Thursday, March 31, 2011

Daily Deal sites & a heads up

No doubt you've seen tons of Daily Deal sites with some great deals, but before you buy, read up on the pitfalls and dangers of those sites. (Source Wall Street Journal SmartMoney)

Also, heads up if you have any Blockbuster gift cards laying around. They've filed for bankruptcy and will stop accepting gift cards after April 6, 2011.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Coupon printing whoops

Earlier today I was printing out the $1 off/2 Eggos coupons. Apparently it'd been a while since I reused a sheet of paper for 1 type of coupon because I screwed up and printed 2 coupons right behind one another. One coupon was on one side, the other was directly on the back. Since they only allow you to print 2 coupons, I was annoyed at my screw up. Nonetheless, I figured it couldn't hurt to try to use both coupons anyway. The worst that could happen was they wouldn't let me use one of them, right? Off to Walmart I went for my grocery shopping trip.

When I got to the cashier to pay for my stuff, I explained to the cashier about my screw up and asked if I could still use both coupons.

"I don't think it'll be a problem," she replied and continued scanning my stuff. A few seconds later, a manager walked by and the cashier asked her about the coupons just to be sure. The manager was kind enough to explain that since it was the same coupon for the same thing that they could do it, but otherwise, probably not because they have to send the coupons in for reimbursement. That makes sense. And I was very thankful.

Time and time again, I frequently read about people having horrible couponing experiences at Walmart and their cashiers being less than cooperative. So far, I've been quite thankful that the cashiers at the Walmarts in my area have been cool about accepting my self print coupons. Don't let other people's experiences discourage you from using your coupons. Try it. Arm yourself with the knowledge of the merchant's coupon policy, print it out and bring it with you if you have to (thankfully I haven't had to do that yet) but try. The worst they'll do is decline the coupon. Misinformed cashiers can be every where and at every store.

As for coupons and Walmarts, I don't know why some people have such a hard time with it. Maybe it's because the Walmarts in their area have had issues with fraudulent coupons. Who knows? All I can say is, try. Be kind. Be understanding. You know the adage, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. ;)


(Source of Eggos coupon tip: Couponing to Disney)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Walmart clearances

Walmart is having some huge clearances going on now. I'm not sure if it's at all Walmarts or not, but at least 2 in my area have some amazing deals.

I was able to find:
  • laptop backpacks & outdoor backpacks for $10 (down from $25) great for those with school kids who'll need backpacks come Fall
  • hydration packs (similar to Camelbak) for $15 down from $19.96
  • neoprene collapsible lunch bags for $2
  • Wolverine Electronic Battle Claw for $3 down from $21 (they're $16.49 each on Amazon)
  • Newborn Elmos for $1!
  • Vtech V.Smile Motion Active Learning System for $10! They're normally $40-$60
  • SuperSoaker water guns pack of 2 for $1
  • plush bathroom hand towels $2.50 ea
  • DC superhero action figures for $3.50
  • Marvel Heroscapes or $15
  • toddler ride on toys for $10
  • tons of How to Train My Dragon tons on clearance

Plus there were tons more stuff including outdoor camping & fishing gear that I didn't really look at. In one Walmart there was an aisle of clearance toys clearly marked, at another, they were all thrown in carts towards the front of the store. Things like the backpacks were back by the camping gear. Some stuff were down right steals others, while still a good price, aren't "ridiculous" bargains. I've noticed that mark down prices also varies by store. For example, the backpacks were $10 at one store, $15 at another. Still it's worth a look. Happy shopping!