eBay wants your business so bad, they'll price match competitors

Before you buy that nifty appliance or old C.D. on eBay, you may want to take a swing around the internet to check out how much the same items are fetching on other sites.

The online retailer and auction site announced Wednesday that it will start price-matching items under its eBay Deals section, The Verge reported. With the new deal, if you find an item on eBay that's priced better elsewhere, eBay will match the competition.

But there are a few caveats. The option is only available to U.S. residents, and items also need to be identical, and in stock.

Plus, the deal doesn't apply to auction items (which is really what most people think of when they think of eBay, though 80 percent of the items on the platform are new), which is further proof this is another play in the company's bid to challenge Amazon directly.

Sites that eBay will price match include Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Jet.com, HomeDepot.com, Sears.com, Target.com, Walmart.com, and Wayfair.com. It's worth noting many of these outlets already have their own price-matching option.

Shoppers have to find the lower priced items on one of those sites and send it to eBay. Once eBay verifies the information, you'll receive a coupon making up the difference to be used in purchasing the item.

But you'll need to use the coupon quickly. Coupons expire after 24 hours, and will not be reissued, according to the retailer's site.

And if you decide to return an item, you'll be refunded the listing price minus the coupon value, plus any additional discounts applied when you checked out.

So, price-match your heart out, but make sure you do it wisely.