Redemption of Online/Internet Coupons at Your Local Stores

Many of you have written to me about having "issues"

redeeming internet coupons. Some store policies include NOT

accepting them. I have been fortunate to have had success

in redeeming my coupons locally but I want to give you some

HELP for those that cannnot.

SOME STORES do not accept ANY coupons other than their own.

the list of stores that do not accept them in my area that I

wish they did are

BIG LOTS

SAMS CLUB

SALVAGE BARN

*********they opt out because it would take employee hours

to sort and send them in, plus coupon fraud etc they state

that they do not make enough profit to warrent this....... I

do not shop at these stores often because of this for

groceries and health & beauty products, I can get a better

deal else-where on most items! These stores are not WRONG

for what they do, just are not condusive to my needs.

There is such thing as COUPON FRAUD and some stores are

saying they are not accepting internet coupons due to this.

There are articles on the net about this situation and one

site that sends letters to the stores asking them NOT to

accept the coupons from the net.

The following is an article about WHY stores choose not to

accept internet coupons

[http://www.ag.state.ar.us/consumer/ca199.htm]

The following article talks about the MONEY LOST per year

due to ALL COUPON FRAUD

[http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/feb03/121476.asp]

The following url is an info site about Coupons & Coupon

Fraud, they prosecute people who misuse and abuse

coupons....... they ALSO send out faxes to store

headquarters about Internet Coupon issues.

[http://www.cents-off.com/faq.htm]

NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS IS A CONCERN FOR COMPANIES and WHY

some are choosing NOT to be involved! Coupon FRAUD is not

limited to INTERNET but is ACROSS THE BOARD! ALL of the

coupon activity is open to the ABUSE that occurs, THIS IS

WHY FREELANCEBYU.COM ACTIVILY FIGHTS and TALKS AGAINST abuse

and misuse of offers by companies, WE WANT THE SAVINGS TO

CONTINUE AND BE HELPFUL not hurtful to the companies!

NOW THAT WE KNOW WHY, lets work on how we can CHANGE THAT!

HERE is a recent article about coupon usage and the GROWING

USE OF INTERNET COUPONS! "COUPON CLICKERS" THIS IS

ENCOURAGING!

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003631

There are MANY STORES (MOST OF THEM) that have their own

WEBSITES (why? because they know that the internet is

powerful and helpful to the consumers, CONSUMERS are what

keeps them in business!)

MY LOCAL GROCERY AND PROBABLY YOURS TOO......

At FOOD LION (my local) there is ADS on their RADIO in the

store that tells the consumers to go to SMARTSOURCE.COM for

coupons, in addition they send out THEIR OWN internet

coupons! NOW if your store participates in these practices

(advertising on the net, online newsletter, ads about online

coupons coming from speakers in their stores etc etc) HOW

CAN THEY NOT ACCEPT WHAT THEY ARE PART OF?

KROGER & FRIENDS also have internet sites, and they also

participate in UPONS (internet coupons) http://www.upons.com

ALL of their stores are listed here, and SHOULD ACCEPT THE

FORM OF ADVERTISING THAT THEY, THEMSELVES pay to promote!

MOST of the larger companies utilize the growing internet

coupon resources to cut their own expenses! AFTER ALL they

are providing the savings, but NOT PAYING for printing,

paper and distribution! THIS IS A GREAT SAVINGS TO THEM

when we print out our own coupons and seek them on the net,

so this is the WAVE OF THE FUTURE, WHY SHOULDNT IT BE, same

results , same savings to the consumer, LESS COST to the

manufacturer! NOW..................

HERE IS A STORE NOT IN MY AREA THAT IS ROCKING WITH COUPONS

ON THE CUTTING EDGE! YEA BABY!

http://www.morningnewsbeat.com/archives/2002/10/25.html

PublixDirect To Begin Accepting Coupons

PublixDirect, the online arm of Publix Super Markets,

announced that it will begin accepting manufacturer coupons

from consumers shopping over the Internet.

The service, which launched in 2001 and says it has now made

200,000 deliveries, said it was responding to consumer

demand in making the change. It had hoped to wait to accept

coupons until online coupons became a currency of choice,

but consumers forced the retailer’s hand.

PublixDirect personnel collect the coupons while making

deliveries, with the value credited to their account for

their next online purchase.

KC's View: Granted, taking paper coupons at this point in

the development of e-grocery services can be cumbersome.

Let’s call it what it is: a pain in the…neck.

But it seems to us that to not accept coupons is to make a

strategic error, because it creates a differential

disadvantage for such services. The whole point of online

grocery shopping, it seems to us, is not to separate it from

the brick-and-mortar experience, but rather to make it just

another avenue through which to do regular shopping. It

works when it is considered mainstream and integrated, not

when it is separated by different policies.

DO A SEARCH for your local store

(use one of the contest search engines when you do, who

knows maybe you will win something while doing your

research, check out the WINNING section of our FORUM and you

will see that I have won LOTZ from using this method!

YESTERDAY I won $35 in Gift Certificates doing this!)

put in your store name that does not accept internet coupons

if you chose WALMART you will see that they do not run

weekly ads on the internet for groceries that I can find and

have a policy NOT to take internet coupons, I am not sure

there is anything we can do about WALMART (it is non-union

and appears to have pull in many ways, including the ability

to be successful JUST BECAUSE and not because it offers

excellent customer service or the best prices) the best

thing that walmart does is MEET COMPETITORS PRICING so that

you can get all of the sale prices in one place, but the

aggrevation of dealing with walmart is not worth it to me.

IF THIS IS THE ONLY LOCAL STORE YOU HAVE GO FOR IT.......

otherwise my suggestion is CHOOSE ANOTHER STORE!

NOW that you have found your store ONLINE and their weekly

ads etc, find out their WRITTEN POLICY ABOUT COUPONS, does

it specifically say NO INTERNET COUPONS? DO THEY SEND OUT

INTERNET COUPONS THEMSELVES? DO they allow advertisers to

talk about their internet coupons ? BETTY CROCKER,

PILLSBURY, SMARTSOURCE, UPONS etc.......... if they do this

needs to be brought to their attention! NOW!

I have included all of my stores that accept internet

coupons without question and a copy of the inquiry I sent

the ONLY time I have had issue with internet coupons and the

POSITIVE response I rec'vd as well. I have also written and

included a more updated FORM LETTER that you can feel free

to use below it............please change the XXXXXX'S to

reflect your own personal information when using this

letter..........hopefully this letter will be effective and

will help change the companies mind about their current

policies......if not, what did it hurt to try? FEEL FREE to

use any of the resources I have mentioned ANYWHERE in this

letter in your own letter as well..... my form letter is

just an EXAMPLE .......... YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN!

HERE ARE THE STORES IN MY LOCAL AREA THAT HAVE ACCEPTED

INTERNET COUPONS from me:

Dollar General

IGA

Food Lion

Walgreens

CVS

Kroger

Rite Aid

Eckerds

Ukrops

I have had one issue with denial of a coupon at DOLLAR

GENERAL, a quick note to the company confirms they DO accept

the coupons and they would "fix" the issue. Here is the

corrospondance:

MY LETTER TO DOLLAR GENERAL CUSTOMER SERVICE was sent

through PLANET FEEDBACK http://www.planetfeedback.com

I sent my daughter to the store with $1.00 coupon that was

sent to me by GENERAL MILLS via email for their LUCKY CHARMS

cereal... she attempted to use it at your store and was told

that they could not accept coupons that were printed out as

it appeared "copied" this coupon was completely valid and

SCANNED just fine on your register. My daughter was

HORRIFIED and EMBARRASSED by this experience. We frequently

shop at your store because ofconvenience (area wise) even

though we would prefer a credit card accepting store which

is just a few minutes down the road that I redeemed this

VERY SAME COUPON with the same day , with a SMILE

AND A THANK YOU! with the growing use of internet service

around the globe you would think that most stores would rise

to the growing technology and accept VALID MANUFACTURER

COUPONS from the internet. If this is not rectified my

family will not mind a bit going 2 more minutes away from

home to spend our dollars.

THEIR RESPONSE:

Thank you for your e-mail.

At Dollar General, we place a premium on customer service.

Please be assured that the situation in Powhatan will be

immediately investigated and addressed. Your e-mail has

provided us with an opportunity to adhere to our mission -

serving others - and we sincerely appreciate that. We

apologize for how this experience made you feel and welcome

any opportunity we have to serve you in the future. You are

a valued customer here at Dollar General.

WE DO ACCEPT COUPONS, INCLUDING INTERNET COUPONS and the

problem will be addressed immediately

Kind regards,

Crystal Cantrell

Customer Correspondence Representative,

Customer Relations

FORM LETTER

***I have had success using http://www.planetfeedback.com and do

suggest you use that venue to make sure that the letter goes

to the RIGHT PERSON and is getting viewed PUBLICLY ......

TO: XYZ GROCERY OR DRUGSTORE

FROM: YOU THE CONSUMER

I have been a customer of yours for (XXXX amount of time)

and like your store for the following reasons

XXXXX

YYYYY

ZZZZZZ

I have recently visited your store, to buy several items and

this included XXXXXX product. I presented the cashier with

a coupon for this proudct from XXXXX manufacturor who in

good faith is promoting their products on the internet and

offering a savings to their loyal internet consumers.

THIS WAS MY EXPERIENCE:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

THE INTERNET and PROMOTIONS on the internet are the wave of

the present and the future. It is shocking that a company

such as yours, believes in the power of the internet, which

is evident in your own use of this tool, yet does not allow

me to take advantage of its resources!

here is your own internet site

http://www.XXXXX.com (example http://www.foodlion.com)

here is your own use of internet coupons

http://www.XXXXX.com (example: http://www.upons.com )

here is an example of a product you promote that offers

online coupons

http://www.XXXXX.com (example bettycrocker.com)

With the growing use of the internet (almost everyone these

days has online access) it is surprising and disappointing

that I was denied this right to use these savings in your

store from LEGITIMATE RESOURCES!

I understand that you may be concerned about "fraud" with

this type of coupon, but did you know that there is fraud

with all types of coupons, not just the internet coupon? Are

you aware that fraud occurs in every company and that you

can deduct your losses from your gains on your taxes? AND I

BELIEVE that if you accept ALL coupons your gains will

INCREASE because you will have more customers ! READ THIS

ARTICLE FOR REFERENCE

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003631

THANK YOU for reading my letter, it is my hope that you will

DISCONTINUE this practice which is both ARCHAIC and

DISAPPOINTING to the TECHY SAVVY SHOPPERS That would love to

continue being your customer if this change occurs!

PLEASE KEEP MY INFORMATION and LET ME KNOW when and if you

are changing your policy to reflect the wave of the FUTURE

and ENCOURAGING internet customers to frequent your stores.

SINCERELY

XXXXXXX (your name)

XXXXX@EMAIL.com (your email address)

XXXXX *PHONE #

XXXXXXXXXX (ADDRESS)

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Coupon Savings - Is it Worth My Time?

O.K. let's face it; few people want to sit around clipping coupons in order to save a few bucks at the grocery store. I mean, if I manage to save $5 this week through my efforts, is this worth my time? The true answer should be no!

But if by going through those coupons you could save $100 a month or more, then would it be worth your time? The purpose of this article is to show you how taking the effort of using coupons can be worth your time.

I will show you this through vital time saving techniques. You will also learn how to avoid the number one mistake almost all people make when using coupons.

Try Not to do This!

The mistake that most grocery shoppers make when it comes to coupons is a very common 3 step process:

* Step 1: You receive your new coupons on Sunday and clip all the ones you think you will want to use.

* Step 2: You go shopping, and then you purchase the items with the coupons you clipped.

* Step 3: You throw out the other 50 or 60 coupons that you did not clip because you don't think you will want or need them anytime soon.

Why is this the Biggest Mistake?

Some people wonder how this can be the biggest couponing mistake. The truth is that there are many reasons why this couponing "norm" is the absolute biggest mistake you can make while using coupons.

Reason number 1

The first reason this is the biggest mistake is because of the concept of bad timing. Don't get me wrong, the grocery stores that carry these products will think that your timing is perfect.

Why is this? This is because the stores want you to use these coupons as soon as you get them. The grocery stores plan on you using your coupons within the first 10 days of receiving them. The store may even plan part of their weekly ad according to which coupons have come out.

A lot of work goes in to the weekly ads that the grocery stores create. They are constantly changing prices and thinking of new ways to catch your attention and get you in the door. Once they get you in the door, then there goal is to make as much money as they can.

The Items not on Sale

The grocery stores will rarely offer really great sales on the coupons that you just received on Sunday. Don't get me wrong, occasionally you will find a sale on for an item that just had a coupon come out, but it is usually just an average sale. Maybe this is what got you into the door!

As a power shopper, you will want to wait until an even better sale. I believe that many stores make sure that they do not offer great sales on certain items because they know you are probably going to use your coupon anyway.

They know that the average shopper uses their coupons within 10 days of receiving them in the local newspaper, and they will use this information to try to make as much money as possible.

So, you are drawn in to a store on let's say Thursday or Friday, maybe even Saturday because these are big grocery shopping days. Maybe you chose your store because of a few great deals they had in their ad.

You buy the good deals and then you go to use your coupons. You have a coupon for $1.00 off 2 boxes of Quaker granola bars for example. There doesn't happen to be a sale, but you still think that $2.99 a box is a reasonable price for granola bars. So you then buy them and with your coupon you buy 2 for $2.49 each. At the end of this transaction, the grocery store is making a very nice profit for two reasons.

* The first reason is because they sold you 2 boxes of granola bars that usually sell for only $2.50 per box at many stores

* The second reason is that they will be reimbursed from Quaker the $1.00 for the coupon plus a handling fee for accepting that coupon. In the end, the grocery store has received more than $3.00 for each box of those granola bars that usually only sell of $2.50 each.

Learn Timing

About once in every 12 weeks period is when you will find one of the lowest prices you can get for any given grocery item. When this happens you will be able to combine the coupons you receive with the absolute lowest prices for items that you normally buy.

How can I easily find the best deals? Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. That is what we are here for, to teach you these almost "unfair" shopping techniques, techniques that many stores probably wish you didn't know about! These are the technique that you will be able to use in order to at times almost effortlessly save more than 70% off of your grocery bill!

For right now, just remember that timing is everything with coupons. Almost everyone uses their coupons immediately, and you will very rarely see a great sale for an item the week that the coupon comes out.

Reason number 2

The second reason why the couponing "norm" is the biggest mistake you can make is because when you throw out any coupons that you do not think you will need anytime soon, you are basically throwing away money.

An example of this throwing away of money is when you throw out, for example, that $1.00 off Aquafresh toothpaste. You may easily think "I have 2 tubes of toothpaste, which is plenty to last me a while". But, with many items, like toothpaste, you will begin to learn as a power shopper that you can get these items absolutely free, but only when you decide to save your coupons.

The Time for Door Busters

It is usually about 1 month after the coupon comes out that a grocery store may decide to have a "door buster" sale on that item. Last time I used my $1.00 of Aquafresh toothpaste I was able to purchase about 8 tubes of the expensive type (the "teeth whitening" type that usually sells for $3.49) all for free! Why would you ever want to pay for certain items ever again if you could constantly get them for free?

If you want the freebies, do not throw away your coupons! I would hold on to your newest coupons for 8 months. I've seen coupons that have been good for that long. I was able to purchase yogurt for free for almost a whole year because the coupons did not expire for many months after they were issued.

Reason Number 3

There is a third reason why using the normal method of couponing is not a good idea. The reason is that you will consistently find yourself using coupons right away for brand-new items that have just hit the stores.

At times, the manufactures will offer a coupon to try the item absolutely free, and in this case, you are obviously good to go. My favorite is when Hershey's came out with the Hershey's Cacao Reserve chocolate and they gave coupons to receive this item absolutely free!

This rarely happens; the truth of the matter is that most companies will not let you try the item absolutely free at first. They will usually send out a really great coupon just when a new product hits the market. They trust that with a good coupon and a new product to try, that there is a high probability of you purchasing that product.

The Patterns with New Products

The companies usually follow a set pattern and this is where most people make a couponing mistake:

First: The company releases the new item simultaneously with a coupon. They request that the grocery stores keep the new item at retail pricing for a while, then after a couple of months, they will let the grocery stores put the new item on sale.

They request that the item is kept at retail price because of the simple fact that most people are willing to pay a slightly higher price with the introduction of an intriguing new product.

Second: After the "wave" of people that are willing to pay the introductory price has passed, the manufacturer then lowers the price or has it put on sale to allow for a second "wave" of people to try the new product. This second wave of people is the type of people that are willing to try the new product if the price is right. Almost nobody at this point still has the coupon that was issued months ago, almost everyone except you: the power shopper!

The manufacturers will continue to follow this same pattern so that they can get as many people to try their new product as possible. All you need to do is be patient and use your coupons when the price is low. The beauty of this whole system is that you will probably be able to try the new product for 1/4th of the cost or, at times, absolutely free!

Multiple Newspaper Subscriptions

Having multiple newspaper subscriptions is the easiest way of getting lots of free items from the grocery stores. When I receive free items, I do not get really excited if I only receive one of that item for free. When was the last time you jumped up and down for joy because you received a free can of soda at a community party? Exactly, you didn't.

But, if at the end of the party there are cases of sodas left over and you learn that they are free for the taking, then you get a lot more excited because you just scored $10 worth of free sodas!

That is the same idea when it comes to getting free items at your local grocery store: you should try to get as many as you can!

Every newspaper subscription you have gives you access to tons of grocery savings. We suggest having access to at least 3 sets of coupons every week. The easiest way to obtain 3 sets of coupons every week is through purchasing multiple newspaper subscriptions. These newspaper subscriptions are relatively cheap and are well worth the investment.

In our eBook we give you access to two great websites that will let you subscribe to almost all newspapers across the United States at 50% to 75% off, costing you usually around $1 per Sunday paper delivered to your door. We suggest purchasing the Sunday only editions of the newspaper because this is the day of the week where you will receive your coupons. Through comparing the prices on these two websites, you will be able to get the best deal on newspaper subscriptions!

Also in our eBook, "Saving Money through Power Shopping" we show you have to receive free access to a website that will show you where all of the current coupons are located, by category! This valuable resource perfectly implements the concept of timing. As an example, if you find a good deal on shampoo at a local store, all you need to do is type in shampoo and it shows you all of the current coupons to match that sale!

This valuable resource makes it so that you never again have to spend hours clipping and organizing your coupons! This program will always tell you which date, page, and publication to find the right coupon! This information along with other resources in our eBook make it so that you can start power shopping today!

Until next time!
Daniel Pereira
http://www.CouponstoFreeGroceries.com

Daniel Pereira is author of the book "Saving Money through Power Shopping: How to Immediately Save 40-70% on Your Grocery Bill." To learn about more grocery savings tools and techniques, visit his website at: http://www.CouponsToFreeGroceries.com

How to Use a Coupon and Tips - Coupons 101

First of all, what is "couponing"?

A lot of people don't understand how you can take a $0.50 off coupon and save so much money, get things for free, or even make money! It's possible, I do it all the time, and you can do it too. Here is the basic concept that has to be applied when using coupons: Only use a coupon when paired up with a sale! Here's an example of what this means:

If you have a coupon for $0.50 off Libby's Green beans and you take that to the store and pick up a can that is priced normally at $1.00, then you are going to pay $0.50 and therefore you will have only saved $0.50. NOW, lets say that you wait until you see those green beans go on sale for $0.50 (and they most likely will) then after your $0.50 coupon, you will get these for FREE! Also, if your stores double coupons, you will have just made $0.50 to go towards the rest of your order! So really, that's the secret to using coupons. I help make this easier for you by providing you with free lists of sales matched with coupons and post any good deals I find at stores with coupons.

You will find that you won't have to pay for many different necessities again! Such as, toothpaste, razors (even the nice ones), toothbrushes, deodorants, soaps and more! I remember when I first heard this and thought to myself "say what"?! Yes, this is very true and the stores you will be getting them for free from are Rite Aid, Walgreen's, & CVS!

Where do I get my coupons you ask? Well, there are MANY different places to get coupons...

? Sunday Newspaper - These are the mega coupon papers! You will want to get one (or more) every Sunday. They will have coupon inserts in them including Red Plum (RP), Smart Source (SS), Proctor & Gamble (P&G). Occasionally you will get bonus inserts including, General Mills (GM), Target and more.
? Printable Coupons (from the Internet) - My favorite sites to print coupons from are Coupons.com, Red Plum, Smart Source, and Target (yes, they have coupons)!
? Magazines - All You Magazine is a great one to get. You can find these at Walmart or you can get a subscription here. It is full of manufacturer coupons. Also, the Parents magazine is a great one that has good coupons for parents such as, Gymboree, Amazon diapers and more.
? Products you purchase - Keep in mind that on a lot of boxes of items you buy, there are coupons! For example, my box of Tide Laundry Detergent had $4 in coupons in the inside cardboard.
? Tear Pad or Blinkie - these are found in the Grocery stores and have coupons on them that you can take.
? Peelie - Coupon sticker found on the outside of a product.
? Catalina - These will print on the back of your receipt or with your receipt and usually for an item similar to something you purchased.
? Coupon Trains - Consider circulating and trading coupons via mail with family & friends.

Tips before hitting up the stores!

? Start out slowly and don't plan on getting in on every single deal or it will all feel overwhelming! When I first started, I would find a good deal and go out and get it but I found I was doing this way too often and really just using a lot of gas. Understand that you don't need to get every deal.
? Be organized! I shop one day a week and the night before my shopping day, I get my lists ready and coupons together. I choose Sunday because you will see that on Saturday I post the coupon matched lists and Sunday is when the new ads start (for drugstores where you will find a ton of great deals).
? Figure out a way that best suites you to organize your coupons. This is so important because if your coupons are not organized, you are going to get stressed out when you can't find certain coupons and using coupons to save money is going to take a lot more time. You can go to my Organizing section here to watch my video and read about the way I organize my coupons.
? Print out Store Coupon Policies, (which you can do here) and I highly recommend this in case you have a problem with a cashier honoring your coupons. If you have your store policy with you, you can just pull it out and it will make things a lot easier for you. Not saying you will have problems, but sometimes there are cashiers out there that feel like they are doing something wrong when you are getting items for free or close to it.
? Get your store's weekly ad circular. You can also view it online or it will come in the mail so that way you can match the items on sale with your coupons.
? Only purchase the items on your list!! Doing this alone will always save you money....unless of course you find a freebie!
? Here's an important one...Sometimes a smaller sized item is a better deal! Some coupons don't have a size restriction (these are my favorite) so therefore you may be able to get that item in the travel section for FREE and if you have several coupons, you can stock up!
? Brand Loyalty is a no-no! Be willing to try out new products that you have coupons for. I use to never do this before using coupons and now that I do, I have actually found a lot of things I really like that I normally wouldn't have tried.
? Overage = AWESOME! Understand what overage is and that it can dramatically lower your grocery bill. Lets say a product is on sale for $1 and you have a coupon for $2/1 for that item. After using your coupon, you will get $1 in overage, which will then be applied to the balance of your order! Do you see how that can really lower your balance...it's like getting paid to shop! Note: Some stores don't allow for overage.

Strategic Uses of Different Types of Coupons

There are various different types of coupons presented in the marketplace, all to achieve the main goals of more sales, and higher margins of profits. The various coupon strategies entice potential customers to try something new, get a discount on a regularly used product, and make an impulse purchase while shopping in the store.

Free Printable Coupons:
The newest form of coupon that requires a computer, an internet provider, a printer and paper. These coupons attract "surfers" looking for deals on the internet. These coupons are also available to be emailed to a friend or relative, and even texted to a mobile phone. The strategy works well and has evolved to the "coupon code" where you do not have to download an offer, just enter a discount code in a box and press enter.

Discount Coupons:
These coupons are normally found in your mail box or the newspaper. They are the traditional form of coupon and are often found in a mailed envelope shared by companies who want to save money on postage. (I think it just went up 2 cents again! Will this ever end?) These coupons are often supplied by both new local and national businesses looking to build market share.

Name Brand Coupons:
These coupons offer the user the best of both worlds. When redeemed you get a well advertised product at a discount. These coupons are most often found in the "Notorious" Sunday newspaper, where coupon hunts usually make the hunter money, more than enough to pay for the effort involved and the increasingly high cost of local and national newspapers. These coupons are all over the internet, most often as coupon codes, as in recent years, both newspaper advertising, and circulation has declined.

Manufacturer Coupons:
These coupons are found on specific websites, in the mail and often in large discount stores, such as Costco, or Walmart. These coupons usually have a higher value, and can save you a ton of money, depending on the product and the discount offer being made. Always be on the lookout for manufacturer coupons.

Shopping Coupons:
These are normally the coupons that are found in attractive locations in the store, to get you to try something and buy on impulse. Impulse buying goes against the grain of the disciplined coupon shopper, who comes into a store loaded with specific discounts, with a pre-planned shopping list. And that is the strategic purpose of these coupons. To get you to do something you normally would not do.

Free Sample Coupons:
They are exactly what they sound like. Everyone likes something for nothing, but the underlying idea is to get you to try the product, and more often then not come back another day and buy it. Unfortunately, free sample coupons used to come in the mail, and with the constant postage increases, you do not seem them as much anymore.

Exclusive Coupons:
These coupons are usually for products that you regularly buy. They are offered as a bonus or reward to loyal, repeat customers. These coupons are usually mailed to your home or business with a thank you letter. In the last few year, the exclusive coupons have taken the shape of a plastic gift card that can be redeemed the next time you make a purchase for a specific amount.

These are just some of the strategies and triggers that sellers employ when they decide to distribute coupons. Regardless of the strategy and tactics involved, the consumer benefits from the specific coupon distribution program.

Stretch Your Budget by Clipping Grocery Coupons

I used to think clipping and saving grocery coupons wasn't worth my time. While trying to figure ways to stretch my grocery budget, I reconsidered my opinion and gave it a try. I'm certainly happy that I did. In the past few months alone, I've saved well over $100 on my grocery costs. This was accomplished by redeeming coupons and being a savvy shopper. Here are some helpful tips to use so you can benefit from redeeming grocery coupons, too.

Modern technology has made it easy to find manufacturers coupons to use. Newspapers are still a valuable source for finding coupons, especially the Sunday edition newspaper, but now you can print coupons right at home from free coupon sites found on the internet. Many manufacturers now offer free coupons on coupon printing sites. It's as easy as printing out your favorite coupons and going shopping.

Try searching for "printable grocery coupons" in any search engine. You will get search results for a great many sites offering printable coupons. You will be able to find coupons for products ranging from household cleansers to prepackaged lunch meats to breakfast cereals. The majority of free coupon sites will limit you to one or two prints of each coupon, but this is well worth your while.

These sites update their offerings on a regular basis. Be sure to check back often to see what new coupons are available for your use. Bookmark your favorite coupon printing sites when you first find them. This will make it much easier to check for updates without searching for them all over again.

You can find even more online coupons by searching for a coupon on a specific product. Loads of manufacturers offer coupons to print on their own websites. This works best when searching for a brand name and the type of product you are interested in. For example, try searching for "French's mustard". While you are at the manufacturer's website, go ahead and sign up for their newsletter so you don't miss out on future savings.

Shop at grocery stores that double coupons. Many stores will double coupons on a certain day of the week, if not all week long. This really helps you reap the most benefits from your coupons. Many large grocery chains offer doubling coupons up to 50 cents value. This allows you to save a dollar instead of just half a dollar.

Watch for handy coupon ticket machines located in the grocery aisles while shopping. You can often find coupons for products you already use. This may also prompt you to try a brand new product, which is what the manufacturer had in mind to begin with. You may as well get a bargain when you try it.

Be on the alert for products with peel off coupons right on their label. Sometimes you will find cents off coupons to use, or on occasion even buy one product, get another one free. This can go a long way towards stretching your grocery budget.

Keeping up with weekly sales is a must. Read the weekly sales circulars that come in your newspaper and mailbox. When you find an item that you are interested in on sale, have a quick look to see if you have a coupon that you can use. You can often get a sales item for next to no cost when you apply a coupon to the purchase. This works great when shopping on a double coupon day. If you don't want to wait for the ad circulars to arrive in your newspaper or mailbox, you can usually find them online. Most large chain grocers have their weekly sales ad circular on their websites for easy viewing.

Use your coupons before their expiration date. This is easily accomplished by organizing your coupons into categories, keeping the coupons expiring earliest located toward the front. This may seem harder than it really is, but once you start clipping and saving coupons, you will soon find the method that works best for you. This may be as simple as keeping your coupons in an envelope to carry with you when shopping.

Writing a grocery list can't be stressed enough. If you have a coupon for an item on your list, be sure to write down the amount of the coupon next to the item. This will help you make certain to get the most money savings. It's a sad feeling to arrive home and realize you had a coupon for an item you just bought, but forgot to use it.

When you put a coupon item into your grocery cart, take out the coupon each time. This will allow you to have all of your redeemable coupons ready to give to the cashier when you reach the checkout register. It also helps makes certain that any possible savings aren't overlooked. Try to make this a habit. Not only will you save the most money, but it will also save you time.

Ordering Coupons Online Can Save You Money

One way of saving money with coupons is to pickup your local newspaper in order to get the weekly coupons insert. But there is another way, and that is ordering them online.

One way of saving money with coupons is to pickup your local newspaper in order to get the weekly coupons insert. This really isn't news to anyone, but it's probably the most widely used method of gathering up coupons. Once you figure in the price of the newspaper, compared to how much money you can save...it's worth doing it. You can also ask friends and family that get the newspaper if they use the coupons. If they don't, they are usually more than willing to give them away since the coupons will typically be thrown away anyways.

One drawback to getting the newspaper is that you never know what coupons will be in it, and if they're for the items you will use. I've picked up a newspaper a number of times, and there were only a few coupons I could really use. So getting the newspaper sometimes can be a "hit/miss" situation.

The newspaper is not the only way you can obtain coupons. There are a few Websites out there where you can order the coupons you want and will actually use when you go shopping. I know the concept seems strange and you're probably thinking, "Why should I order coupons when I can get them free?" Technically, if you purchase the newspaper for the coupons they are not free.

Ordering coupons and paying a small service can still save you money in the long run. Let's take a look at how the savings add up. For example, let's say you spent $10.00 and ordered 25 coupons all with a face value under $1.00. If you use all the coupons, that's an automatic discount savings of $25.00. Now you have to subtract what you spent when you ordered the coupons, which is the $10.00. The total savings is now $15.00, which is pretty good. Looking at from this perspective, you really got your money back in grocery savings that you would have normally spent anyways.

The above example is a pretty good savings, but it gets better. Because you ordered coupons all under $1.00 face value, many grocery stores will double coupons up to $1.00! Using the above example, this brings your savings up to $50.00 that's a substantial savings!

Here are a few tips you can use when ordering coupons:

** Order only what coupons you are going to use. Some sites will allow you to order up to 50 coupons at one time with flat rate service fee. 50 coupons is a lot and you may or may not end up using them all. If you have a friend that also uses coupons, maybe you could split the coupons and costs between the two of you.

** Choose coupons with a $1.00 face value or less. Many stores double coupons and you can double your savings.

** Some sites charge a handling fee per coupon on top of other fees; do the math to see how much you will be saving before placing your order.

** Check expiration dates. The farther off the expiration date is gives you more time to use it.

** Watch for sales! You can save even more money if the product you have a coupon for goes on sale. Here's a quick example. I had a coupon for 55 cents off dry cereal. The cereal was on sale for $1.67, the store doubled the coupon and I only paid 57 cents for a name brand box of cereal!

** Check more than one store for sales. If you live where more than one grocery store is in close proximity, you can plan your shopping list to buy specific items at different stores using your coupons.

Using these tips, a little planning and ordering your coupons wisely, you can save up anywhere from 50% - 70% on your monthly grocery bill!

Michelle is the webmaster of Coupon Emporium (http://www.couponemporium.com) which provides coupons, printable coupons and coupon codes from across the web.

How to Save Money With Coupons, Rebates and Rainchecks

Coupons 101

Have you always wanted to save money and get free items but never understood the whole concept of couponing?

If you're like most people, you've tried couponing and maybe found that it was too much work to save 10 cents on occasional items. Or maybe you came to the conclusion you can buy store brand items for cheaper than using coupons on brand name items. Perhaps you couldn't find coupons for the products you most use and decided couponing wasn't for you. Once you understand the concept, and apply the techniques, you'll be amazed at how quickly you become addicted to the coupon game.

I started couponing and freebie chasing out of the need to be thriftier, but once I caught the coupon bug I was hooked. I get a rush walking out of a store with $100 in items and paying only pocket change, there's nothing like the thrill of opening the mailbox and finding free items or coupons for free items. Being thrifty is both fun and rewarding at the same time and I consider the money I save as a 'job'. Being able to feed my family on pennies and receiving such items as paper goods, food, and personal items for virtually free really adds up and is a lucrative way to free up cash in a monthly budget.

Now I can't fib and say couponing isn't time consuming, it does take some small amounts of effort to reap the results but once you get organized and into the flow, getting free stuff will quickly become a way of life. In fact, you'll probably look back and kick yourself for all money you've paid for things you can get for Free!

Types of Coupons

There are generally two kinds of paper coupons, manufacturer coupons and store coupons. Many stores will allow you to use both a manufacture coupon in conjunction with a valid store coupon. This is where the big savings come in as the key to saving money with coupons is to combine the coupon with a store coupon, or Catalina sale to double your savings.

Manufacturer Coupons are easily found in the Sunday newspaper, on product packaging, on tear pads next to the product, or mailed from the manufacturer. Manufacturer coupons can also be printed on the Internet from both websites and email and can be used at any store that sells the product in the coupon.

Store Coupons -These type of in store coupons can only be used at the particular store offering the savings, in this case it's Walgreens.

Catalina Coupons -Another type of coupon is a Catalina. These types of coupons come out of the register with your receipt when you make a particular purchase. Catalina coupons can be for $$ off your next order, or can be for money off a particular product. Catalina coupons are in store coupons and can only be used at that particular store.

An avid couponer's dream is finding a deal to use all 3 types of coupons at once on a particular product. These opportunities come up quite often which is a great opportunity to end up with the product for Free. This is a great time to stockpile. Stockpiling can become quite addictive!

Help! How can I organize all these coupons?

I've found several different ways to organize my coupons and all work effectively depending on individuals needs. The most common method is the Zippered 3 ring Binder. This consists of using 9 slot baseball card holds in conjunction with dividers. Coupons can be easily folded and slid into the slots and arranged by category to create a neat way of seeing what coupons you have at a glance. This method is an effective way to keep organized and quickly find what you're looking for. The only downside to this method is the binders tend to get quite heavy and bulky to carry around.

Another method I found is to use small photo albums. I like this method because you can have a separate album for each category. There's really not a need to tote around coupons for frozen goods, meats, or fast food restaurants when visiting a store like Walgreens or CVS. I found it effective to use 3 albums. One album for 'drugstores', one for 'fast food and retail,' and the other for 'groceries'. The downside to this method is the coupons aren't in separate slots as in the binder method and photo albums tend to be a little less organized.

Another easy organizing way to keep your coupons is the file box or accordion coupon holder. This method allows for coupons to be separated into categories only. For the novice couponer, this method is definitely the most frustrating as it takes a lot of fumbling around trying to locate a particular coupon while standing in a store.

Choose a method or coupon organization that's right for you. Most people start out with a accordion style, then move up to the album or binder method as their coupon collection grows. If you're really a coupon beginner, or novice, but still find yourself struggling to remembering to bring the coupons to the store with you to try out this couponing adventure, you just might be starting out with this and a wad of carefully clipped coupons hanging out of your front pocket:

Whatever method you chose, enjoy your savings, and free stuff and beware, couponing is addictive! Now head on over to our rebate page to learn how make your pennies go even further!

Rebates and Rainchecks - Are They Really Worth it?

The answer is an astounding YES. Rebates and rain checks go hand in hand with coupons and can help you reap huge savings on a product, or if you play your hand right you can get a lot of stuff FREE when you wait for the right moment and combine all your options.

Let's talk about rebates first. Rebates are a way for the manufacturer to temporarily lower the price of a product, without actually lowering the price on the shelf. Rebates can be a great money saving tool, and often the amount of savings can be large to the consumer. A couponer quickly learns that by combining coupons and rebates, many times the result is a free product, or even being paid to take the product!

Just like coupons, there are two different types of rebates, manufacturer rebates and store rebates. Both types require the consumer to purchase the product at full price, and then receive an amount of cash back at a later date. Manufacturer rebates on a product require the consumer to fill out a form, and send the form along with proof of purchase, usually a register receipt and bar code from the product. The form is mailed to the manufacturer who in turn sends the consumer a check in the mail about the 4-12 weeks later.

A store rebate works along the same lines as a manufacturer rebates. Many popular supermarket and drugstore chains offer a variety of rebates on specific items and most rebate sales last a month long. These days it's fairly easy to redeem store rebates and many store chains now offer electronic recording and submitting of rebates. Walgreens for example, just requires the consumer to log into the Walgreens site and enter the receipt number for the eligible product. At the end of the promotion period, the consumer will receive cash back and in most cases the store will add an extra 10% if the consumer agrees to have their payments sent to a gift card.

Example 1

Suppose your favorite mascara is normally $7.99 at Walgreens and you happen to get your grubby hands on a few coupons for $3.00 off which are sitting in your coupon binder just waiting for the right week to plop them down. Then Walgreens happens to offer a $7.99 rebate (making them free), that would be the week to whip out your coupons and get PAID $3 to take the mascara home with you.

Now let's talk about Rainchecks. Rainchecks are your friend. Soon you'll find yourself scouring the store shelves for things you don't need in hopes to score a raincheck, or 2. If a store offers a sale, or other discount on a product and happen to run out, then they must issue you a raincheck for the product. Basically a raincheck is a promise to give you that product, at today's sale price, at some time in the future when it is restocked. Most companies will give you a raincheck for 5 of the product - but, you can keep going back during the sale and get as many rainchecks as you wish. Once you hop on the raincheck bandwagon, you'll find your binder bursting with rainchecks neatly folded behind the coupons.

Rainchecks can be 2 fold, you can use them in addition to your coupons to jack up your savings, or you can simply use them to get the staples that you buy every week at a continued discounted price. When you eventually end up with a handful of rainchecks for items you purchase regularly the savings can be astronomical. Suppose your family love Hunts Spaghetti sauce, it's the only sauce you would normally buy. One week your store puts the sauce on sale for a remarkably discounted price. If you hit up a few stores in the chain, or wait till the last day of the sale, your bound to see the shelves empty of the Hunts sauce sooner or later.. that's when you hit up the store for a raincheck. They will issue you a piece of paper good for up to 5 Hunts Sauce at any future date for the price of todays sale. If you get yourself several of the rain checks, you can be sure to keep yourself well stocked up in that particular sauce for weeks, or months to come at the discounted price. Now add in your coupons, which you can use in addition to the raincheck, and woola, your now able to feed your family your favorite sauce for a long time and never pay the 'normal' price. If you do this for all your staples, you will see your grocery bill go down down down and in conjunction with your coupons you'll end up with a lot of stuff free, or nearly free!

Remember - Rain checks and Rebates are your friend and go hand in hand with coupons.

Happy Saving!

Dawn Rice shares daily Freebies, Contests and Coupons at [http://www.Thriftydayz.com]

Couponing 101 - Saving Money Clipping Coupons

You've probably stood in a checkout line behind someone who has a coupon for every item they've purchased, and it seems like eternity until they are finished. But, they probably saved over 50% to 80% off their grocery bill in that few minutes!

How, you ask?

If you want to try your hand at snipping scissors for savings, first you need the coupons! The best source for coupons is in the Sunday newspapers. The inserts are tucked in the middle with the advertisements.

With the cost of a Sunday paper usually ranging from $1.50 - $2.00, it is a good investment with sometimes hundreds of dollars worth of coupons. And can you believe most people throw them away? Ask your friends, relatives and neighbors to save the inserts for you. Be on the lookout for businesses that subscribe and leave papers around for customers to read (i.e. Gas Stations, Laundry Mats). Check recycling bins. "Dumpster dive" if you have to.

On Monday, ask your newspaper carrier and stores if they have any leftover Sunday papers that didn't sell. Vendors usually only have to send in certain parts of the newspaper (i.e. the heading) of those that didn't sell to get credit for unsold papers. But they still have the coupons inside!

Unfortunately around Holidays, coupon inserts aren't as plentiful. So, you may want to check the Newspaper in the Newsstand on Mother's Day before searching the couch cushions for pocket change. And not all Sunday newspapers carry the same inserts. Some may have one, and another three. And even if they carry the same inserts, the amounts of the coupons may be different! It is common that coupons have a higher dollar value in an urban area over a rural area.

More ways to obtain coupons is directly from the manufacturers. Call the toll-free number on your favorite brands asking for coupons. Telling them first how much you like their product is a good introduction to your plea. Most will be happy to mail you coupons. Also check out to see if the product has a website. Email them or use their contact form to inquire. Don't forget to include your mailing address.

Look over your empty canned goods labels and boxed food items before throwing them in the trash. Usually you can find a toll-free number to call (see above) on the package. Some packages also adorn their own coupons good on their next purchase. And many companies are now participating in Boxtops for Education and Campbell's Labels for Education, so take a second to cut out the little symbol for the school of your choice. Those 10? add up fast when many people save, and all schools, public and private alike, appreciate them.

Also look for "hang-tags" on items in the store. Some will say "Save $$$ now" and if you read the print, it does not have to be used on only that certain item. Look for hangtags on wine, as some offer $$$ off soda, meat or produce, with NO alcohol purchase required.

Another plan to acquire coupons is to beg, borrow or steal from other couponers. Ok, maybe not steal. Barter. If you don't know any coupon locales, you can meet them through Refund/Coupons Magazines and Internet Chat Boards. It is prohibited to actually sell coupons, but you can "purchase" coupons from Coupon Services who charge a "handling fee" per coupon (for their time to cut, sort and mail). You can even bid on coupons on Ebay!

The newest way to add coupons to your collection is to print them directly from the Internet to your printer. Some stores have yet to accept these thinking they are counterfeit. But printable coupons are definitely the wave of the future. Many sites make you register first, and your name may even appear on the coupon or are bar-coded with your information. Others may only let you print one or two of the same coupon before you get a "Sorry you've already printed your quota for that coupon" message.

Once you have your coupons, it is best to have some rhyme or reason to them, so it is easier to find the coupon you want when you need it. You can use a simple recipe box with dividers, a three ring binder with divided pages (like for baseball cards), or you can even buy a "real" coupon organizer.

Then you need to categorize your coupons within your organizer. There are several ways people sort theirs. The simplest way is to organize by generic classifications (i.e. Baby, Pet, Frozen Foods, Dairy, Paper Products, Health & Beauty, etc). Another way to sort is by expiration date. Couponers with thousands of coupons file the full inserts by the name of the insert (SmartSource, Valassis, RedPlum, Proctor & Gamble, etc.) and the date that it came out.

Make a date once a month with your coupon organizer to weed out expired coupons. This can be done easily while watching your favorite show on the television. Your kids can even help. If you have an extra stamp to spare, mail those expired coupons overseas for the deployed military to use at the commissaries. Some commissaries accept coupons up to six months after the expiration date.

Never throw out any coupons thinking you won't use them! Even if you have coupons for products you know you won't use, you may find those products on sale or clearance and after using a coupon may be only a few cents or even free! Save health and beauty items for gift baskets. Donate canned goods to food pantries. Sell Cleaning Supplies at a rummage sale. You get the idea.

Watch the weekly ads and stock up when something you use is on sale, and especially when you have a coupon for those sale items. Some stores will let you combine a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon (i.e. Target and Walgreens). Other stores price match if you bring in their competitor's ad. Price matching is good if the original store is out of stock and your coupons expire before the rain checked items come in. It's also good to save on trekking all over town to get the sales when you could get them all at Super-Walmart, for example.

Ask if your favorite store offers a reward program. Baker's offers a club card you swipe every time you shop to get their discount prices. HyVee's checkout spits out Catalina coupons to use on your next purchase when you purchase certain items. Register all of your grocery and drugstore cards at Upromise.com, and they deposit 1% - 5% of the purchase price of thousands of different brands into a college fund for the person of your choice!

Some lucky shoppers get to take advantage of "Double Coupon Sales" or even "Triple Coupon Sales" where the store actually doubles the value of the coupon, up to a certain amount. For example, the store may advertise "Double Coupons up to 99?!" Any coupon value 99? or lower, will be doubled, but $1.00 and up will be normal value. The store themselves eat the doubled value as an incentive to pull in shoppers.

Be sure to browse the Clearance Sections of your store. Target is known for having deep discounts on their end shelves hidden in the store. Also, if your coupon boasts "Valid on ANY size", buy the trial size! Be sure to calculate if you are getting a deal. Sometimes, it may still be cheaper to buy a generic brand of something, than to use a coupon on a name brand something.

If the price of a product is more than the value of your coupon (i.e. Shampoo is 99? and you have a $1 off coupon), it is up to the store whether they will give you whole value of the coupon (where you make a profit) or just deduct the cost of the product. Either way, the store will be reimbursed for the full amount of the coupon plus the standard 8? redemption fee they receive. So, even though cashiers act like they hate coupons, it's in the store's best interest to accept them.

Rebate and Refund forms are another way to "cash" in on savings. These are obtained the same way coupons are only they are not as plentiful. The best ones offer "Try Us Free!" Read the fine print, as most require you buy the product within a specific time period, and mail in the cash register receipt (with the purchase price circled) along with the UPC barcode from the product. Mail in as soon as possible, so it doesn't get forgotten about before the deadline. Many, many people forget to mail in their forms or don't read the fine print and miss out.

Stores, like Ace Hardware and Office Max, offer their own rebate booklets where you can take advantage of multiple offers with one form to get cash back. Some stores, like Walgreens, Shopko and Menards, offer their "cash back" in the form of store credit. You can turn around and use your store credit next month to buy new products that are FAR (Free After Rebate)! And you can combine coupons with rebates!

"Triple Plays" are music to Couponer's ears. This can mean that 1) the product is on sale, 2) you have a coupon and 3) the store offers a monthly rebate program. Or 1) there is a store coupon, 2) you have a manufacturer coupon and 3) you have a mail-in rebate for that product. The possibilities are endless. And most possibilities turn out with totally free products.

Unfortunately most perishable items do not have coupons for them. But you can still save! Watch when meat is marked down. Markets must sell their cut meat after so many days, so you can get meat 50% off or more on the cut off day. If you don't need any meat for the next few days to use it, freeze it to use later! Also watch for big ten-pound tubes of hamburger to go on sale, as it is a lot cheaper per pound. Buy some freezer bags and divide it up into smaller portions and freeze.

Long timer couponers have yearlong supplies of certain stockpiled items, like toothpaste, razors, shampoo and cleaning supplies. When they are out of an item, they simply "shop" their stockpile closet. Not only did they save money buying the item, they saved time not having to run to the store to buy it again.

And There's More Coupons!

Watch for coupons to save when dining out at your favorite restaurant, to get a free membership to the gym, or even to save 25% off new clothes at the mall boutiques. These are also found in Entertainment books, newspaper ads and printable coupons online.

Now, that you know how to save on most everything you need or want, there are also virtual coupons! Most online merchants offer promotional codes to be used during the checkout process for percentages off your purchase or even free shipping. ShoppingBookmarks.com categorizes thousands of coupon codes for hundreds of merchants. No need to go out now. Sit in front of your computer and have your good delivered to your door for less!

How to Organize Your Coupons

Recently, I have become aware of the fact that many, many people do not know how to use coupons effectively. Some refuse to use them. Some don't like coupons. Some use them very sporadically. And, believe it or not, some don't think you can save money using them. I, however, am a firm believer in using coupons. If you would like to start saving $100's every month on your grocery bill, then this article is for you.

I. How to Get Coupons

You need to know where to get them in order to use them, right? In obtaining coupons, I have gone through a few different stages. When I first began using coupons, I solely relied on the Sunday paper being delivered to my house each week. In doing so, I had one copy of each insert weekly and cut them out accordingly. For me this just wasn't enough.

Then, I progressed to get high-speed Internet and was introduced to some online coupon sites. These, coupled with my other coupons, gave me, what I felt like, was an ample supply of manufacturer's coupon. I was content as I was saving quite a bit off our weekly grocery bill.

It was only this past summer that I came upon some websites that "peaked my interest". There, I read about a totally different approach to couponing, and I was hooked. Now, I get my coupons from many different sources. Each week, I buy at least 4 local papers on Saturday. Then, on Sunday morning my Sunday paper is delivered with coupons. Occasionally, there are a few more coupons in the Sunday paper than in the Saturday. Depending on the difference, I will go and buy any where from 5 to 7 more papers at a store. This doing, I end up with at least 10 of every coupon in the weekly inserts. That may sound like a lot to some of you, but when you start stockpiling and buying in bulk, it really helps. I still get a lot of coupons from various coupon printing web pages. And, lastly, I get on company's email lists and receive coupons through the mail and email.

To cite an example of how all this comes into play: my husband and I recently went out for the evening. I had a coupon for our meal at Max and Erma's (from the Sunday paper), a coupon for some Christmas presents I bought at Family Christian bookstore (from a mailing I received by being part of their Perks reward program), a coupon for a book at Borders (from my email), and 2 coupons for my purchases at Bath and Body Works (one from a mailing I received and one from my email).

II. How to Organize Coupons

For me, organizing coupons has been a 'work in progress'. I have used several different methods before settling on the system I currently use. My first method was simply an envelope with a few manufacturers' coupons in it for items I knew I would purchase. I clipped very few coupons then, so this system seemed to work. They were not in any particular order and usually expired before I remembered to use them.

Next, I got a little more serious about couponing. I bought a small coupon organizer with dividers in it to separate the coupons into various groups. At this point, I was cutting more coupons than before, and this system seemed sufficient.

After this, I realized that the small holder was becoming so packed that it was hard to flip through the coupons to find the one that I wanted to use. So, I bought a large plastic shoebox container and some large dividers to again separate the coupons by types. This system was actually very effective in that I had a lot of room to store the coupons, they were very well organized by groups, and they were protected in a box with lid. However, the downfall for me in this system is that I was cutting so many coupons, even multiple copies of the same coupon, that I got tired of looking through even the divided sections to find the right coupon. Also, I found that I allowed so many coupons to expire because they got lost in the sections.

And this leads me to what I believe to be the most effective way to organize coupons and the system that I now use. I bought a package of baseball card sleeves (the clear plastic ones with 9 pockets front and back). I placed these sleeves into a large 3 ring binder and began organizing my coupons. Now, I have to say that the initial setup of this system is quite time consuming, but the results are well worth the effort. This is not my original idea. I read an article in our newspaper on a local coupon queen, Heather Tenney, and she highlighted her organizer there. She holds coupon classes in the Cincinnati area and helps many people save lots of money. For more on Heather, aka "Little Miss Know It All", visit her blog: http://www.littlemissknowitall.contentquake.com

Now all my coupons are organized using this system. I placed them in order based upon the aisles of the grocery store I most commonly shop. I can see all my coupons, the value of them, and the expiration date. It has really made using coupons much easier and quicker.

For example, if Cheerios are on sale, I go to the cereal section in my binder. I look for Cheerios coupons and can tell by the amount whether it's a good deal. If it is, I pull out those coupons, for all the Cheerios coupons are in the same pocket and know how many boxes I will buy at the sale price. I have found this current well-organized system to be the best at maximizing savings. I know what coupons I have, where they are, and can quickly determine how many I have for a particular item. I believe that I save so much more money using this system. Again, it is a little more time consuming especially initially, but for me it is well worth the effort.

III. How to Use Coupons Effectively One of the best ways to maximize your savings is to use a coupon on an item that is also on sale. In fact, to get the most benefit, when a particular item is on sale, you should buy enough of that item with your coupons so that you never buy it at regular store price. This buying philosophy is commonly called "stockpiling" in the coupon world and is a great way to ensure you are getting the best deals.

For example, if Colgate toothpaste is on sale this week at the grocery store for $1.00 (locally, it was recently), then I pull out my Colgate coupons of $.75 and I buy as many tubes as I have coupons for free after my coupons are doubled to $1 off. Now, you need to be careful here. Some stores will only allow you so many coupons for the same item per transaction. Yes, I have gone through the checkout line, put my items in the car, and come back in the store for another transaction! Some have even divided up transactions on the conveyor belt and ask the cashier to ring them up separately. But, I have found that this will slow the line down, making the people behind you not too happy, and can even upset store management. I always try to be very conscientious and sensitive to other people in this area, so for me, a trip out to the car is no big deal if it makes everyone happy.

Another note of caution here, make sure you know your favorite store's coupon policy. They vary a lot even within the same chain. For example, I have found that one store will double up to six coupons for the same item; but another store will only double two. That can make a big difference in your savings.

One last note of caution, some stores will frown if you walk in with, say, 20 Colgate coupons and wipe them out of toothpaste. Be considerate of others here. Perhaps a good idea here would be to buy 10 at the beginning of the week and 10 at the end after they get another truck in to restock. That way other shoppers can take advantage of the sale, and you don't wipe out their inventory in one trip.

That brings me to my last point here. Don't hesitate to get a rain check for an out of stock item. Some people don't like to get them, but for me, a rain check allows me to buy the item on sale, when I want and when I have the most coupons for that product. The timing is in my hands and I can use it to my advantage.

So, in conclusion, use coupons in conjunction with sale items and you will find you can save a lot of money off your total bill for groceries, health & beauty items and toiletries. For me, I've regularly saved around $400 each month just in coupons!

'Bought With Coupons' - An Ideal Way to Fight Financial Crisis

Buying stuffs with coupons are no longer a new concept. People all over the world are always enthusiastic about these types of coupons. Thereby, such discount vouchers are offered by almost all manufacturers and retailers. Needless to say that these types of coupons help the shoppers to save their hard earned money. In fact, this is the factor that has increased the popularity of the concept of 'bought with coupons'. These coupons are indeed helpful to cut down some of your monthly bills as well as to fight with the present day inflation and financial crisis. Moreover, shopping with these discount coupons can sometime help you to save on your taxes.

The following are some of tips that will help you to get started with collecting coupons:

o Get online coupons. You can conveniently find the coupon codes or promotional codes to get a discount on your online shopping. There are a number of online retailers that offer such coupons. In fact, you can apply more than one coupon code so as to get bigger discounts on your purchase.

o You can look for certain Sunday papers that offer discount coupons to their subscribers.

o Some of the local grocery stores also offer discount coupons as a part of their advertisement campaign. Look out for such coupons.

o You can even ask some of the companies personally for discount coupons.

Types of coupons:

In addition, you will need to understand what types of coupons are available and their benefits. Though there several types of coupons, they can be broadly divided into two categories. These include:

Manufacture coupons: These types of coupons are the best. You can generally use them at every store as it is the Manufacturing Company that offers the rebate.

Store coupons: These types are coupons are basically offered by particular stores so as to draw your attention. This is basically a part of their marketing and advertisement campaign. One of the major pitfalls of these types of coupons is that they are applicable only for a particular store. However, these days, some stores are also accepting the discount coupons of their competitors or other stores. Thereby, you will need to find out whether your local store accepts competitor coupons.

Some more tips for getting added discounts:

o Look out for double coupons in your local stores. In fact, you can conveniently get such facilities with the online store coupons.

o You can conveniently save more money if you can use your coupons when the item goes on sale.

o Most importantly, check out the expiration dates of your coupons.

1) Visit Webby Planet for discount coupons - an ideal way to fight financial crisis.

2) Fight the economical turbulence with online discount coupons.

Benefits Of Coupons

Coupon clipping is one of the most commonly used forms of saving money. From clipping coupons out of the local newspaper to getting coupons from your favorite retailer as a reward for being a customer, the benefits of coupons can apply to anybody. And while clipping and saving coupons for your next shopping excursion can be time consuming, the benefit of saving money is a positive aspect for any consumer.

Many stores offer coupons on their most popular items as a way to drive customer traffic into the establishment. Still other stores offer coupons on discount merchandise as a way to get rid of the old stuff and make way for new items. Either way, the benefits of coupons works for the customer in that the store, in their effort to bring you into their establishment, is trying to save you money. Following are four major reasons why the benefits of coupons cannot be discounted. With a little thought and effort, the benefits of coupons can easily be applied to your grocery list, resulting in lots of dollars worth of savings.

1. Savings: This is perhaps the biggest reason for clipping coupons. Most people are always looking to save a buck and coupons can help do just that. Shoppers who clip coupons diligently are usually the ones who can save the most. A lot of little coupons can add up to more than 50% of your overall bill, particularly at a grocery store. Most coupons offer more than just a percentage off of the item; they offer dollar amounts, which in the consumer's mind, leads them to believe they are saving more money than if the coupon simply touted a percentage. Coupons are meant to have a two-fold purpose. They are meant to drive customers into certain stores and as a reward for shopping and spending their money in that store, the store offers the coupon both as a reward for coming in and as an incentive to return.

2. Try Something New: A lot of times, people find coupons for savings on things they don't normally use. This is a great opportunity to really get the most out of the benefits of coupons. Try something new. This is especially beneficial if the coupon makes this item less expensive than the brand you normally buy. So, go ahead and try that new cereal or laundry detergent. There's really nothing to lose, because if it doesn't work out, you can always switch back to your staple brand and you managed to save a little extra money this time around.

3. Buy in Bulk: Most coupons have a buy two, get three free or they advertise special prices for items in bulk. The benefits of coupons is that they provide a reason to stock up on the items you use the most at a time when you can save money doing it. This encourages you to buy more items from the store because you are saving money on each item bought.

4. Marketing: This is where the benefits of coupons come in handy for the retail store. Particularly if the store is the one issuing the coupons, it is a form of marketing. Not only does it contribute to the positive image of the store because of the discount and savings, but it also makes the name of the store more prominent on the shopper's radar. They know to shop at Store X because that's where their coupons are issued from and they know that's where they can save money.

The benefits of coupons are numerous, but there are some things to keep in mind. Most coupons have an expiration date and there are usually stipulations for their use. You are often limited to a quantity of products you can purchase with the coupon and some coupons do not work in conjunction with any others. There are also many coupons that only work at specific stores, which is where the marketing advantage of coupons works best.

The benefits of coupons also works best when you carefully clip coupons to complement your shopping list and then go through each coupon to read through the individual stipulations to be sure you are able to use the coupon in conjunction with the other ones before you get the checkout line at the your local retailer. It also helps to match up coupons with what you have on your shopping list to save time at the grocery store and avoid unnecessary spending. After all, the benefits of coupons are meant to work as a money-saving factor for the consumer. If you are not prepared or haven't figured out what you need, you will only end up spending more money in the end, therefore negating the entire benefits of the coupons.

About The Author
James Brown If you need help finding online coupon sites, here is one http://www.SimplyBestCoupons.com. Site has daily coupons and promotions from hundreds vendors and manufacturers. I hope you will find best deals. James.

Bang for the Buck With Mobile Coupons

Mobile has emerged on the scene faster than any other new medium over the past 90 years and mobile coupons are the category to watch, according Borrell Associate's "2010 Local Mobile Advertising & Promotions Forecast," (Mobile Commerce Daily newsletter, April 2010).

A recent survey of over 2,250 U.S. adult Internet users, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that nearly half (46%) who own a mobile phone are somewhat likely to try out mobile coupons. Mobile coupon redemption rates averages are 10 times higher than traditional coupon and with mobile phone penetration in the U.S. well over 90%, it is the single most direct marketing channel there is. Mobile coupons are just going to get more and more popular.

Mobile Coupons

Mobile coupon are, permission based promotions where merchants send electronic coupons to a subscribers' mobile phones. Unlike other forms of electronic couponing (email / web) mobile coupons are read instantly with a 95% read rate. Mobile coupons may be delivered in a verity of digital forms, such as QR or data matrix barcodes, Universal Product Code (UPC), or via unique coupon code. The coupons can then be redeemed through special barcode scanners that read them or by inputting the unique number to a relevant website or a point-of-sale (POS) machine that prints out a paper coupon. Typically with small businesses the customer is required to simply showing the coupon at a retail outlet or restaurant to redeem the coupon.

Benefits of Mobile Coupons vs Traditional Coupon

Mobile coupons (m-coupons) are much more efficient in both delivery and cost than paper coupons. Using newspapers and coupon books sent through the U.S. mail do not offer any direct link between your business and the person who uses the coupon. A legitimate mobile coupon campaign is permission based, another words, there is a direct connection between your business offering the mobile coupon and the person choosing to use it. Thus, advertising and promotions using mobile coupons have a higher value and offer a direct link to the person using the coupons. For this reason mobile coupon promotions make for a great loyalty program.

In comparison, paper coupons cost anywhere between $0.25 and $0.40 per mailed coupon, with average redemption rates of around 1-3 percent, according to Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm. According to Frost & Sullivan, effective m-coupon solutions can benefit from high redemption rates. Email coupons have a redemption rate of 8 percent but lack the instant open rate of M-Coupons. For example, in August we launched a multi-channel campaign with Amigos Tex-Mex Restaurant which resulted in 24% redemption rate or 109 guests redeem the m-coupon, plus through a 'refer a friend campaign" we added an additional 70 new subscribers during the 30 day campaign. A&P supermarket chained launched a m-coupon campaign with double digit redemptions rates and recently iHOP's m-coupon redemption hit 12% according to Mobile Commence Daily.

Business ROI

"For businesses, m-coupons offer a great ROI," said Peter Conti, junior executive vice president at Borrell Associates, Richmond, VA. "Redemption rates are 10 times that of mail - or newspaper - distributed coupons. Small businesses are adapting to the mobile channel because it's cost effective and drives results. For example,traffics been a lite lately, you can formulate and execute a m-coupon promotion in a matter of minutes (no printer or mailer required) and when you consider 95% of text messages are read within a 30 minutes of receipt you can see double digit results within hours, depending upon the value proposition of your promotion of course. My small business clients are on average are getting a 12-15 percent increase in traffic just a single channel mobile promotion (not print or radio).

Consumers Benefits

According to Frost & Sullivan, consumer expectations from mobile coupons can be summarized as follows:


Convenience of portability - consumers do not have to carry paper coupons with them
Ease of use (redemption)
No additional costs to receive offers
Privacy protection
Non-intrusive coupon delivery (junk mail)
Single interface for multiple offers
Effective storage and presentation of delivered coupons
Automatic updates
Enhanced interactivity options
Simple device requirements

Challenges of Mobile Coupons

The challenges associated with m-coupons are how redemption is handled to avoid abuse and how to achieve mass distribution. Unlike direct mail where you can essentially spam your community with paper coupons both email and m-coupons require the consumer to give permission or "opted into" the m-coupon campaign.

Redemption Abuse

Redemption abuse or coupon is when a guest or a customer presents the same coupon multiple times to redeem the offer. Unlike paper coupons, the restaurant or merchant can't actually collect the coupon upon redemption, unless they use bar code scanners, thus the coupon could be redeemed again and again or forwarded on to friend to be used again. Paper coupons don't encounter this problem but they do have a big problem with counterfeit coupons.

In my experience most small businesses I consult with to develop m-coupon programs don't encounter wide spread abuse. Best practices require all promotions to have a hard expiration date, training staff on the promotion and the redemption requirements and tracking the redemptions, usually with a designated "promo" key on the POS or register. Adding unique coupon codes is another affordable way to track redemption although it requires your staff to record the code manually. The recent development of QR code scanning apps, you can download to your smart phone will be the solution to overcoming the issue.

We also have to keep in mind the point of a promotion is to drive businesses and if a customer gets away with redeeming a m-coupon twice that means they made two purchases, which is the point of the campaign anyhow.

Building Your "Mobile VIPs"

In order to achieve mass distribution you need to build your subscriber bases, the more customers that opt-in to your mobile marketing program the greater your reach, thus the greater your distribution. Mobile subscriber lists are not as easy to build as an email list since most people don't have spare cell phone numbers like the do email addresses. Mobile works best as part of a muti-channel campaign. Another words, including your short code (5 or 6 digital number) and keyword (text "Pizza") on your print advertisements, Facebook page, website, radio campaigns and even your email campaign with an exclusive value proposition for opting in essential. Depending upon your existing marketing plan and advertising budget, a business needs 60 to 90 days to build an adequate mobile subscriber program. Restaurants that now use cell phone pager systems have an advantage. They have the guest cell number in order to seat them, now they simply send a follow up message offering a promotion if the guests subscribers to their "Mobile VIP" program. Building that initial data base is essential going forward and by choosing the right mobile marketing partner will determine how successful you will be in the long run.

The Forecast

Market researchers have found a strong correlations with the growth of smart phone users and m-coupon use. We know that the iPhone revolutionized the cell phone as the Swiss Army knife for consumers and businesses and the adaption of smart phones will grow exponentially over the next 3 to 5 years. As for mobile coupon utilization, more than 300 million consumers around the world will have used mobile coupons by 2014 and this usage will generate a redemption value close to $6 billion globally, according to a forecast and report by Juniper Research. Do your customers have mobile phones, if so offer them the opportunity to receive and redeem your mobile coupons.

Brandon Munson, MBA, is the founder of Fulcrum Design, LLc, a interactive technology development firm that specializes in mobile application development and strategic marketing. Fulcrum Design's mobile marketing platform is a 3 in 1 mobile marketing solution which includes a mobile coupon generator a restaurant guest pager application (Mobile Matradee) and a customer service cue management system. Fulcrum also specializes in consulting, custom program development and affordable white label solutions. To learn more about Fulcrum Design visit our sites http://fulcrumdesignllc.com or http://blog.socialmobiletrends.com

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Office Discount Coupons and Other Freebies As A Way of Life?

Coupons are as old as Coca-Cola. The idea of providing coupons for free drinks was conceived to promote an insignificant tonic company to what it is today. That was back in 1887, and 120 years later, coupons are still with us - bolder and paperless.

Coupons for almost anything

After Coca-Cola made a hit with coupons for free fountain drinks, cereals followed suit. Coupon advertising also invaded the internet to reach more consumers and each year, according to Prepared Food Magazine, coupons generate $8 billion in sales, while 86% of the US consumers use coupons and have save $3 billion yearly, according to Promotion Marketing Association.

To catch the consumer's attention merchants have introduced new coupons - coupons for free shipping, free giveaways, and first time customer coupons.

There are merchant tokens for clothes, cosmetics, wines, jewelry, and even home and office depot coupons.

In fact, it seems there is a coupon for every need, and that includes fine meal in restaurants and even hotel accommodations. Online shoppers who are aware of the online offers are happily clicking away, but are you?

Do you redeem your coupons?

But there are issues about the redemption rate. People complain that the coupons expire too soon. But should the termination date be extended it will not augur well for business.

If consumers buy the product on a bi-weekly basis, that would be fine, but if the products are bought twice or just once a year, it would not do at all to give away coupons with extended expiration dates.

From the report of the Promotion Marketing Association, Americans who use coupons generate savings. If you are wary of buying expensive items for your office, try office depot coupons. You can use the extra money for other expenses. It is the same with buying computers with coupons in hand.

All sites, whether it's for jewelry, wines, home or office depot coupons provide information about coupon codes, promo expiration, items for auction and items offered with discounted prices. This information keeps changing, based on the merchant's sales blitz or schedules.

Business and personal savings

If you own a business, try using office depot coupons to buy office supplies and equipment; a building contractor can gain from home depot coupons, moms can get discounted grocery items, shoes for the kids, and dads can get discounts on tools and wine.

Name it, you will find it because there are over 700 online merchants offering coupons. Many of these are your favorite stores. This type of marketing promotion brought more merchants to more consumers, which was unheard of before.

Shop wise

Not all items will appeal to you. But oftentimes when you chance upon a home or office depot coupons site, and a cosmetic or flower coupons webpage, you will find some items that you happen to need. A teacher browsing over a office depot coupon website may find offers for media or memory drives and earth-friendly products which she or he requires.

But like offline shopping, you still have to take into account how much you can spend without straining your budget. Save for what you need and prepare for the purchase. Take a look at the product if you can. There are still better options when you go to the store to check out that computer or HP Deskjet printer before you take it home.

Buying office supplies and equipment with Office Depot Coupons can save you money. You can also visit this site now for Smart Bargains Coupons for smart shopping. If it's clothes you are looking for visit discountspies.com for Lane Bryant Coupons.

Online Coupon Codes & Printable Grocery Coupons - Online Shopping Tips

Are Mommies shopping smarter with online coupons and printable grocery coupons ?

Some of us search endlessly for bargains online and easy ways to save money while some of us are content with just a small discount or deal .

Whether we are shopping online for clothes , auto parts , gifts , electronics , or computers , We all share one thing in common , we all want a great bargain , or some sort of reasonable discount .

We all know that discount coupons are great ways to save money , and IM sure all the mommies out there can agree with me .

10 years ago many of us would wait for those Sunday newspapers , catalogs or magazines in order to clip some discount coupons , I call them coupon mommy savers because 90% of consumers who use coupons are mommies . (lol)

Today mommies are shopping smarter , with the Internet the old days of clipping coupons are soon fading away , they are noticing that there are great coupon savings online .

There are also great online coupon sites that spend their entire days searching for printable grocery coupons and online coupon codes , they provide consumers with a list of free discount coupons that are very much appreciated , however you must take precautions .

Here are some online coupon shopping safety tips for beginners :

1) Stay away from online coupon sites that ask you for your personal information in order for you to print your discount coupon , You will get 100s of spam emails for every discount coupon they give you . Is it Really worth it ?

2) Distance yourself from online coupon sites that have too many pop-ups , they are extremely annoying and can download viruses or freeze your computer .

3) Online printable coupons and coupon codes are free , don't pay any online coupon sites to give you coupons ,you can get most of them for free on the Internet .

4) Many online coupon sites offer many freebies or irresistible deals , there is nothing wrong with freebies but please be vigilant and don't be naive . Don't get yourself into their idiotic scams that waist your precious time .

5) And last ...Never complete online surveys to get free stuff , discount coupon codes or printable grocery coupons unless they are from reputable companies like huggies , target , pampers ....etc. ..You will be wasting your time , take it from me ,I've tried them all (lol)

There are many great online coupon sites - heres one i found that has valid online coupon codes http://www.mommysavesbig.com/

You can also try this site for printable grocery coupons http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/

How to Put the Profit Producing Power of Couponing to Work for You

Coupons have proven themselves to be highly effective sales tools for every conceivable size and type of business.

Because coupons "pull in the business" they have gained remarkable acceptance and popularity among astute marketing managers. A simple explanation for their acceptance by advertisers is their overwhelming acceptance and use by the consuming public. In fact, Advertising Age (the Bible of the advertising industry) reports that 87% of all shoppers use coupons.

Another independent marketing research firm, the A.C. Nielson Co., reveals that 95% of all shoppers like coupons. And 60% actively look for coupons.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, "In a Pinch, Snip.", states that coupon use rises, as the economy in any given area slides. 54% of shoppers surveyed said they had already stepped up use of coupons, and even more are expected to do so.

It's very easy to see why coupon advertising is sweeping the country. Regular use of good couponing strategy will provide a steady stream of new customers and high quality sales leads.

Savvy marketers cite these reasons for heavy reliance on couponing:

A. Coupons have the effect of expanding or increasing your market area. We know that consumers will travel far to redeem a valuable coupon.

B. Coupons will entice new customers that have been shopping at your competitor. It's a proven fact that consumers will break routine shopping patterns to take advantage of a good coupon offer.

C. Coupons attract new residents when they are actively in the market for products and services.

D. Coupons will re-activate old customers. Those customers that have been lured away by your competitor will start buying from you again when you give them a good reason to do so.

E. Coupon advertising provides the opportunity for additional profits through sale of related items. (Business owners often forget this.) When you offer a special "deal" on a coupon to invite a customer to do business with you, you have to remember that this same customer will probably end up buying additional items that carry a full profit margin.

In addition, you also are being given the opportunity to "sell-up" to a more profitable product or service. You would not have had this opportunity had it not been for the coupon getting the customer through the door in the first place.

F. Coupons build store traffic which results in additional impulse purchases.

G. Coupons are measurable and accountable Don't overlook that couponing is the most measurable and accountable form of promotion.

It's simply a matter of counting the number of coupons redeemed to judge the effectiveness of the offer. Wise use of this consumer feedback will guide you in creating future offers that improve your results.

Understand that the media delivering the coupon has very little to do with the response. Publications simply deliver your offer to a specific audience. It's up to you to determine what offer produces the best response from that audience. You do this through methodically testing various offers. Savvy use of this "coupon testing" technique will give you the specific knowledge you require to greatly improve all of your advertising response, your sales, and your profits.

How do you go about creating a coupon promotion that will work for YOU? Here's what I like to call...

THOM'S TWELVE TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COUPONING:

TIP#1...MAKE A SOLID OFFER!

* OFFER DISCOUNTS..."$50.00 OFF!", "60% OFF!", (percentage discounts are only good when they are high percentages and the value of the product or service is well known.)Dollars Off discounts work best.

* OFFER BONUSES..."Buy One/Get One Free!", or "2 Free with Each Case Ordered!", "Free Batteries When You Buy One Super Flashlight", or "Free Drop Cloth with Each Gallon of Super Paint", etc.

* OFFER PREMIUMS...Offer premiums for a presentation, for a trial order, for a subscription, for a demonstration, for a new customer referral, for an order amounting to $xxx or larger", etc.

* OFFER FREE INFORMATION..."FREE booklet", "FREE brochure", "FREE estimate", "FREE details", "FREE samples", "FREE trial", "FREE consultation", "FREE quote", etc.

TIP#2....USE BOLD, COMMANDING AND SPECIFIC HEADLINES!

* "Save $50.00 on Any Portable TV....This Month Only!"

* "FREE BROCHURE...'Beauty Secrets for Career Woman'!"

* "Free Catalog Saves YOU 70% on Office Supplies!"

* "Rent Two NEW RELEASE Video Movies--Get One FREE!"

* "Buy One Dinner Entree--Get One FREE!"

* "Buy Five Cases of Copier Paper--Get the Sixth Case Absolutely Free!"

TIP#3...USE LINE ILLUSTRATIONS OR PHOTOGRAPHS.

* Illustrations work best when you show products in-use.

* Illustrations enhance credibility, aid understanding, and create desire.

TIP#4...USE YOUR LOGO IN YOUR COUPON.

* Use of logo: builds company identity and awareness (branding) in the marketplace, enhances your image, lends credibility to your offer, and improves response.

TIP #5....MAKE EFFECTIVE USE OF WHITE SPACE.

* Don't clutter. Don't cram.

TIP#5...SELL THE BENEFITS.

* Save time, save money, increase profits, protect your family, improve your standard of living, be happier, improve your health, increase your income, increase your comfort, more convenient.

TIP#7....APPEAL TO THE SELF-INTEREST OF YOUR CUSTOMER.

* Your customer is only interested in what you can do for him or her. Your customer will only buy the benefits-of-use of your product or service. Let me say that again...your customer is only interested in the benefits of use of your product....not the product itself.

TIP#8...MAKE EFFECTIVE USE OF THE 18 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN ADVERTISING.

* free, now, new, how to, save, guarantee, money, easy, simple, you, proven, love, results, discovery, fast, amazing, sex, profit.

TIP#9...ALWAYS UP-SELL.

* Offer extras when a customer requests information or places an order. Always suggest related items. Point out the added features and benefits of a higher priced item and then show the customer specifically how these features will make his life easier, safer, etc.

TIP#10...SPREAD YOUR SPECIALS AROUND--CONSIDER THE TRAFFIC PATTERN IN A RETAIL STORE.

* Set up product displays so that you force your customer to walk the entire expanse of your store. Your "impulse" buys will increase dramatically when you expose your customer to more products by well planned placement of "sale items".

TIP#11...CAPTURE YOUR CUSTOMERS NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER. DEVELOP AN IN-HOUSE MAILING LIST FOR ON-GOING DIRECT MARKETING USE.

* Your customer list represents your most valuable asset. Your greatest potential for sales and profits lies in the customer database. To ignore this potential is pure folly.

TIP#12...DON'T STOP AFTER THE SALE.

* Create a planned program of continuous follow-up to your customer list.

* Use ride-alongs, invoice stuffers, new catalogs, new product brochures, special sale flyers, preferred customer sales and discounts, customer appreciation events, more coupons. Keep your customers coming back to YOU!

© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece

Thom Reece is the author of "Couponing Secrets Of The Pros" [http://www.e-comprofits.com/coupons.html] and publisher of "Thom Reece's Web Marketing Strategies & Techniques Newsletter". You may subscribe free at: [http://www.e-comprofits.com/webmarstratt.html], mailto:thom@e-comprofits.com