Price dropped after you bought? How to get the difference back

You bought it on Monday and by Friday it is £80 cheaper on the same website. No law makes the seller refund the difference. But if you bought online or by phone in the EU or the UK, you can usually cancel within 14 days of delivery, without a reason, and order it again at the new price. Ask for the difference first. It saves the seller a return and a resale, so many sellers agree, and you keep the item. If they say no, cancel before the last day and buy again.

First, check where you stand

Three questions decide your position.

How did you buy it? Online, by phone or away from the seller's premises, you have a legal right to cancel in the EU and the UK. In a shop, you do not: it is the shop's policy or goodwill.

When did it arrive? For goods, the 14 days run from the day you, or someone you name other than the courier, got the item. Not from the order date.

Is it the same item from the same seller? A lower price at another shop is a price match request, which is policy only.

Your rights by country

Where	Right to cancel an online or phone order	Refund after you cancel
EU (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland and others)	14 days from delivery, no reason needed. If the last day is a non-working day, it moves to the next working day	All payments including standard delivery, within 14 days of being told. The seller may wait until it gets the item back or your proof of sending
UK	14 days after the goods come into your possession (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013)	All payments including standard delivery, within 14 days of getting the item back or your proof of sending, whichever is earlier
US	No state or federal law makes a store take back an item that is not faulty	Only what the store's own return and price adjustment policy says
Japan	No cooling-off for online orders. If the shop shows no return policy, 8 days from delivery	You pay the return postage
Brazil	7 days from receiving the product, for purchases made outside the shop	Amounts paid are returned immediately, adjusted for inflation

If the seller never told you about your right to cancel, the EU and UK period is extended by up to 12 months.

What the right to cancel does not cover

The 14 days do not apply to everything. The main exceptions are items made to your measurements or clearly personalised, goods that spoil quickly, sealed hygiene items once you open them, and sealed music, video or software once unsealed. Goods bought from a private seller, including on a marketplace, are not covered either.

Opening the box to check the item is allowed. If you handle it more than you would in a shop, the seller can take something off your refund for the loss in value.

How to get the difference back, step by step

1. Screenshot the new price today. Show the full web address, the date and the time. Prices change fast in a sale.
2. Work out your last day to cancel. Count 14 days from the day the item arrived, and put it in your diary.
3. Check the seller's policies. Look for a price adjustment, price promise or price match policy, and see who pays return postage.
4. Work out the real saving. The difference minus the return postage. If it is small, a voucher may be the better deal.
5. Ask for the difference. One short message with the order, both prices, the screenshot and a reply date at least three working days before your last day.
6. Chase once if they are silent. One line and a new date, still before the last day.
7. If they say no, cancel and buy again. Check it is still in stock, place the new order, then send a written cancellation for the first order the same day. Sending the parcel back on its own is not enough.

The message to send

Subject: Order BH-448120: price now £249.99, request to refund the £80 difference

Dear Brightwell Home,

On 2 November 2026 I ordered the bean-to-cup coffee machine, model BW-870, for £329.99 (order BH-448120). It was delivered on 4 November. Your website now lists the same model at £249.99; a screenshot taken on 9 November 2026 at 10:15 is attached.

I am still within my 14-day cancellation period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, which ends on 18 November 2026. Rather than return the machine and order it again, please refund the £80 difference to the debit card I paid with.

Please confirm by Friday 13 November 2026.

In the EU, say "my 14-day right of withdrawal" instead. Mention the right to cancel once, calmly. It is a fact, not a threat.

Time limits after you cancel

• Tell the seller in writing before your last day. The model form or any clear statement works.
• Send the item back within 14 days of telling the seller, and keep proof of postage.
• The refund must come within 14 days, including the standard delivery you paid, and in the EU to the same payment method. The seller may wait for the item or your proof of sending.
• If the refund does not come, send a formal complaint with a date, then go to your card provider or PayPal. Across EU borders, the European Consumer Centre in your country helps for free.

When the discount was not real

In the EU, any announced price reduction must show the prior price: the lowest price the seller charged in at least the 30 days before. A "was £499, now £329" where it was £329 all month breaks that rule. Report it to your national consumer authority, such as SignalConso in France. In the UK, misleading price information can be a misleading action under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024; report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service. In the US, a fake "was" price can be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. A report does not pay you back, but it is quick and it helps the next buyer.

The short version

Screenshot the new price, count 14 days from delivery, and ask the seller for the difference with a reply date before that last day. If they say no and you bought online in the EU or the UK, cancel in writing, send it back and buy it again at the lower price. In a shop, it is goodwill only.

Questions

Does a shop have to refund the difference if the price drops?

No. A price difference refund is the seller's policy or goodwill, not a legal right. What the law gives you, for most online and phone orders, is the right to cancel and get your money back, which is why asking for the difference often works.

I bought it in a shop. Can I still do this?

There is no legal right to return an item bought in a shop that is not faulty. Ask the shop whether it has a price adjustment or price promise policy, and ask politely for goodwill if it does not.

Who pays the postage if I cancel and send it back?

You usually pay the direct cost of returning it, if the seller told you so before you bought. The seller must refund the standard delivery cost you paid on the original order.

The "was" price looks fake. What can I do?

In the EU a discount must show the lowest price the seller charged in the 30 days before it. If it does not, or the old price was never real, report it to the national consumer authority, or in the UK to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change and depend on where you live: check the official source before you rely on a date or an amount.

Sources

• Your Europe: returns and the 14-day right of withdrawal (EU, checked November 2026)
• Your Europe: unfair pricing and the 30-day prior price for discounts (EU, checked November 2026)
• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 29 to 35 (legislation.gov.uk, checked November 2026)
• European Consumer Centre Germany: right of withdrawal (checked November 2026)