.
• Things that cannot be returned at all. Best Buy lists final sale items, custom orders, digital content, gift and prepaid cards among others. Gap's final sale items cannot be returned or exchanged, and gift cards cannot be returned at Ulta.
• Mail returns. At Ulta you pay the postage on a mailed return, and the original shipping charge is not refunded.

Price matching during Black Friday week

Of the five stores whose price rules we could read, only Best Buy matches other stores' prices at all, and it stops doing so for Black Friday week:

• Best Buy normally matches a list of named competitors, but not on items those competitors sell from the Thursday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after, which is 19 to 30 November 2026. It also excludes items marked as Black Friday pricing, daily or hourly deals, Marketplace items and limited-quantity offers, and allows one match per item per customer at the time of purchase.
• Walmart stores match the price of the identical item on Walmart.com, at checkout, but not Walmart.com's Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals, Rollbacks, clearance or other limited-time offers, and never a competitor's price. Walmart.com itself does not price match.
• Target matches only prices at Target.com or in a local Target store. Screenshots and pictures are not accepted as proof, and a lower price at a different Target store does not count for an in-store purchase.
• Costco and Apple publish rules only for drops in their own prices; Costco also does not match its warehouse prices on Costco.com orders.

So in Black Friday week the useful question is not "will they match?" but "will they refund the difference if their own price drops?" That is the next section.

If the price drops after you buy

• Target: from 1 November 2026, if the price at Target goes lower on or before 24 December, you can ask for the difference with your proof of purchase. Outside that period, the window is 14 days. Clearance, closeout, liquidation, refurbished items and typing errors are excluded, as are purchases that came with a promotional Target GiftCard.
• Best Buy: most products bought from 30 October to 31 December can be matched to Best Buy's own lower price through 15 January. Items left out of the holiday return window, such as phones on a contract, AppleCare+ and holiday decorations, are left out here too, and the guarantee does not cover competitors' prices.
• Costco.com: a price drop within 30 days of purchase can be adjusted; for items with sale dates, such as the Holiday Savings, you must ask within both the promotion dates and 30 days. Credits usually take 5 to 10 business days.
• Harbor Freight: its coupon prices can be applied to earlier purchases within 30 days, in store, with the original coupon.
• Apple: it refunds a price drop on Apple-branded products within 14 days, but not limited-time reductions or special sales events such as Black Friday.
• Walmart.com: it does not adjust items that have dropped in price since you bought them.
• Ulta: coupons and points are not valid on past purchases, and Ulta does not allow returning an item only to buy it again with a coupon.
• Kohl's: Kohl's Cash cannot be put toward a price adjustment.

Our guide Are Black Friday deals real? explains how to tell whether a Black Friday price is lower than usual in the first place, and our early Black Friday deals guide covers buying before the day.

Returning a Black Friday gift

Gifts bought on Black Friday usually reach their owner in late December, which is where holiday windows earn their keep: at the stores above, a 27 November purchase can go back well into January. The person returning it does not always get cash back, though:

• Best Buy gives store credit for the purchase price of a gift returned in store; for gifts returned by mail it credits the buyer and tells them by email.
• Gap brands give a gift card for the purchase amount when a gift comes back with a gift receipt or invoice.
• Ulta allows an exchange for an item of equal or lower value, or merchandise credit, for gift-receipt returns within 60 days of purchase.

Ask for a gift receipt at checkout, or keep the order number, and note that a holiday window can end before the recipient gets around to it: Target's Apple window, for example, closes on 8 January 2027.

Five checks before you buy on Black Friday

1. Is the item inside the holiday window? Phones, Apple products, major appliances and decorations often are not, or have shorter dates.
2. Who sells it? Marketplace and third-party sellers can have their own rules, and price matching usually excludes them.
3. Will the store refund a later drop in its own price, and until when? Target until 24 December, Best Buy until 15 January, Costco.com within 30 days.
4. Is there a restocking fee once it is opened? At Best Buy, opening some items costs 15% or $45 if you return them.
5. Do you have proof of purchase? Keep the receipt or order number, ask for a gift receipt, and put the last return date in your calendar.

The deals themselves are on our Black Friday deals page, and each store's 2026 sale dates are in when Black Friday 2026 starts at each store.

How we check and update this page

Every rule here comes from the store's own help, policy or newsroom pages, read on 31 October 2026 from our US server or with a web reader: Walmart's policies page, Best Buy's return policy and price match guarantee (dated 30 October 2026), Target's holiday returns and price match articles, Amazon's notice to its sellers, Kohl's releases of 21 and 30 October, Ulta's guest services page, Gap's return policy FAQ, Costco's price match page, Apple's sales and refund policy, Tradeinn's Black Friday page and Harbor Freight's coupon page. We do not take policies from other websites. We will add Macy's, Lowe's, The Home Depot, Sam's Club, Sephora and Amazon's shopper page when we can read them, and we recheck the table before Black Friday. All our Black Friday guides are in the Black Friday hub. This guide is written by the SavingArena Editorial Team.