Amazon puts an end to its generous discount-refund policy

Amazon is ceasing its discount-refund policy

Cost-conscious Amazon shoppers, prepare to be bummed: The internet warehouse is reportedly putting the kibosh on its refund policy that paid back customers who bought an item before it went on sale.

Similar to other megastores, Amazon entertained a price-match policy that reimbursed shoppers who recently purchased an item from the company's website or select retailers at a higher price, refunding them the difference.

Redditors noticed the change earlier this month, a trend also picked up by Earny, a company that notifies users when an item they purchased drops in price so they can get a better deal.

The policy, originally designed to get customers the lowest cost for televisions, was only extended to other items as an exception, an Amazon spokesperson told Recode.

This could explain why the company decided to cull back on refunds, especially given its penchant for discounts and sales, but it could also come at the cost of its high reputation for customer service. It appears as though it's keeping the discount-refund policy for TVs intact.

As of right now, there seems not to be any change in Amazon's return policy, meaning that vigilant customers may begin cancelling and re-ordering purchases from the site just to get a better deal - a scenario that we can see becoming ugly for both sides of the business.

Parker Wilhelm
Parker Wilhelm is a freelance writer for TechRadar. He likes to tinker in Photoshop and talk people's ears off about Persona 4.