PAISAN! WELCOME BACK!
Welcome back fellow baby couponer! Just to sum up, we've discussed: organization, familiarization, utilization, manufacturers, coupon locators, and free items and giftcards. I think you are ready for stores now! We will take this slowly, don't worry! Today we are just going to focus on Store Policies and Coupon Requirements and Limitations.
THE EASE AND DIFFICULTY OF STORES
Stores can be both easy and hard at the same time. Why do I say this? Simple. Coupon Policies. Once you get used to them and understand them they are simple but other times they are a massive pain in the rear end of all things living. ESPECIALLY when each store is so very different. The more you frequent stores and plan your shopping trips it gets easier. BUT before it gets easier it's a hot mess of technicalities. But have no fear fellow baby couponer is here! We can do this!
WHAT IS A COUPON POLICY?
That's a certain limitation placed on coupon usage within a store. It gets a little complicated sometimes and a GOOD amount of times the employers at the store AREN'T familiar with it. This leads to being denied coupon use. HOWEVER if you know the coupon policy and you know you are well within limits challenge it. I learned this REALLY REALLY essential piece from Jenny Nordaby, whom you've heard me refer to as a honest to goodness coupon goddess. She was the one who opened my eyes to coupon policies, I NEVER even thought of that! So let me summarize what I learned from her.
When it comes to coupon policies of stores and supermarkets: PRINT IT OUT AND CARRY IT WITH YOU ALWAYS!
Why should you print out the policies?
In case you are told “no” at a store or supermarket to certain coupons pull out your handy dandy coupon policy and point out you are well within rights to use it. EVEN if this means asking for a manager. You'd be surprised how many employees do not know the policy and will give you a completely FALSE excuse on why you can't use it, EVEN MANAGERS. So you become the teacher at times! If you are still unable to use your coupon at the store and you KNOW your coupon is acceptable and the transaction met their requirements and your MFR (Manufacturer requirements) then feel free to call corporate and question the coupon and their policy as to why it was denied, etc, even though you were going to correctly use it.
Leave no store that you use coupons at unturned! Print them ALL out, even if you've never had problems at a store before with coupons it doesn't hurt to keep them with you. You never ever know when something in the future will arise: a new manager, a new cashier, etc.
HERE ARE SOME COUPON POLICIES!
Here are the coupon policies to some stores (you can find others online as well):
I, also, have ACME'S COUPON POLICY (straight from customer service) and am awaiting PATHMARK'S and CVS's. SO I will create a PDF for each and post that up with the next blog most likely :)
THE MAKING OF POLICIES SIMPLIFIED!
Don't worry if this has you confused! I am in the process of creating a “Policies Simplified” PDF for you all to download with each of the above mentioned policies. This will most likely be posted in the next Journey blog!
DO print out the above links as they are the ORIGINALS, so if you have to challenge a manager or employee you have the corporate coupon policy. Feel free to keep the one I am making as an easy reference for you to understand the policies better and quicker! So we will definitely come back to all of this, but for the mean time look it over and familiarize yourself with them. If you are confused about something my breakdown of their policies might help!
COUPON LIMITATIONS
Besides coupon policies what else is there?
Coupons have limitations sometimes themselves. SO in order to understand the coupon you have to obviously read what the coupon says. Sometimes it tells you something directly and boldly and other times it's in the fine print.
Here's some things to look for: (I got these directly off some of my coupons)
DO NOT DOUBLE (Usually this is found right next to the expiration date on the top of the coupon) For those of you who don't know already some stores double a coupon's price. AWESOME, huh? But there is a catch. Only SOME stores do this and a good amount only double up to $1.00. There are a few limited stores that double up to $2.00. So when you see that on a coupon it's telling the store not to double the amount in price: what you see is what you get.
Example of doubling:
You have a .75¢ off coupon for Dove Body Wash. Let's say the body wash is $1.29. Instead of getting the Dove for .54¢ which is a GOOD price but still not the GREATEST, the store doubles your coupon to $1.00. That Dove now went from $1.29 to .29¢. Not too shabby!
How do you know if a store doubles coupons or not? Ask customer service the next time you are in the store, or call and ask.
SOME STORES THAT DOUBLE MFR COUPONS
Around my area these stores do double coupons:
Acme
Genuardi
Pathmark
Shop Rite
Stop n’ Shop
SuperFresh
Wegmans
COUPON LIMITATIONS CONTINUED
EXCLUDES TRIAL SIZE (Usually this is found next to what the product is under the amount your coupon is worth). This means the coupon will NOT be accepted for a discount on a travel size item. AND YES YOU CAN DO THAT! For those of you that didn't know: less means MORE. What do I mean by that? Well, not ALL big priced items are gems when it comes to taking .95¢ off of a bulk item.
Example:
Let's say the Charmin 12 pk is $7.34, your coupon is .95¢ off of ANY Charmin. If you bought the 12 pk your final price would be $6.39 (Double MFR coupon final price = $6.35). BUT the Charmin 4 pk is on sale for $1.00. So if you used your coupon towards that it has now become .05¢! BUT WAIT it gets better! If you were at a store that doubles your coupon up to $1.00 that item went from .05¢ out of pocket to FREE you just pay tax! So depending on the stores policies and double coupon offerings you could get this item for .05¢ or pay just the tax.
Going back to trial sizes, with the less means more thing – if a coupon states ANY product of that brand or has no size limitation (has to be a 15oz bottle, etc) then trial sizes are fair game! Here's the trick though, you have to know whether the store will allow that or not. Some stores do, others don't.
LIMIT OF 4 LIKE COUPONS IN SAME SHOPPING TRIP (I see this a lot with P&G MFR coupons. This is located in the fine print on the coupon where it says: consumer. Typically this is at the bottom of a coupon under the image (vertically), and sometimes it is on the right side of the coupon if it's horizontal.) This goes HAND IN HAND with the limit 1 coupon per purchase statement below. This simply means you can use 4 coupons in your ONE visit to the store. Referring to the above: 4 coupons are for 4 individual items (per purchase). So in the store if you have 4 coupons cut out, you can get 4 items with each coupon discount. If you have more than 4 coupons and would like to use it you can always do so at another store of the same company in the same day, etc. You just can't use all 8 or so in the same checkout.
***IMPORTANT: you MUST have the extra coupons on hand. They will not scan the one coupon four times. That's why newspapers, etc, are golden tickets and are purchased a lot for the inserts. If it was as easy as reusing a coupon in one trip many of us would have more time for raiding stores! Hehehe
Example: (here's a recent purchase I did to explain)
There was a sale on Lady Speedstick deodorant for .99¢. I had a coupon for .75¢ off of ANY Lady Speedstick. The coupon itself did not state a purchase limit in one shopping trip. At the time I had 5 coupons for it. So I purchased 5 deodorants. My end result was .24¢ for each deodorant. NOW, my coupons did NOT double, due that 4 other coupons had already doubled. This particular store only doubles 4 coupons per household a day. I've also read that someone was told online that limit 1 coupon per purchase was denied doubling due that it's already reached a limit. I've not verified that at all but just passing on a possibility. I will look into that most definitely.
LIMIT 1 COUPON PER PURCHASE (This is usually found in the fine print below the items picture or if vertical: on the side of the items picture. This can be found at the very beginning of he fine print or can be found at the very end) This simply means that you can use ONE coupon on the purchase of each individual item aka “per purchase”. Every purchase of that particular item you have uses one coupon. If you have two products that equals two coupons. So unlike the limit of 4 like coupons, you can buy more than 4 unless the store prohibits them. So if you have 8 coupons with a limit 1 per purchase, you can buy 8 items in one transaction. (check the previous example: I got 5 deodorants, I was not limited to 4; I had 5 coupons and used it just fine). You can also stack coupons.
------------ STACK: This means to use store coupons with manufacturer coupons.
So with limit 1 coupon per purchase you may buy 5 items with a Manufacturer (MFR) coupon and use 5 store coupons. UNLESS the store coupon has a limit! So check BOTH coupons for limitations!
***DON'T FORGET!!!!: Starting out my common beginner mistake with 1 coupon was seeing a “twofer” sale (2 for 1 price) and would use only ONE of these coupons. So don't follow my footsteps! Lucky for me I figured that out pretty quick after my first few mistakes at one trip after mom asked me about it and DING DING DING a lightbulb went on. I was doing it all wrong!
SO for example:
You have a coupon that is $1.50 off 1 box of Kellog's Cereal Special K. There's a sale at CVS buy 2 for $4. You MAY use two of the $1.50 off coupons if you have it since there are TWO items (aka per purchase). SO with the 2 coupons you have $3.00 off right there. Subtract the $3.00 from the $4.00 sale price. You just bought 2 boxes of Special K for $1.00!
EVEN BETTER is when a reward is given back! LOOK for these!
Let's take the same above sample: the Special K and say that there was a $1 reward coupon printed out if you purchase 2. SO it would look something like this:
SALE: Buy 2 for $4 get $1 back in register rewards (or whatever the store calls it such as CVS is Extra Care Bucks, Rite Aid is UP+, etc)
You have 2x $1.50 off per box = $3.00
You pay out of pocket $1.00 (Sale price ($4-$3) coupon discounts = $1.00) BUT at the end of your receipt the $1.00 register reward printed out.
You just bought 2 boxes of Special K for free, you just paid tax on it!
This is how this all works! SEEK DEALS.
LIMIT 1 COUPON PER TRANSACTION (This is usually found in the same areas as the above mentioned limits on a coupon). This means you can only use 1 coupon per shopping trip. So instead of using a coupon per item you can only use 1 coupon in your ENTIRE purchase.
LIMIT 1 PER PERSON OR LIMIT 1 COUPON PER HOUSEHOLD or PERSON (This is usually found in the same areas as the above mentioned limits on a coupon or on a circular). This means that you can only use the coupon ONCE for the entire sale period. (Ex: CVS has a sale and the item states limit 1 per household. If you have 3 of the items coupons even though your coupon doesn't have a limit the store does.)
Can't I buy the item as many times I want anyway, who would know?
Usually the store has a savings card (CVS, RITE AID, etc) and in order for you to get the sale you would have to use your savings card with them. Once you do this the system already marks you off as reaching your limit. (On CVS coupons it will tell you how many offers you've reached limits for.) So when you go to ring up the item again using the same card, you won't get the offer. The only way around this is if you have another person or people in your household for the per person limitation. Make sure you have INDIVIDUAL cards instead of sharing them.
NOT TO BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER (Again this is found in the fine print, above or below) This means you can not use other discounts such as a student discount (senior citizen or military discount) with the coupon. You can not stack store coupons with it or combine similar offers with the same product. So if you are going to use this coupon – this coupon is the ONLY one you can use toward the item.
STORE REQUIREMENTS
Outside of couponing like I previously touched on, stores sometimes place limits in their circulars and store coupons. So always pay attention to how they are limiting you and the quantity. You might also have to meet a requirement for the item. See the next point MFR coupons.
MANUFACTURER REQUIREMENTS
Not only do manufacturers limit, at times, how many like items you may buy in one trip or per purchase they can also have a requirement that needs to be met in order to use the coupon. This can also happen with stores and goes HAND in HAND with MFR requirements.
For example:
Rite Aid is having a .99¢ sale on 1 Palmolive Dish Detergent with their store coupon. On their coupon it states that the Palmolive that is on sale is the 10oz one AND there is a limit of 4 Palmolives at that price with store coupons.
You have a 12 Palmolive coupons, each different price discount. For 6 of your coupons you have .50¢ off and for the other 6 coupons you have $1.00 off. Your coupons requirement is the following:
it can be on ANY Palmolive Dish Detergent. (This is great due that some coupons require a certain TYPE of the item like 50¢ off Palmolive ORIGINAL dish detergent, so if the floral smell Palmolive was on sale than this wouldn't work.)
SO you've met the ONE requirement for Store and MFR – it's Palmolive Dish Detergent.
As you read on your 12 coupons continue: ANY Palmolive Dish Detergent 20 oz or larger.
Your coupons no longer fit the requirement for both store and MFR. The store is on a 10 oz bottle – your coupon is on a 20 oz.
LET'S FLIP IT AND SAY YOUR COUPONS DO MEET REQUIREMENT:
So 12 of your coupons say “ ANY 10 oz bottles of Palmolive”.
You meet the requirement for both store and MFR what next?
Decide which coupon you are to use! REMEMBER you want to get the BEST deal possible and FREE is the best deal. Considering you have $1.00 you can get the Palmolive's free.
You can however only get 4 per transaction (due to the limit 4 in the store's coupon).
A good amount of stores CAN reprice your coupon, so if you have $1.00 off and the item is .99¢ the cashier can input the coupon to be .99¢ off for you to get the amount off (a good amount of stores do not give you the overage in this case the extra penny.) THIS INFORMATION WILL BE TOLD TO YOU IN THE STORES COUPON POLICY! However there are some stores that will not do that, if your coupon exceeds the amount of the item they do not price it down. In this case you have 6 other coupons that you can consider if it's a good deal or not.
Your 6 other coupons were for 50¢ off. Each bottle would be .49¢ instead of free. So four bottles would cost $1.96.
Again refer to the coupon policies to understand what the store WILL and WILL NOT do so that you can plan your shopping trip correctly.
SO UNTIL NEXT TIME....
In the end it all comes down to reading coupons and what they are asking of you. This means following directions not only on store coupons and MFR coupons but also directions and requirements set forth by the stores policies. It might seem like a lot to get used to or confusing at first but it really is very very simple when you get the hang of everything. Once you get familiar with it you will read a coupon and know exactly what you can and can't do without referring to this blog. I tell people a lot I enjoy couponing because it becomes sort of a game... like a puzzle. I personally LOVE puzzles such as the PennyPack Puzzles which have brain teasers galore (and here's a confession of my vice: I have a box of 60 PennyPack magazines still waiting to be done! EXCITING!!! hahaha) SO with couponing it takes time to match up deals, go through coupons and try to find the “missing yet MATCHING pieces” to get a great deal!
Like I stated previously I'm working on a PDF file that you will all be able to download that will have some stores and their policies broken down for beginners to understand. Think of it as a “Coupon Policy for Baby Couponers/Beginners” sort of thing! I know policies get real technical and fussy so not only will it help me to break policies down it will be much easier having a quick AND easy reference at stores (AGAIN print out the official policies and have them with you at all times as well!).
So go out my fellow baby couponers and explore some sales! Start off small if you are a little nervous or unsure. I will DEFINITELY be getting into coupon matching deals, and how to get the most bang for your buck and coupons. I will also be posting up in the very near future a blog on COUPON LINGO/JARGON for you all to familiarize yourselves with as I will be switching over to them as we go along so you can get used to them.
By now you should already know one: Manufacturer Coupons. The lingo/jargon for that I use and many others use is MFR or MFR coupons. Another word you learned today: Stack! (Remember? This is where you STACK store coupons with MFR coupons on 1 item.)
A lot of things to look forward to in this blog so definitely keep checking back! I typically try to have a new blog every 3 days at the most if I'm able to. So far that's been working pretty well :)
CLIP IT, USE IT, LOVE IT... GOOD LUCK! <3
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