Crate and Barrel price adjustment: How to reclaim your money

Buying at Crate and Barrel isn’t like grabbing a $10 throw pillow you’ll forget about in a week. That’s why it stings a little more than usual when you see the price of an item drop right after hitting the checkout button.

While the discount may not justify returning the sofa you love, it’s enough to make you wonder if you can get some of that money back. Fortunately, you can get the difference refunded under the Crate and Barrel price adjustment policy.

This guide breaks down price adjustments at Crate and Barrel from a practical perspective. We’ll also introduce you to Settlemate, an app that automates price adjustment requests so you don’t have to chase price drops and deal with customer support.

What is a price adjustment?

A price adjustment (sometimes called price protection) is a handy post-purchase policy to help you avoid overpaying. If an item you recently bought gets marked down, the retailer refunds the difference.

Many stores have this policy, but it’s not something they exactly shout from the rooftops. You usually have to dig into the fine print to find it. Even though price adjustments help retailers reduce returns and build customer trust, the real winners are the shoppers. Here are some of the perks:

• Getting a little unexpected money back
• Not feeling like you missed a sale or bought at the “wrong time”
• Shopping when you need to, instead of waiting for discounts

Of course, retailers don’t just hand out price adjustments with no strings attached. They set strict rules, which typically revolve around the following:

What is Crate and Barrel's price protection policy?

Crate and Barrel is a bit vague about its price adjustment policy. Officially, the company says you can request one price adjustment within seven days of receiving your item—and that’s about as much detail as they share.

Naturally, this leaves shoppers with a lot of questions, including:

• Are any items excluded from the policy?
• Does the price adjustment apply to both in-store and online purchases?
• What kind of refund can you expect? (cash or store credit)
• If you ordered online, does the 7-day window start when you place the order or when the item is delivered?

We even looked into Crate Barrel price adjustment Reddit threads, and the only relevant example we found was about one unhappy shopper who was promised a refund by customer service but never received it.

To clarify any doubts, we went straight to the source and got in touch with Crate and Barrel’s customer service. Here’s what we found out:

1. There are no exclusions to the policy.
2. Price adjustments apply to both in-store and online purchases.
3. For in-store purchases, price adjustments are issued as store credit, while online orders can be refunded to your original payment method or issued as store credit.
4. The 7-day window starts when you receive the item.
5. The store can also match a lower price for backordered or undelivered orders, as long as the request is made within the same 7-day window.

How do you request a price adjustment at Crate and Barrel?

Since Crate and Barrel doesn’t offer a dedicated price adjustment request form, you’ll need to take the old-school route and reach out to customer service. Here’s how you can proceed:

1. Make sure that the exact same item (size, color, and details) is now listed at a lower price on the Crate and Barrel website.
2. Double-check if you’re still within the 7-day price adjustment window.
3. Gather your order details, including your order number, item SKU, and the new lower price.
4. Contact customer support through chat, text 312-779-1979, or phone 800-967-6696.

Customer service isn’t available around the clock. Here’s when you can reach them:

Tip: If you miss the rather short price adjustment window, there’s still a backup plan. Crate and Barrel has a 30-day return policy, which gives you plenty of time to send your item back and repurchase it at a lower price.

Why many shoppers don’t bother with price adjustments

Price adjustments sound great in theory, but it can be hard to keep up with them across multiple purchases and retailers. The biggest problem is the effort you need to put in, as the road to a refund includes the following activities:

• Keeping an eye on prices after every purchase and catching drops within the refund window
• Tracking varying refund windows for different retailers
• Collecting documentation, such as order confirmations and screenshots of the lower price
• Dealing with customer service

Doing all of this for one item isn’t that bad. But if you’re trying to claim every refund you may be entitled to, it gets overwhelming fast.

Then there’s the uncertainty that makes many shoppers stop and ask themselves:

• Does this markdown even count as a price drop?
• Is my item secretly excluded from the policy?
• Is it worth dealing with customer support for a small refund?

Such dilemmas are why many shoppers decide not to bother with price adjustments, even when they technically qualify for a refund. While missing one refund doesn’t sound like a big deal, missing them repeatedly can add up to a surprising amount of money left on the table.

It doesn’t have to be like this, though. If you don’t want to babysit your orders, you can fall back on automation tools. Apps like Settlemate track your purchases, detect price drops, submit refund requests on your behalf, and notify you when your money is on its way back.

How Settlemate helps you beat Crate and Barrel’s refund window

The price adjustment refund window comes and goes fast. Settlemate Retail Savings Autopilot monitors your Crate and Barrel and other purchases and auto-files the adjustment when you qualify so you don’t miss out.

How it works:

1. We automatically detect Crate and Barrel and other receipts in your inbox.
2. We watch your purchases against the policy window defined by each retailer.
3. We file the refund request with your receipt when a price drop triggers eligibility.
4. You get the difference returned to your original payment method automatically.

Let Settlemate Retail Savings Autopilot be your after-purchase safety net. Download the app on the App Store or Google Play today.

Our money-back guarantee makes it risk-free. If you don’t make more money than you spend on your subscription fee in the first 12 months of using the app, you’ll get a full refund.

Frequently asked questions

Does Crate and Barrel have a price match policy?

Crate and Barrel does offer a price match policy, meaning that they’ll match a lower advertised price from select competitors at the time of purchase. The item must be identical in size, color, weight, brand name, quantity, and model number. The catch is that the request must be made on the day of purchase, and you must provide proof of the lower price (e.g., a website screenshot or a print advertisement).

Can Crate and Barrel refuse a return?

Yes, Crate and Barrel can refuse return requests that don’t meet their policy. This includes items marked as final sale, items returned after the 30-day window, and products that show excessive wear or damage. Custom and personalized items are also non-returnable.

How to get 20% off Crate and Barrel?

Crate and Barrel often runs sales and discounts, but the only consistent way to get 20% off is through the store’s Designer Trade Program. It’s for decorators, designers, and other industry professionals, and it offers a 20% discount on full-price furniture upon sign-up.

Do other retailers have price adjustment policies?

Many popular retailers offer price protection policies, so refer to the table below to find out where else you can reclaim extra money: