Amazon Drops Post-Purchase Price Guarantee

A few months ago, I wrote about using Price Protectr to track price changes to items I purchased on Amazon. Since then, I’ve used it near-religiously to track my purchases and regularly request refunds of anywhere from $0.40 to $5.00 and more.

After an item in my most recent purchase dropped by $5.00, I pulled up the same page I always have to request a price match and quickly sent off my usual form letter. Within a few hours, I received the following response:

Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com to take advantage of our Post-Order Price Guarantee.

…

Only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com–we hope you’ll visit us again soon.

It appears that Amazon is hurting in our current economy, just like every other retailer.

I’m very disappointed that they pulled this consumer-friendly benefit away, especially since that was the difference maker in a few of my purchases. How do you feel about losing the 30-day price match? Will its absence change your buying habits and make you consider other retailers instead? If you’re looking elsewhere, have you found another retailer with a similar policy? Tell us in the comments!