We talk about coupons and savings all the time but this lady just makes all our advice sound like child’s play. You have to watch the videos to believe it. See how this lady saves money on her groceries.
Amazing.
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{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
My mom is a coupon Nazi; she does similar things. But she’s also a hoarder and can’t bear to throw anything away, so my parents have a fully-stocked pantry that could feed 25 folks for dinner any night of the week (and three refrigerators plus a deep freezer!) for two people.
Cheap food is great, but not if it goes to waste. And I wouldn’t buy unhealthy food (like Powerade, which is basically sugar-salt-water) no matter what the price.
-Erica
Woah… This is pretty extreme. I wonder if that’s her normal grocery bill or it’s just a bunch of stuff we knew she could get for cheap.
Get real! 15 bottles of PowerAde – this is no soccer mom. There’s a difference between buying what’s on sale and buying what you need. I’m sure there’s a happy medium, but there’s something that these coupon hoarders always fail to consider. What the heck are you going to do with 8 packages of chocolate chips?
Notice she buys a ton of beer on top of that too. It’s no wonder why they don’t show what her kids look like
i agree. i will spend $2 on a $1 item i really need than waste $1 on a $2 item i don’t need. just because it’s on sale does not mean you really need or are going to use the item.
Yes, clearly this woman wasted a TON of money on things she didn’t need, what with her $9 total.
Ha, I agree with TurboFool. This lady didn’t waste any money. She spent the equivalent of what everyone else spends on 1 package of chicken. It looked to me like she was buying normal items, even fresh vegetables. And as far as buying in bulk (8 bags of chocolate chips, for example) if you stock up on things when they are at their cheapest you don’t need to buy them again until they are at their cheapest again, and by that time, you should be out and needing more. Just because she might have been buying things you health nuts consider unhealthy, doesn’t mean you have to be buying those items to be using this system.
This lady is very smart and has successfully implemented the technique that every frugal and coupon site is trying to teach.
Yes, I absolutely agree with this. Besides, I’m no soccer mom and I buy Powerade all the time for my husband. Imagine that.
The problem with all of that couponing is that coupons tend to be for highly processed foods. It’s rare to find coupons for milk or produce. I wonder what a meal in her house looks like…
Another thing that they don’t mention is that she probably buys several newspapers to have that many coupons for one item. That’s more work than most people have the time to put in. I use coupons and match them to sale ads, but she takes it to the way extreme.
I hope that she donates a lot of that food to homeless shelters or people in need. And I hope that she will consider using reusable bags.
You can actually get coupons for fresh produce and dairy items on line at websites such as Dole or PET.
That’s insane. I can see a student clipping coupons like that but not anyone that has a family. With some thought, she can probably turn it into a business of some type (maybe offer classes) telling people how to save like that. I’m sure she will make tons more than organizing the coupons.
I would totally take one of those classes. I’m a student on a fixed income and unexpected stuff always comes up and eats away at my food money.
imagine if she did that exact same thing and spent 9.50 or whatever it was to buy over 100$ of food for a homeless shelter. I would do THAT.
Put up or shut up Tybalt. Do It.
I have to admit I am pretty damn geeky when it comes to my coupons and mailers. But I would need to have a whole room in my house for store if I did that. I pass on a number of coupon deals because I don’t need the item. i hold myself to a tight $75 a week for my 5 year old daughter and I. It’s not easy, but her methods in a less extreme scenario work really well. Last week I spent $26 at one store and saved $32. I’ll take that…
WoW, I cannot imagine, if I’m the person who being interviewed in the video clip, Ning! Honestly, I didn’t have the courage to do this stuff as well, as I thought it’s extremely over the top!
Wow, that’s pretty amazing. I can remember my mom cleaning up on Winn Dixie’s triple coupons though. The store would owe HER money. You don’t necessarily have to buy papers to get coupons. You can get many printable ones online, and maybe even be able to google coupons for specific products you want to buy.
I don’t know about you guys, but the places I shop won’t allow you to use more than one coupon for a specific item. Like, she’s got 5 coupons for Powerade, most places only let you use one at a time. Also, a lot of places won’t let you use coupons on items that are already on sale. I think she’s playin the system; she gives them so many coupons at one time that the cashier is too overwhelmed to check that they’re being used properly. It sounds good though.
I agree they are hit with so many they do not have time to check exp dates or quanity of coupons used so she gets away with it.Nice idea but who has the time to put that systen together unless your retired?
I have worked at two grocery stores and i use coupons every week for groceries. Just thought I’d let you know that you can only use 1 coupon per item so 1 coupon = 1 bottle of powerade, and there really aren’t many places that won’t let you use coupons for sale items. Also, there’s a fairly universal register system (some just more advanced, but even the most basic are capable of this) that won’t allow an expired coupon to work…basically the barcode becomes inactive after the expiration date.
Roger – my system is similar to hers only not extreme. I usually save about $50 a week. That’s more then I actually end up spending. And it only takes about 20 minutes to clip coupons and put together a list. I think that’s totally worth $50!
She did only use one coupon per item. She had five coupons for gatorade, but she was buying five gatorades with it. Watch the video.
I think what is really unbelievable is how threatened most of these commenters sound! I think it’s fantastic, and I wish I had the time and energy this requires…Playing the system??? Do you have any idea how strategically “played” we all are as consumers? I say hooray for anyone not willing to be a passive party to it. (And…the Power Aid seemed to be for the reporter…)
As I read over this, I can’t help but to agree! It seems to me that this little Savings Lady has gotten several peoples’ danders up… Kinda funny.
I’m not an insane coupon clipper, but I use coupons AT LEAST once a week. It’s one of those things where you suddenly realize your twenty-somethings are almost over and thirty is getting ready to smack you in the face.
The only thing I can think of is the poor cashiers! Did you see their eyes when they took those stacks of coupons? Comical stuff man, comical stuff. I use the self-checkout line in most stores. Last week, at Winn-Dixie, I used like seven coupons and was still kinda mortified that the cheapskate light would start flashing. As it was, I’d saved over $3.00 (woo hoo) and I had to get “live” assistance approval because clipped coupons equaled over 10% of the total price – it was like 30%. I’d hate to have seen what would have happened if SHE’d gone through there, lol.
I admit I didn’t watch the video. But I used to work in a grocery store, and I had a customer who regularly handed me a fist full of coupons, a fraction of which she actually bought the stuff for. The first few times I pointed it out to her which ones she couldn’t use and she would throw a fit…so after a while I would just toss those. The registers have improved these days and recognize when a specific product hasn’t been scanned.
I hate coupons!!!
I use the same system that woman does, except I don’t get many rebates. The trick is to use coupons only when things are on sale. You can use one coupon per item purchased. I buy three newspapers a week at Dollar Tree, and of course, I make my money back very quickly. Doing this also creates a stockpile, which is awesome compared to the times when I’d be in a crisis because I was out of something, but if I’m not careful I can get too much. I do donate stuff, though. Oh! I only get about 50% off most of my grocery bills.
You don’t have to buy a lot of newspapers to do this. I did this when I worked at an office, where everyone got the sunday paper. In exchange for getting an extra coupon that you cut out, I got all the coupons that people didnt want. So for 7 people I got seven inserts with only often only one coupon missing out of the seven. the person who cut out the diaper, baby food, and frozen veggie coupon, gets another diaper, baby food and frozen veggie coupon to use ( or maybe all the diaper and baby food couponss since I don’t buy that) but I now have 5 frozen veggie coupons left to use for myself.
Also coupons rules state that a coupon can be use for an item. So so long as you have the individual item or set of items the coupon calls for, each coupon is a seperate transaction for each item. You can( or shouldn’t) use two identical dollar off coupons for the same one item. However, a manufacturers coupon doesn’t negate a store coupon or a sale. So long as you buy the product all separate offers apply so long as there is one unique offer per item. So a manufactur’s coupon for a specific cereal, plus the stores printed coupon for the brand of cereal, plus the fact that those are also on sale for this weeek, means you can use all three. No one is being cheated. The stores are reimbursed by the manufacturer for every coupon redeemed, and the store plans their own sales so they are creating loss leaders to spur more buying.
And there’s nothing that says a person must personally USE the cheap or free things they get. I bought a ton of boy and girl deodorants for pennies and used them to pack bathroom care baskets for my girl friends and boy friends as well. I donated things to food banks and gave food away to friends and people, and We never ran out of Toilet paper!
I found my old coupon box from almost a decade ago ( a fireproof money box) and wow, I had over 30 catagories, and multiple coupons. Some have no expiration date, so I might see if they re still honored. I don’t coupon anymore cause its’ best for when you are with a family or lots of friends to benefit, it’s harder when it just for yourself.
BTW,people who try to abuse couponing by trying to redeem for unbought items, are not cool. that makes it harder for the legitimate couponers to get respect. I bought 200 bucks worth of groceries for less than 50 dollars and each and everyone of my coupons was legitimate!
I used to do a LOT of couponing and occasionally did even better than this lady. My average, however, was 60% off regular price. I never tried to cheat the system. I went to the websites of all the stores I frequented and printed out their store policy regarding coupon use. All the stores I shopped at would allow you to use a store coupon as well as a manufacture coupon. On an occasion I may miss that it is coupon is for 2 products instead of 1 and the register will beep. It’s almost impossible to cheat at the system. Or, at least, I don’t think I could (or would) figure out a way.
It does take a lot of time. But, I quit an 80+ hour a week job to be a SAHM and needed to do this to help make ends meet. I looked at it as my part time job… except I didn’t have to pay income taxes on the money I saved and I was at home with my daughter who loved to “help” mommy clip coupons.
Plus, and in my opinion most importantly, I always tried to shop when the store had the least amount of customers and I always warned people who walked up behind me that I had a lot of coupons. Most would say no problem but at least they had the option of finding another line before I started my checkout.
Yes, a lot of the coupons are for junk food but when I get it for free I donate it to food banks, or friends who have lost their job… once, a friend of mine who also couponed, had several tons of food in her stockpile. When 2 of her nephews came home from a long deployment from Iraq she wiped her shelves out so they could have a house full of food waiting for them when they got home.
But, the it’s the cleaning supplies, toothpaste, deodorant, paper products, etc. where I really rack up the savings. We eat a lot of produce at my house so I carefully watch the sales and buy the produce in season when it is the best price. Also don’t forget local farmer’s markets. Fresh produce that is often a lot cheaper than what you find in the grocery stores.
Some people are saying that she’s “Playing the system” when in all actuality, she’s being a very smart and aggressive (though VERY annoying to the cashier) shopper.
Most stores, when having items in an ad, are being paid by the distributor to promote these items. Ad items offer discounts to the store when purchasing, then turning around and using manufacturer coupons on top of them is very beneficial to both the consumer and the grocery store. The manufacturers reimburse the store for any money lost to the coupon, which in turn, boosts the store’s total gross profit. Money in the consumer’s pocket, money in the store’s pocket, money in the manufacturer’s pocket.. It’s a win-win-win situation.
Where does one get all these coupons? My newspaper has one little Sunday insert and it rarely has a coupon for products I buy.
Google “Coupons” — you’ll get about 900 sites. Coupons.com, Couponmom.com, Mycoupons.com etc. It’s worth a try
I wish I had the time or energy to do this. I am already operating on a budget of $62.50 every two weeks just for myself, which, by the way, is very very very low. I can only imagine if I started using coupons…you go granny! stock pile away so when the zombies come, you will be ready.
Im a cashier for a supermarket 2 days a week and most of the time people who do this try to sneak in coupons that they dont buy cause no one checks cause there are so many coupons. they also buy stuff taht is buy one get one and return the next week and return for full price i hate these people nothing but low lifes who want everything for free. and black people mostly do this shit
U can thank slavery and discrimination for that. Black people got a shit deal when we started out in America so we make the ends meet the best way we know how.
Corey, besides being a dumbass and a racist, you clearly show that you don’t know how to do your job or that you don’t even bother.
Almost every grocery store now has computerized scanners. Have you looked at a coupon recently. Obviously NOT, since you’d notice that all coupons have a scan code. Unless you work and live in Backwater USA, you would take however many coupons and scan them after the purchase. Each and every freaking one, cause that’s your lousy job to do so. If a coupon is rejected cause they don’t have the item or enough of the item, deal with it. it happens sometimes that people intend to buy something and forget. If you are not checking the coupons then that is your problem not the consumers.
Also, as far as returning a BOGO Free item, If you are the one doing these returns for full price, then again, you are an idiot or you are taking returns without a reciept. If you were to do a proper return for a BOGO Free, you would only redeem half the cost of one item since they got two for the price of one. SIMPLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATH! Don’t try to blame other people for your ignorance and laziness, just because they are saving money and you don’t/won’t/can’t be bothers and you are bitter about it. If you hate it so much, get a different job. People aren’t going to quit using coupons because you hate blacks and can’t count.
powerade is to rehydrate you…it serves it’s purpose. sure it’s not as healthy as a glass of water but you have to restore electrolytes, which water doesn’t have.
I consider myself a hardcore coupon-er (I spend $50 per week on groceries/toiletries/household items for husband and I) but that rebate stuff is too time-consuming for anyone besides the unemployed or the retired. Unless it’s right on the box, like the beer/alcohol rebates, they’re a real hassle to keep up with. Instead I use the grocery game, which sends you a list every week with the statistically best deals in the store. About half of the items in the sale flyers are NOT on good sale–the Grocery Game has a price database so that they can tell you when the items are really, seriously, on awesome sale. The list also tells you exactly where the relevant manufacturer coupons were, so all I do is pull the relevant week’s coupon insert out of my binder and clip the SINGLE coupon I need (instead of the 40+ coupons that I will probably never use). I spend MAYBE 15 minutes a week reading my lists and clipping the handful of coupons. And I’m not the only one.
I used the Grocery Game when I was first learning and I loved it. I cancelled it though because where I live the sales are from Wednesday through Tuesday. Since GG puts the info up on Sunday that only leaves Monday & Tuesday for my shopping. Unfortunately, these are my busiest days. I still clipped all the coupons I used because I would often see things on clearance that I had coupons for but were not listed in GG.
I do, however, highly recommend it for people who are new, working full time, or just don’t want to deal with the hassle of coupons but want the savings.
Corey may not be very tactful in his comment, but for the most part, I agree with him. Many of the people in grocery stores who present this many coupons are trying to scam the system, and are often very nasty to their cashiers, i’ve found. I also work at the service desk, and am often horrified with the returns that I see because someone “doesn’t want it anymore”.
Last week, a woman brought back a 23 dollar ham that “wasnt big enough”. I had to throw it out.
PLEASE KNOW that when you return perishable items to grocery stores, they have to be thrown out because it can’t be proven that they were adequately refridgerated.
Anne, While I cannot agree with Corey’s lack of tact nor understand his reason for his prejudice, I have to admit that customers arent’ always nice regardless of whether they use coupons.
I have to point out that even legitimate coupon users like myself get nasty looks and responses from people like you and Corey, who assume that because I returned and item that I used a coupon for and expect the value of the coupon to be reimbursed if it cannot be returned, that I am trying to scam. That’s why I think the lady who said she prints out a copy of store policy regarding coupon use is smart. She can avoid arguements just by pointing out the stores policy to employees who may not understand. For example, I was sent to buy dog food for my mother, I had a dollar off coupon for a large bag. I discovered I’d bought the wrong brand ( dog won’t eat it) I took the UNOPENED bag of dry food back the next day. Because the store had my coupon the store will be reimbursed $1.00(plus 8cent) for the SALE of the dog food. Since I was returning it, the store would have to either A) return the coupon used or B) return the value of the coupon to the customer in the refund. IF they do neither, then the store is committing fraud submitting a coupon for a non-sale. Years ago many stores got in a lot of trouble with manufactures for submitting coupons for stuff not bought.
But the point of my post was to THANK you for pointing out that perishible foods are wasted when they are returned. I don’t think many people realize this, when they make a large purchase or purchase many items. Maybe it should be store policy that food can only be returned if there were something wrong with it at the time of purchase. I’ve purchased and item that was OOD, and the store took it back, were requred to because they couldn’t risk me eating it and sueing if I got sick. Another time the 5 dozen eggs I bought, all the ones int eh middle of the plastic wrapped carton were busted, they let me do and exchange. I dont’ agree that returning a ham because it’s too small is a legitimate reason, and if I were the store manager, I wouldn’t accept it, or I’m make them do an exchange and purchase the difference.
Still, it’s not fair to anyone to assume, just by looking at them, they they are trying to scam. As I pointed out to Corey, it’s very easy to prevent that from happening just buy checking each coupon, as is the policy for all stores, as they dont’ want to lose money, and/or be accused of coupon fraud by redeeming coupons without a sale.
LOL….she is funny…Difficult time for the shopkeepers
Wow, she’s a real commando with those coupons and deals. We’re coupon-people, too, but I can’t say we’ve done nearly as much research as she has with grocery shopping.
I would shoot this lady if I got stuck behind her in line. Then I would steal her coupons.
NOBODY should pay full price for ANYTHING!!
That’s why stores get away with such high pricing.
MSRP is nothing but a suggestion –
Not that stores must follow that suggestion
Shop at outlets and shop clearance racks
Many discount products are the same but don’t have the
big brand names.
Packaging costs more than the product that’s in them anyway
Notice the price of COKE in a 20 oz. as opposed to a 2 liter for instance
I’m even a guy and I got that figured out
the problem is that she bought nothing that you can actualy make a meal from.
i dont like to buy onsale items very often. the onsale things most times are stale.
if not stale there is something off about it. like its garlic flavored toothpaste. how can you live on guava poweraid, rotten lettuce and coors? another thing my store (or any i have ever been in)will not let you spend coupons like that. the have a sign that reads
ONE COUPON PER ITEM and NO COUPONS FOR ONSALE ITEMS
i have seen this sh*t on tv and online. it is a lie.
LMAO @ garlic flavored toothpaste
I want to be like this! I’m a student and this could save me tons!
I don’t think this woman is wasteful with her spending. 15 powerades… okay, it’s not that they go bad instantly. And it’s not like she buys 15 every week either. I think I’m going to start clipping more coupons.
There are many websites with coupons now. And there are some you can load them onto a shopper card like at kroger.
I know of several ladies in my home school group that get these same kinds of results, but I can’t seem to do it. I am convinced that one of the reasons why is because I refuse to by junk simply because it’s on sale or has a coupon. My friend feeds her family whatever is on sale with a coupons. I actually cook, so I think in the long run, I spend less money. I have also found that buying my fresh fruits and veggies at our local flea market saves me a TON of $$$.
Well, I’m not like that either, though I have been charge of the couponing since I was about 10. My dad would let me have half of what we saved in coupons, so I was very motivated.
I just got back from the grocery store and with the “get $5 off 10 items” deal, plus 4 coupons (one of which I picked up in the store) I saved almost as much as I spent. I never buy something JUST because it’s on sale or I have a coupon, but coupons do make it possible to give my family some treats from time to time and help keep that budget in check.
I don’t know where some of you are shopping, but my grocery stores are clean and nice. The day old bread rack is fantastic (get there early!) and I have noticed them really lowering prices and having great sales. I shop at Ralph’s and there isn’t any rule about not using coupons on sale items…that’s just dumb. Plus there are both manufacturer AND store coupons and you can use one of each…if the item is on sale too, man you are getting a great deal!
Oh and I don’t buy newspapers either…I might spend about 5 minutes checking my coupons and 5 more for the flyers.
I think most of you would find that minimal efforts could yield some worthwhile results. Oh and I’ve never had anyone be rude to me over coupons…in fact, most people laugh when they hear me cheer out loud over how much I saved in the line, hahah!
I worked at a grocery store for two years, and let me tell you, penny pinchers and coupon Nazis are no new thing. I’ve had people calculate their exact total, even with their coupons subtracted after. What I’ve learned about working in a grocery store and coupon clipping? If you’re on a strict budget, and stuff you need is on sale, it’s totally worth the thirty minutes going through the paper or online to get the coupons. At most grocery stores, coupons under $0.75 will double making a $0.55 coupon actually take off $1.10 of an item. However, you’re only allowed one coupon per item, so while you can’t double up on coupons per one item, you can surely have ten of the same coupons for ten of the same items (which is why she was able to buy 15 bottles of power-ade). Most grocery stores have a 4-limit for sale prices, but some may be 4-per-variety, like different flavors/scents/etc. But I agree with the donation to food shelters, if someone has the time to do something at literally no cost to them and can make that big of a difference, why wouldn’t you? Hope I gave you guys some helpful tips!
Wow, shocked that anyone could come up with anything negative to say about people who use coupons. There are many common misconceptions about couponing…
1. Most couponers will not intentionally try to use a coupon that they do not have a product for. Sometimes mistakes happen when you may have intended to buy an item, or you forgot to get an item that you intended to buy, or you decided to put the item back, but it is not intentional. Moreover, with coupons having barcodes, the registers automatically cross check and will not accept a coupon for an item you do not have.
2. One coupon per item means that if you are buying 5 of the same item, you could use 5 coupons, as this would be using 1 coupon per item–5 items, 5 coupons. This is not doing something sneaky or underhanded, it is policy of both the stores and manufacturers.
3. Most stores will allow you to use a manufacturers coupon and a store issued coupon on the same item. The manfacturers coupon amount will be reimbursed by the manfacturer, so it makes no difference to the store to accept the 2 coupons on a single item. And I have never come across a store that will not accept a coupon for a sale item.
4. Coupons are NOT just for junk food. Coupons allow me to feed my family healthier food. I have been able to get bags of frozen veggies for 0.25-0.50, cereal such as Cheerios, All Bran, Shredded Wheat, and Raisin Bran for 0.75-0.85 a box, Progresso soup for less than $1 a can, just to name a few. Instead of cheap junk food I can send fresh fruit cups or yogurt in my hubby’s lunchbox. Stores such as Food Lion also offer a weekly email you can sign up for that gives you discounts in the different departments such as Meat or Fresh Produce. I cook dinner 98% of the time, and certainly do not fix junk as I cannot have most prepackaged food because of having to avoid both soy and wheat.
I get other great deals by checking the discount shelves and look for marked down veggies, fruits, and meats. I have gotten a family sized organic spring mix for salads for less than 1.50. Meats will be marked down 3-4 days before their “sell by date.” Just go home and pop them in the freezer for use at a later date. Discount shelves have produced great deal such as my expensive gluten free pasta on clearance for 1/4 the regular cost.
I am really glad that I don’t have to shop at the stores where some of these commenters work at. My favorite store is full of friendly cashiers that do not mind taking coupons and even talk about the deals I am getting and ask where they can go to print off certain coupons. Since when has saving money for your family been a bad thing?
Wow, I’m shocked about all the negativity and misinformation too! As a fellow couponer and coupon blogger, I know it is possible to see these kinds of savings most of the time. You have to keep in mind she has been a coupon user for a long time. what she did not purchase this week she probably has a stockpile of at home already from the weeks when those items were the best deals. stockpiling is one of the first things you learn that can save you big money! Buy low so you don’t have to pay high prices!
now that this woman has saved all that money the store has to make up for it somewhere. may that be raising the prices on other things or cutting an employees time or check. coupons are only good to the person using them but in the long run we all get hurt. if we all stop using coupons the stores would be forced to realize the imbalance of their shoppers and start pricing things where they should be not where it covers loss.
I am afraid you are VERY misinformed about who pays for the use of coupons Pat. Most coupons are Manufacturers. That means the people who make the product put out the coupons. When a person redeems the coupons the store sends them off to a clearinghouse. The store then receives the face value of the coupons plus .08 each for handling. The coupons cost the store nothing to use, and are very similar to cash, except they are sent to a clearinghouse before being deposited into a bank. Coupons are actually a great for of advertising(and are budgeted for accordingly by the companies putting them out).
Budgeted for accordingly is key here. If half the shoppers use a coupon then the manufacturer expects to make this up by those not using a coupon. All I am trying to say is that if there were no coupons then we would all get one low price. For every person who walks out of a store spending very little then somewhere that has to be made up. Do you think that if every single shopper used a coupon for every item that the manufacturers would continue to put out coupons. No they would have to raise the price to cover the cost just like they do now to cover coupons. Either way half of us win while the other half lose and I look out for the whole not the individual.
The price that you pay for any item in the store is not the absolute price, it is the price that consumers are WILLING to pay for it. Some people are WILLING to pay more for an item than others. That is what determines price. Prices are lowered when people will not pay the suggested Retail Price that the store marks the product up to (anywhere between 50%-200% in the store I worked at). If no body buys a product at any price above cost, there is no profit, not even a little, but if someone is willing to to pay anything above cost up to SRP, then the store makes their profit as well and orders the product again. Manufacturers figure all of that out before they even put the product on the market. The SRP is assuming that the store will make a profit from the consumers willing to pay the SRP. Manufacturer’s don’t RAISE prices to cover coupon users, they expect casual coupon users to TRY the product at a discounted price (because they weren’t willing to buy it at Full price) and to later be willing to pay full price because they like it. The store gets a new consumer and is more likely to order again from the manufacturer. It’s completely fair and free market. If you ask me what the price is and I tell you a price and you accept that price, then that is what you are willing to and can afford to pay. If you are not willing to or can’t afford to pay that then you do not buy the product, and I either have to lower the price for you or don’t expect you to ever buy it.
Enough stores refusing to buy because consumers refuse to pay, tells the manufacturer that their price is too high ( or the product stinks!) and they either lower the price price for the store, who can pass it along as a sale, or offer incentives (coupons) to entice users now who might later be willing to pay full price, or redo their marketing to make the product seem as valuable as the price. Loss Leaders (products on sale, coupon items, samples) are products not counted toward profit making. they are part of Marketing. Marketing’s purpose is to get you to pay the maximum price.
And it is not possible for every single shopper to use a coupon for every item, because Manufacturers do NOT print a unique coupon for every item they make. Coupons, like gold, is only valuable because they are limited( in number and by expiration), and the manufacturer who prints them agrees to accept them instead of money for the individuals who have them.
By your logic, Pat, no one should ever accept samples from the manufacturer because everyone else pays for you to have that sample, NO, the manufacturer expects no to profit from the sample in hopes that it profits from your later purchases.
If nobody used coupons, the price would not go down.
but if nobody buys the product at full suggested retail price then the price is too high, and the price must come down, else they make no profit at all. Cost+200% mark up get’s you a profit of zero dollars if you cannot even sell the product. Cost+200% minus 55 cents is likely much more than zero.
If you want to look out for the whole, then stop buying things that you cannot afford at prices that you consider too high.
Having had to place orders with manufactures, negotiate prices, set the Markup on the products, observe how much we sold, accepting coupons, and planning sales based on customers purchases and manufacturer discounts, and regularly speaking with manufacturers’ representatives about why we were/weren’t going to restock and how they offered incentives to us to continue to buy and sell their products, I learned these facts.
no one is willing to pay a higher price they just dont know any better. all this rant has proven is that manufacturers dont know how to properly price the item. The SRP is the problem. lower the price of a product and it will be purchased more often no need for anyone to pay a higher price. cost +200% – 55 cents still equals ripping someone of for 180%. everyone getting the product at one low price is more product selling and still profitable. if you cant get someone to buy your stuff at full price lower the price not offer half the people a coupon.
I can’t say I quite as well, but this is no bull. It takes some effort to collect, sort, throw out the out-of-date coupons and buy only what you actually use, but it is well worth it. I had an aunt (accountant) who would regularly walk out of stores with 6-7 bags of groceries, and cash they paid to her, usually on “double coupon” days.
Well said, Metqa. I am in retail sales – I buy my products at wholesale and then sell most at the manufacture’s suggested retail. When I have a new product or if I am trying to win a new custom I discount the product deeply – sometimes giving out samples. If the MSRP is too high or if the product is not selling I do exact what you say – either lower the price or I quit carrying the product. I often give out coupons and I am thrilled when someone uses one. It means they are willing try the product and if they like it they will be back to buy more at full price and often, buy other products in addition to the one they got with a coupon. It is really a win/win situation. I love using coupons as well as accepting them in my business.
please do not confuse free market and fair market. the free market is far from fair.
Rant, eh? Haha, just because you refuse to understand a system you abhor doesnt’ make explaining that system to you a rant.
Pat, I understand your feelings of wanting to be fair to everyone, but that is just not the truth in capitalistic marketing and sales. the Market charges as much as it can in order to get the maximum profit and People indeed ARE willing to pay higher prices for the same thing. They aren’t being duped. Not everyone chooses to shop in the dollar stores which carry the same products as the regular stores but at a much lower cost. You can’t say that people aren’t aware of dollar stores. So are the people shopping dollar stores getting an unfair low price? If we close all dollar stores will that make the regular stores lower the price on all the items the $ stores carry? NO.
Even Newmans Own,which give 100% of it’s post tax profits to charity, charges more than cost for it’s product. they have to make more than the cost of the product to make enough money to pay all the people who made the product,. and they will charge as much as people are willing to pay. It’s that simple like it or not.
Have you ever made something homemade and then tried to sell it. If you only charge for the cost of materials, the you have lost the value of your time. If you only charge for materials and the time you made it, then you don’t get the value of having the idea to make it, and the care put into making it, and the effort put into telling people and convincing them to buy the product and the convenience that the person buying it doensnt’ have to make all that effort. Markup, and hence profit, covers all the nontangible values of a product. But if you are willing to sell your product for only cost then let me know when you start your business, cause I wanna see how long you last by giving away your time and effort for free. Oh wait that’s called charity. Most for profit business are into charity, and I thinks that where your complaint lies.
Again, I understand you feelings on it not being fair but the only places I’ve heard of where things cost equal value for everyone or either socialistic or communistic societies, and they seem to be unpopular these days, unfortunately.
Correction: Most For profit businesses AREN’T into charity and I think that is where your complaint lies
My first job was working as a cashier at a grocery store and I’ll never forget our coupon lady. She always came in with her husband and together they would fill two baskets with groceries. Their total was usually around $15.