BOGO Book Chapter 8 – Multiple Promotions, Extraordinary Savings!
After reading all of the money-saving experiences in the previous chapters, you may think nothing more could surprise you. Read on! I have saved some of the best bargains for this last chapter. And, you will have a better understanding of how they happened.
Dear Martin:
Price Chopper had Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix on sale, "Buy 1 - Get 1 Free!" (BOGO). On each of the syrup bottles was a ”Use Now!” 55 cent coupon. Hanging on the shelf was a pad of mail-in refund forms, offering $5 back on the purchase of five AJ products. After the BOGO, the “Use Now!” coupons and the refund, my final cost for four bottles of syrup and two boxes of pancake mix was $2.37. The regular price of the six items was $19.14. Playing The Great Grocery Game is one of the most enjoyable ways to save money! - BarbaraKing, Balston Lake, NY
Are you surprised that a “use now” coupon was attached to the product and mail-in request forms for a $5 refund were attached to the same shelf? How is this possible? Did someone in Aunt Jemima’s marketing department fall asleep at the switch? One thing you can be sure of, grocery product manufactures do not allow this to happen out of a sense of generosity. But, the fact is, it happens more frequently than you might think.
Smart Shoppers know this stratagem:
Smart Shoppers hunt for extraordinary savings knowing that a product’s marketing plan will often use several different consumer promotions, all at the same time!
A manufacturer introducing a new product can use several methods to distribute coupons. It can also print a “Try Me Free!” offer on the package. It can also offer a high value mail-in refund offer requiring the purchase of several packages. And, most important, the manufacturer will give supermarkets big discounts (promotional allowances) if the stores put the new item on sale and includes it in the advertising circular. Most shoppers do not realize that a product’s marketing plan often uses several of these consumer promotions. The company is betting that one of the promotions will reach the consumer at the right time to influence a purchase decision. Aunt Jemima’s marketing department decided to offers customers the “Use Now!” coupon and the $5 mail-in refund offer. The Aunt Jemima brand manager knew that having supermarkets put the products on sale would result in a big boost in sales. So, a sales department representative visited the Price Chopper buyer who agreed to put both Aunt Jemima items on sale in return for the chain receiving a big promotional allowance. That is why Barbara King was able to save money three ways on the Aunt Jemima products.
Double Plays, Triple Plays and “free food” Home Runs!
When I first realized that manufacturers were simultaneously making multiple promotions for the same product, I decided use some baseball terms to describe them. Two discounts on the same item is a Double Play. It sounded good and shoppers started using it. Three discounts on the same item is a Triple Play savings. For example, a sale and a Double Coupon. A coupon, a sale and a mail-in refund was another way to make a Triple Play. One of my readers suggested that when multiple savings resulted in getting the product free, it should have a special name. Good idea! It had to be a “Home Run”! I also call it a Home Run when the combined savings actually results in making a profit! Think of it; you save so much that the excess over the final cost becomes, in effect, a credit on your other purchases.
Bargains in Bunches Dear Martin:
I watch for big sale events in supermarket circulars and the Sunday coupon inserts. They often come with unusual savings opportunities. I saw many Unilever products like Wisk, Snuggle and Dove, on sale in the Meijer advertisement. The ad included a high value rebate offer, up to $20. On Sunday morning, when I checked the coupon inserts, I found coupons from Unilever for the same products. I purchased six of them, which at regular prices would have totaled $21.04. The sale prices brought the total down to $17.74. The coupons reduced it to $12.89. Finally, the six items qualified for a $7 rebate and I wound up saving $15.15. I love bargains in bunches! - DeloresFrantz of St. Joseph, MI
Triple Coupons, A Slice of Heaven Dear Martin:
Triple Coupon Day. Those three words have an awe inspiring affect on me. For those of your readers who have never experienced triple coupons, they are missing a slice of heaven. The minute I hear that a supermarket is offering triple coupons I start to search for every coupon I can lay my hands on. Next, I separate them into the aisles of the store which I have memorized. Then, I put the coupons from each aisle in a separate envelope in aisle order from first to last. When I have loaded my cart full of bargains and get to the checkout counter I hand the cashier my coupons and carefully watch my items being scanned. They come to a total of $84.88 and then she starts entering my coupons. "That will be $42.38," she says. It is glorious music to my ears. It feels like I have conquered Mt.Everest or swam the English Channel. I don't walk out of the supermarket, I float out! - FayeScott, Thomson, GA
Sometimes, the savings just keep on rolling in, one right after another, and you lose count… was it a quadruple play, or a sextuple play?
A Fantastic Savings Experience Dear Martin:
I have been playing the Great Grocery Game for years and pride myself on my savings. I try to combine sales with coupons as often as possible. Two months ago I started shopping at a new Kroger supermarket and I was really excited to find out the store offered double coupons – no other store in this area does it. The last week of August, Kroger offered a sale on General Mills cereals, buy 3 boxes for $6.99. The Kroger store was doubling coupons up to 50-cents and I found several cereal coupons in my file. They saved me $3 right off the bat!
My savings were not over. In Kroger’s weekly advertisement I found a free milk coupon with the purchase of 3 boxes of cereal. The gallon of milk was worth $2.49. Believe it or not I wound up with 3 boxes of cereal and the milk for only $4.21 tax included. Now, for the unexpected bonus. When the cashier handed me my change, she handed me a Checkout Coupon good for another free gallon of milk! It was a fantastic savings experience. - ChristineGriggs, Newport News, VA
So Many Ways to Save! A Smart Shopper’s High Dear Martin:
I have been inspired by the savings of my mother who brought up seven children and now I have four. I use coupons to save between 30 and 40 percent on a weekly grocery bill of about $200. Here is an example: I had two 50-cent coupons on Kix cereal. Stop & Shop doubled them. Kix was on sale at two boxes for $4 so I paid just a dollar for each box. At the checkout counter as a result of buying the Kix, I received a Checkout Coupon for a free half gallon of milk and another coupon for $1.50 off any General Mills cereal (I used it to buy more Kix!). Unbelievably, my saving did not end there. On the back of the Kix box I found an offer for a free children's storybook for sending in two Universal Product Codes. I used the book for a Christmas gift. Yes, Martin, I was very pleased with myself that day. It was a smart shopper's high. - DianeBabcock, E. Wareham, MA
A Great Experience at CVS Dear Martin:
I saw a CVS drug store advertisement that got me excited. CVS offered to give $10 back on the next shopping trip if you purchased three Pepsi product 12-packs and 3 bags of Lay’s chips. The six items cost me $14. When I got home I noticed a similar offer on the Pepsi carton. If I mailed in the register tape and UPC codes from the six items, I would receive a $10 refund. My story continues two days later: I visited CVS again and when I checked out I found a $10 credit on my register tape. With manufacturer coupons, CVS sales, the $10 credit, and the $10 refund I will receive, I purchased four L’Oreal lipsticks, two L’Oreal Vive hair products, one L’Oreal hair color, two Crest Toothpastes, and a Kerasal foot lotion, all for just 90-cents! It was great! - LyndaLynch, Brockton, MA
FABULOUS HOME RUNS
Free food! When the combined discounts result in getting the product free, or better yet, you actually make a profit, you have hit the ball out of the ballpark for a savings “Home Run.”
The Supermarket Owed Her 85-cents! Dear Martin:
I clip and save coupons and my friends give me coupons they can not use. I then watch for the sales, especially the “buy 1- get 1 free” items, and match my coupons to the sale prices. On a recent shopping trip I purchased 17 items and after deducting coupons and card savings including several BOGOs, the store owed me 85-cents. - JoyceStewart , Churchville, NY
Stouffer’s Takes Her to Dinner Dear Martin:
I purchased five Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine entrees which would have regularly cost me $11.75. They were on sale with the supermarket’s gold card for 99-cents each, which came to $5.20 including tax. I had Lean Cuisine coupons which gave me another $2.75 in savings which reduced my cost to $2.45. Then, I sent for a Stouffer’s $5 refund. Stouffer’s paid me $2.55 to enjoy those five Lean Cuisine entrees! - AmyLofton, Birmingham, AL
New Products Taste Better When They Are FREE! Dear Martin:
Each week your column motivates me for my trip to the supermarket. My latest shopping adventure was at Stop & Shop where the new MarieCallender’s frozen meals were “Buy 1 – Get 1 Free.” The regular price is $2.99. I used two $1 MarieCallender’s coupons so I paid 99-cents for the two meals. But my savings were not over. I sent for a MarieCallender’s refund and received a check for $2.99. The company paid me $2 for enjoying their frozen meals. It was a great way to try a new product. - KathySilva, Lakeville, MA
