(Update: All three defendants were ultimately sentenced to 50 hours each of community service and ordered to pay restitution. Dalton’s sum was $614.92, Bailey’s was $626.95 and Heath, the cashier, was ordered to pay back a total of $2,267.97.) Some enterprising coupon counterfeiters have apparently learned that it doesn’t matter if your coupons look real – if you get a[Read More…]
Halloween is three months from today – so what are you waiting for? Better head to your local grocery store and start stocking up on candy! “Holiday creep” has made its way into the dead of summer, as there are several reports of Halloween candy displays going up in supermarkets. Joe found some at a grocery store in Vermont. Cliff[Read More…]
Hope you enjoyed it these past few years, because “extreme couponing” is apparently dead. At least that’s according to a couple of new reports, which say marketers have managed to turn “extreme couponing” into just plain “couponing” again. Well, it was fun while it lasted. The pair of mid-year coupon reports, from NCH Marketing and Inmar, show that manufacturers have[Read More…]
In its ubiquitous receipt-comparison ad campaign, Walmart targets dozens of regional supermarkets and national drug store chains, in an effort to show that the typical shopper can save more by shopping at Walmart. But have you ever seen Walmart compare itself with Target? It hasn’t happened. Perhaps that’s because a new study shows that Target may be winning the “Walmart[Read More…]
The last thing the world needed, and the last thing Mary Potter Kenyon wanted to write, was another “how-to” coupon book. Because it’s not the “how”, but the “why” that has long fascinated her. Why did coupons first come into existence? Why do some marketers have a love-hate relationship with them? And why are some people drawn to, even obsessed[Read More…]
Everyone loves a good popularity contest. Which is why, as you may have read this week, media outlets pounced on a survey that proclaimed Trader Joe’s the most popular grocery store in the country. Some even gleefully pointed out that Walmart was ranked as the “worst”. But the truth, as they say, is a little more complicated. The fact remains[Read More…]
As mentioned last week, when there were no inserts at all (read: “Why Are There No Sunday Coupons This Week?”), it will be a big weekend for coupons this time around. You should find five coupon inserts this weekend – two each from SmartSource and RedPlum, with a P&G insert as well. Here’s a preview of all the coupons you[Read More…]
Those looking to buy and sell coupons online have one less option on where to do it. Shortly after eBay announced new restrictions on the sale of manufacturer’s coupons (read: “eBay Cracks Down on Coupon Sales”), the online shopping site eCRATER decided to ban the practice altogether. The lesser-known shopping site suddenly became popular among eBay coupon sellers last week,[Read More…]
The good news for southern supermarket shoppers is that Belle Foods has reversed its decision to close several stores and hold going-out-of-business sales. The bad news is, it’s instead decided to sell off all of its stores. Could it be that the owners saw dollar signs when another southern supermarket chain sold for nearly two and a half billion dollars,[Read More…]
When coupon use declined sharply last year, many observers (some, gleefully) declared it was the end of the era of extreme couponing. It was just a fad, a phase, and we would all just go find a new hobby. But perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the coupons themselves last year were lousy. Manufacturers don’t print[Read More…]
