Ways To Save Big: Taking Advantage Of Price-Match Policies

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Everyone loves a good bargain, but you may be missing out on the opportunity to spend even less.

"I try to always buy stuff on sale or with a coupon," said one shopper.

But shoppers don't always need a sale or coupon to save money. Many times, all you have to do is ask for a discount to save big, CBS2's Chris Wragge reported.

"They may not advertise it, but a lot of stores have price-matching policies," said Kevin Brasler, executive editor at Checkbook.org.

If you find an item for less at a nearby store or online, many big retail chains will honor the lower price.

"We found it was very easy," said Brasler.

Checkbook.org sent mystery shoppers out to put price-match policies to the test, and found that for the most part it wasn't a hassle at all to get a better deal.

"We thought we'd run into problems doing this honestly, and in the end we found that it was extraordinarily easy," Brasler said.

But it seems plenty of bargain hunters never even ask for the lower price once they reach the register.

"It's estimated less than 5 percent of customers take advantage of price matching policies," said Brasler.

And the possible savings might surprise you.

Save $70 when Bed Bath & Beyond matches Amazon's price on a vacuum. Best Buy cut $140 off the price of a sound bar to match online competitor Newegg.com.

But at Home Depot, Checkbook.org found shoppers did have to put in an extra effort.

"At Home Depot we always had to get a manager on the scene and sometimes our mystery shoppers on the scene had to explain to the manager what the store's own matching policy was," said Brasler.

But it's a little more time in the store that could pay off in a big way.