Coupon Workshop

Kernersville, NC

May 21, 2011

Use one coupon, save

a bit today.

LEARN how to coupon and save a lot forever.

What are coupons?

Two types:

-Store

-Manufacturer

-Catalina

Paper vs. Digital

Store Coupons Manufacturer Coupons

•Often states Store Name

•UPC often has many “0”s or a PLU#

•UPC often begins with “5” or “9”

•States “Manufacutrer’s coupon” at top

•Will have remittance address

Where do I GET manufacturer coupons?

•Face Book

•Manufacturer websites and newsletters

•Free samples

•Sunday newspapers

•Products themselves (check the boxes before tossing them!)

•“blinkies”

•Tear pads

•www.moolasavingmom.com coupon discussion board

•Magazines (All You, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens)

•Parade magazine.

How to get store coupons

• Sign up for store rewards– E-vic– E-offers– Food Lion digital coupons

• Scan card at Food Lion kiosks

• Lowes Foods often has in-ad coupons (good for several weeks- keep them!)

Organization

• Binder– Cut ALL coupons – Sorted by coupon

• Accordion File/Whole InsertClip only when ready to use

Date each insert

Separate system for loose coupons

Harris Teeter Coupon PolicyGeneral

• We accept coupons that have not passed their expiration date for use;• we cannot accept any expired coupons. • We accept only one manufacturer coupon per purchased item. • We do not accept coupons on items not purchased. • Coupons must be presented at time of purchase; we cannot return

money for coupons not used. • Coupons presented and items purchased must match exactly; size,

variety, flavor, etc. • We uphold any purchase stipulations set forth by product manufacturer. • We accept one coupon per item purchased. • We accept only one coupon for Buy One Get One Free items. • We accept coupons for items only of equal or more value; we do not give cash back. • Sales tax is paid by customer at full retail.

Doubling • We accept 20 double coupons per day per customer/household with VIC card; all others

redeemed at face value. No orders may be separated that would allow the 20 coupon limit or any other coupon limits to be exceeded.

• We double manufacturer’s coupons up to face value of $0.99; with total amount not to exceed $1.98 or entire retail of item; whichever is less.

• We double up to three identical items with manufacturer coupon; additional coupons for like item will be honored at face value. Like items include all flavors.

• No competitor coupons will be doubled or tripled. • Coupons that state “do not double” should not be doubled or tripled. • eVIC coupons can be accepted along with paper coupons, however will not be doubled.

Internet Coupons

•We gladly accept internet manufacturer’s coupons for product; however no “free” product internet coupons are accepted. •With the purchase of three like manufacturer’s products, we accept three internet coupons, per store, per day. •We do not accept internet coupons that do not appear to be originals or that won’t scan.

Competitor's Coupons

•We gladly accept local competitors’ manufacturer coupons. We also redeem circular or direct-mail coupons for money off of the total order. •We do not accept any internet coupons from other retailers. Rainchecks

•Rainchecks never expire and are accepted at any Harris Teeter store. •We do not issue rainchecks for coupon items that may be out of stock or for “while supplies last” items. •We reserve the right to limit raincheck quantities based on product availability and advertised limits. •Rainchecks can be written for a limit of three unless otherwise stated in the ad.

Summary for Harris Teeter

• On B1G1 sales- buy only 1 item– If it is a $/2 coupon you will be required to purchase

(3) items

• Combine e-vic and paper coupons• Cannot combine store and manufacturer

coupon• 3 same coupons per trip• 20 doubled per day• NO b1g1 or free internet coupons• Double up to face value of .99

Lowes Foods coupon policy

• Manufacturer Coupon Policy• Lowes Foods welcomes legitimate manufacturer coupons when the

following requirements are met:– Coupons must be in date. – Coupons must match the item(s) purchased. – Coupons must be presented at the time of purchase. – To ensure product availability for all customers, we limit redemption to 4

coupons for 4 of the same item. For example, if you have five coupons for a specific cereal and have purchased five of the item, we will honor the coupon for up to four of the boxes of cereal.

– All sales taxes are paid by the customer at the full retail value of the item. – Coupon value cannot exceed our retail price of the item; no cash back will be

awarded. • Double Coupons

– We will double up to 20 manufacturer coupons with a face value of $0.99 or less every day.

– No minimum purchase is required. – Manufacturer coupons for FREE items or Buy One, Get One FREE items will not

be doubled. – Any manufacturer coupon that states -Do not double- will not be doubled. – A doubled coupon will not be honored if the doubled amount exceeds the retail or

sale price of the coupon item. No cash back will be awarded.

• Internet Coupons• We gladly accept legitimate internet coupons. However, there has

been a growing number of fraudulent internet coupons in the marketplace. We are committed to protecting our customers, manufacturers and our company against this illegal activity. Therefore, Lowes Foods will practice the following guidelines for internet coupons:

• We will only accept printable internet coupons if they scan at checkout. • We will not honor FREE Product coupons printed from the Internet. • We will accept Buy One Get One FREE and other values that have a

purchase requirement. • We will accept internet coupons that have an expiration date. If no expiration

date is visible, we cannot accept the coupon. • Coupons will be rejected if they are distorted, altered or obvious duplicates.

Coupons are non-transferrable, meaning they should not be photocopied or scanned and distributed to others.

• Coupons have unique serial numbers printed on them and follow industry-standard format. Any presented coupon that does not follow standard format will not be accepted.

• With the purchase of two like manufacturer’s products, we accept two internet coupons per day.

• Store Coupons– In order to redeem store coupons, a Lowes Foods rewards card must

be used. – Store coupons must be in date. – All limits and purchase requirements must be followed.

• Competitor’s Coupons– We gladly accept local supermarket or supercenter competitor’s

circular or direct mail coupons for dollars off the entire order. (examples include Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, Kroger, Super Target, Super K-Mart, Wal-mart)

– We will not accept any competitor coupons for specific items. For example, we will not accept a competitor’s coupon for $1.00 off of an individual item.

– Purchase requirements must be met. – Coupon must be in-date. – We will not accept any type of internet coupons from any other retailers. – We will not accept any type of competitor coupons from drug stores or

club stores. – We will accept Catalina Check-out Manufacturer coupons from

competitors as long as they are in date, all purchase requirements are met, and they scan.

Lowes Foods Summary

• Can use (2) coupons on B1G1 sets• CAN combine store and manufacturer

– PLUS saving star, cellfire and digital!

• 20 coupons per day• 4 same coupons per day• Catalinas from competitors accepted• Accept b1g1 internet coupons• Double up to .99 face value

Food Lion Coupon Policy• We will only accept coupons that are in date and the product or

purchase requirements have been met.• Competitor coupons will not be accepted in our stores.• We will accept manufacturer, store, internet, and Catalina check out

coupons• Coupons with limits specified on them must be followed.• No “cash back” will be given for coupons of any kind.• Customers may not use more than (1) one coupon per item with a

maximumof (10) ten coupons for the same item per customer.• We will only accept Internet coupons that appear to be originals.• We will not accept internet coupons from other retailers.• We will not accept FREE internet coupons.• We will accept Manufacturer and Store coupons for FREE items.• The value of the FREE item cannot exceed the purchase price of that item.

Food Lion Summary

• No competitor

• 10 like coupons

• No “free” internet coupons

• Nothing is doubled

How to get the best deal

• Combine digital, paper and store coupon– HT does NOT allow stacking store and paper,

but does allow digital and paper stacking– Lowes allows digital, store and paper stacking

(for now)– FL does NOT allow stacking of store and

paper coupons

Stacking Example

Lowes Foods: Honey Nut Cheerios regular price $3.29, sale price $2.50

-In ad coupon 2/$4 ($2 each)

-$0.75 manufacturer paper coupon

-doubles to $1.50

-$0.55 electronic coupon

$2.50- .50 (in ad)- $1.50 (paper Q)- .55 (digital)= $.05 overage!

The VERY best scenario-Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $3.15 each

-in store coupon for $2 each

-Manufacturer coupon for .50/2

-digital coupon for .50/2

-Cellfire coupon for .50/2

-Catalina back for $3 WYB (2), $5 WYB (4)

Buy (4) @ $2 each = $8(2) .50 coupons doubled = -$2Digital Coupon= .50/2 = -.50CellFire = -.50

=$5 dueGet $5 catalina back

Buy (4) more @$2 each =$8(2) .50 coupons doubled -$2Use $5 catalina -$5

=$1 dueGet $5 catalina back

Total OOP= $6Total boxes: 8Averages to .75 a box! Left over: $5 catalina

-even better do the 2nd transaction another day AFTER you reloaded cellfire and digital coupons- this would bring second total to $0.00)!

How to save the most

1. KNOW which products you buy, what products you are brand loyal to

2. Make your list based on:• What is on sale• What you NEED (i.e. milk, eggs, etc)• What you can get ROCK BOTTOM that you

will use• Buy as many of these as you have coupons for

How to use Moola Saving MomCoupon Spreadsheet

List is done, coupons are cut…….

ready to shop!

How I coupon shop1. Check Moola Saving Mom for matchups2. Use spreadsheet to list items I NEED3. Add great priced items (i.e. free)4. Use coupon database for items NOT in the matchup5. Cut all coupons out and paperclip to list6. Shop.

1. @Food Lion- scan card at kiosk 7. Double check the coupon matches the item in the aisle.8. Go to check out 9. Give any $/$$$ coupons FIRST10. Give all coupons that double

1. Make sure they do double11. Give all coupons that will NOT double12. Verify all electronic coupons and sale prices worked properly

1. If they did NOT STOP STOP STOP2. Find out why NOW rather then trying to get a refund3. If it does not come within $1 of your estimated total find out why4. You do NOT have to buy the items that the coupons didn’t work properly for

1. My personal exception is deli cut and decorated cakes- all other items they can resell

Tips

• Check your e-vic and e-offer coupons at least once a week

• Sign up for www.savingstar.com

• Sign up for cell fire (Lowes Foods)

• Get rain checks for EVERYTHING

• Look for tear pads, blinkies, etc.

• when you are in the store

Ethical Couponing

• Courtesy– No “clearing” shelves – No taking entire tear pads

• Ethical– Use coupons on the proper product and size– Don’t try to cheat the system

Tip: Walmart

• Walmart does NOT offer any doubling

• BUT does offer cash back if the coupon amount is greater than the retail cost:– Example: Reach Floss regular price .88– Bought (11)= $9.68– Had (4) $2.50/2= $10– Had (4) $1/1= $4– $9.68-$14= $4.32 PROFIT

Monday

Tuesday Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter,

Food Lion

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday (occasionally drug store ads)

Saturday Drug Store Scenarios

Sunday Drug Store Shopping

Target Ad