How Many Members Use Coupons?

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by Michelle Keiser, Mar 19, 2015.

  1. Michelle Keiser

    Michelle Keiser Veteran Member
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    I love using coupons! The coupon business has exploded over the past 6 years. In working in retail where coupons were accepted I have seen customers get the amount they owe down to just a couple of dollars! I have to believe that this is a full time job however. It is a lot of work to save money when it comes to coupons. As an associate that rang sales it could become a nightmare rather quickly! If there are customers standing behind a coupon user they become irritated rather fast and I have witnessed where they will put their items down and walk out the door. The coupon user has the right to use coupons but I always thought there should be a lane open just for those that are using coupons this way those that are not will get serviced and be on their happy way. I have used coupons here and there. I am not real good at it. You really have to know where the sales are and plan everything before going out the door to shop. Now to me, that is a full time job! I give those that do use coupons a great deal of credit because it is not as easy as clipping the coupon out of the paper! Does anyone have any coupon tips or stories to share?
     
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  2. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    I seldom use coupons. It's been my experience that name brands, even with a coupon, are still more expensive than store brands.
    You have to be careful with coupons too, or you might buy things you wouldn't ordinarily buy just because you have a coupon.
     
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  3. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    After many years I started back clipping coupons. Back then I had a subscription to the daily newspaper and it was pretty easy to scan through and cut out the ones that I wanted. Now that there are sites that promote coupons for points and my printer has plenty of ink it's easier.

    @Michelle Keiser I agree there should be a designated lane or two for excessive coupon use. They have the self checkouts and 12 items or less lane what not include a coupon isle.
     
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  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    For a while, I sold newspaper subscriptions at a little kiosk at various businesses, and it was amazing how many people wanted to take the paper just to get the coupons out of it, especially the Sunday paper. Some people had several subscriptions and used the coupons from all of them !
    I have found that most of the items that I shop for do not have coupons----you just don't find a coupon for a head of lettuce or a package of carrots. And the name brands are still more expensive even with a coupon sometimes. However, if you buy the name brands anyway, then having the coupon for it is a good thing.
    I only use the ones that are digital coupons. Kroger (where I do most of my shopping) has a customer card, and you can go to their website and load up any of the coupons that you are interested in, right onlo the card, and then it comes off when you purchase the item.
    I do think that using coupons is a great idea if you are buying the same items anyway, then saving money with a coupon makes a lot of sense.
     
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  5. Pat Baker

    Pat Baker Supreme Member
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    I think families with kids almost have to use coupons to keep up with all of the things that are need for kids. When the kids get to a point where their needs are more intune with the other adults in the house coupons may not be as helpful in keeping the cost of items down. I don't use coupons as mush as I use to the items I want to purchase are usually cheaper if I get an off brand instead of using the coupon on a brand name.
     
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  6. Jenn Windey

    Jenn Windey Supreme Member
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    When I was first married I used coupons quite often. I got away from it for quite awhile because it seemed at one point like there were never any coupons for any of the things that I used. Recently I just started to use coupons again and I wonder why I stopped for so long. There are so many great coupons available on the internet.

    I am a very brand loyal shopper, this is great if you can find a coupon for that brand, but there are some things that just never seem to have a coupon or a sale. I do like and am more motivated to shop at the department stores that send out incentives like money off savings. In this day and age it is very important to do what you can to try to keep your shoppers. I think with economy being as poor as it is- many people have cut back to the point where things beyond what you need to survive are the only options. Any place you can use anything in place of cash is a good option. In our local supermarket there are people that will leave coupons on the shelves by items so someone who needs that item can use it. I always felt that was so thoughtful.
     
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  7. Michelle Keiser

    Michelle Keiser Veteran Member
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    I have seen that as well in stores here where others will leave coupons on the shelf next to the item. It is extremely nice of them and it validates that there are some very thoughtful people who think of others. I don't always use coupons. There is just the two of us and I do buy things that we really don't need or use most of the time because I have a coupon for it. Now with having a family to feed I could totally see where it would help you save. The one thing I will do is if I am going to buy clothing and will be going to Peebles for example I will go online and see if there are any coupons because I really do not like paying full price for clothing. Where I live there is not much for clothing stores. There are your stores such as Walmart, Kmart, and I don't mind buying clothing there but sometimes I am looking for something a little different. The other thing is I will shop online as well and you can save some bucks by doing that as well. I also love finding clothing at second hand places, I am not to proud to wear something that has been worn before and you can find "like new" items in those places all of the time. Oh gee, I could go on and on but I have to go to work so until next time, have a wonderful day! ~Michelle~
     
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  8. Richard Paradon

    Richard Paradon Supreme Member
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    Here in Thailand there are not many coupon items and when there is I have no idea because I do not read Thai. Back in the States I would always clip and save the coupons but it was just a waste of time as I always forgot about them until they were expired. Another thing that I did not have much for was rebates. Sent out quite a few but never received a check!
     
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  9. Sarah Price

    Sarah Price Veteran Member
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    I use coupons, but not as much as I used to. I don't like how most of the online coupons force you to download software in order to print out their coupons. I have a feeling they are doing that in order to spy on my PC activities. I am very big on finding sales though and I also buy discounted gift cards online so that reduces the amount I have to pay anywhere from 3% to 25%. I also use sites like ebates.com which gives cash back for my purchases; usually about 3-6%. Every little bit helps.
     
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  10. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    For a few years, as a new single parent, I practically made a business of saving coupons. I kept files of coupons offering discounts on items but, at that time, rebates were a big deal too, and when they came out with a new one, they'd ask for a specified portion of the box or label, not always the box top, so I would flatten product boxes and remove labels from other products that routinely ran rebates. I didn't keep track of what I saved but, besides the discounts on products, I was getting from $1-20 a day in rebates. At that time, they generally sent cash too, so it's not like I had tons of tiny checks to cash.

    These days, we get coupons from Petco or PetSmart that come in handy, and Hannaford prints coupons on the back of our receipts that are usually based on things that we have purchased, so we use those, but we also forget a lot of them until they have expired.
     
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  11. Joyce Mcgregor

    Joyce Mcgregor Veteran Member
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    When I had a family of 5, I used coupons often. I used the ones that came in my newspaper every Wednesday as well as ones I would occasionally find in magazines. I occasionally saved as much as $100 a shopping trip if I went to stores that double or tripled coupons. Now, we do not have any stores in my area that do that. Now that I am a senior citizen, living with just my daughter and grandson, I rarely use coupons. I just do not get many, plus I do not have a printer to access coupons at the sites online that have them.
     
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  12. Jenn Windey

    Jenn Windey Supreme Member
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    You might want to think of investing in a printer Joyce. I have found that the coupons online are well worth the price of the ink. Things are so expensive these days that every little bit does help. I think (and I am not sure if this is true in all regions) since so many stores have shoppers club discounts people overall have gotten away from coupons. For a very long time I never saw anyone in line at the grocer that used them. Now perhaps for the last year or so I am seeing more people use multiple coupons.

    I have to admit that being brand loyal, one of my biggest frustrations was the items I did buy seldom had coupons. If you go right to the corporate websites for many products you will find coupons, sometimes you have to click around but they are there. It is the little things like orange juice and dog food that make a difference in the food budget.
    They really don't do rebates like they used to anymore. Unless you buy a combination of products and save this or that, it can be confusing. There are two or three that I do find every year that seem to be worth it. Dutch Boy paints has a rebate around Memorial Day so I always get some exterior trim paint, you never run short of needing that. This is through the hardware store Value Home Centers, they also do a cleaning product one that I use. At the Liquor store you can find rebates all the time, my boss likes Grey Goose Vodka so thats what she gets every Christmas, thats a nice rebate at $7. I think in all the years of rebates only once was I ever stiffed. I do agree through they are small checks but so what? Every bit helps.
     
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  13. Sarah Price

    Sarah Price Veteran Member
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    I think a lot of stores nowadays are asking people to select "coupons" online and then attaching these coupons to their store card. When a person goes shopping, they simply swipe their store card and the coupons are automatically deducted. I know that Kmart is doing something like that with their Shop Your Way program. Walgreen's still has in-store coupons, but they also have a feature online where you can attach online coupons to your Walgreen's card and then swipe your card at the checkout and get the coupons deducted.
     
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  14. John Donovan

    John Donovan Veteran Member
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    I use coupons when I buy online, if they are available. A lot of online retailers send out coupons via email, especially when they have a sale, and it's definitely nice to have an extra discount on top of another discount. As for actual, solid coupons, I never bothered. It was way too much work for me, and even though my wife gave them a try, they only had coupons for things we didn't need or want.
     
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