Calgary Coupon Hunters *HEADS UP*

I suspect as couponing in Canada becomes more mainstream stores will react by changing their policies and stocking procedures to reflect their customers needs, much like WM and SoF have started. I have been impressed by the speed WM has acted with changing their couponing policy, they are a HUGE corporation who became aware of a need in the marketplace and anyone who has worked for a large company knows how hard changing policies & implementing that change change can be.

To answer cheekysaver's question; my goal to have 6 months worth of non-perishanble items on hand. I am the single parent (of 2 elementary aged boys) in your example who uses baggies like crazy and was thrilled to get 10 boxes of baggies for free. I gave 2 to my parents, who have been so impressed with my savings they have asked me to watch for coupons on the brands they buy.

To some I may have looked extreme or greedy buying that many boxes, but my job is to make sure my boys have the best of everything I can provide. I advocate for my family and completely understand if I get to a store and the shelves are clear because someone (or several someone's) who have the same responsibility to their family got there first.

It may also backfire as we saw with P&G. Think of it this way, companies hope that people DON"T use their coupons, not to their full extent. In fact, before couponing I think the redemption rate of coupons was around the 10% range. If companies see more coupons are being redeemed at a higher rate than they'd like they will further limit it (by putting names as we saw with the Quantum) or other methods. They might also try to go after stores if they feel they are "fradulent."
I'm not saying this to say that someone using 10 coupons is going to "doom us all." I just believe that abusing a good thing may lead to exploitation (by others) thus ruining a possible good thing for us in the end, such as what happened to LD. Remember that unfortunately this is not the US and from what I'm seeing companies are far more willing to keep deals in check for Canadian consumers as oppsed to Americans (sadly enough =( ).

As to what that limit is, I can't say nor will I tell others how to shop. I just believe in personal responsibility in the end.

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Originally Posted by cheekysaver

i am curious... what do you all set for limits on your stock?.. do you limit it to a certain amount of cabinet space... enough to sustain you for a certain period ect? What do you consider to be reasonable?

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lol ok this is actually the 3rd time I have attempted to answer this but my computer keeps hiccupping or something and I lose it.

For me it depends on how much you need and shelf life. For things that have a shelf life of over a year I will stock up to a years supply. Not too many things have I managed to do that with yet but that is my limit. It also depends on the deals I find too. If it's a pretty good deal but not the best I will just stock up a bit to get through a month or two until hopefully a better deal comes along at which time I will try to stock up for a longer period of time. When I come acrossed a really good deal (usually free) and have the coupons to stock up quite a bit I will order in the items (usually at LD) so as not to take the stock from the stores supply.

The reason I say up to a year is that DH's work is seasonal and even though he takes on other odd jobs in between there is no guarantee how much money will be coming in each month. This and the fact that for a number of years I was a single mom of twins who were not in the best of health and couldn't take on a regular job. It is a horrible feeling not knowing if you are going to be able to afford to feed your children and I vowed that I would never find myself in that situation again.

alright the truth is I am a hoarder ;) yes a diaper hoarder. As most of you know pampers are way easier to get free or cheap. My youngest has autism and major sensory issues and doesnt like pampers ( she wouldnt sleep for 2 days because we used a pamper diaper). I keep getting pampers hoping that one day she will come around and let me put one on her plus they go up to size 7 and huggies only go to 6. We have been told she will prolly never truly potty train and we are fighting with the government to cover her diapers but who knows how long that will take. So I say stock for your family. My diaper stockpile would prolly be a waste for most families but for Leah its prolly only a year.

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Originally Posted by Shadowfox

Think of it this way, companies hope that people DON"T use their coupons, not to their full extent. In fact, before couponing I think the redemption rate of coupons was around the 10% range.

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I have to respectfully disagree with you on this point. Companies WANT us to use those coupons! They're used to entice us to buy their product, whether it's buying more of it or to tempt us to buy something new. Coupon usage is still relatively low, 4% in 2009 according to this Nielsen article:

http://ca.nielsen.com/content/nielse...oupon_use.html

Coupons are a marketing tool. They've been here for a long time, and they're not going anywhere soon.

This article also states that coupon usage has gone up. I agree with KMammy - companies are responding to this and using it as part of their marketing scheme. SaveOn (which is rumoured to be coming to Calgary) is now allowing stacking. This is even AFTER that fluff aired on TLC!

Bilby - There's a permanent thread on here somewhere that gives you a tutorial on stacking at London Drugs. Have fun while you're in Calgary!

As for Cheekysaver's question on stockpiling, I have a "don't look, don't tell" policy, which is the same policy that I have for my shoe closet. :lol:

Omg!! Just as well I don't go by the shoe closet theory. Lol. I have difficulty finding shoes that fit or that I can wear. My cpn habit stock has far overtaken the shoes. Lol.

does anyone know if manufacturers provide retailers with the amount of both coupons when stacked by a consumer? I'm just wondering what the big deal is from the stores if they're getting reimbursed by the manufacturer for the full amount of both coupons anyway. I tend to think that the manufacturer does reimburse it, which is why they keep putting "not to be used in conjunction etc etc" on them.

I had an issue at LD stacking an aveeno coupon, Coupon says aveeno, then active naturals spread across underneath that, then says save $3 when you ANY 2 aveeno products, with pictures of everything, some baby products, etc... I was told it's only for products that say "active naturals" even though it says ANY aveeno product and shows pictures of everything.. ughhhh. I have a feeling I'm going to end up arguing about it when I go back in this week

Happy Mother's Day! Hope you all have a great day today with your families :)

"As for Cheekysaver's question on stockpiling, I have a "don't look, don't tell" policy, which is the same policy that I have for my shoe closet. :lol:"

Laughing hard!

just a few quick numbers so we understand where companies are coming from when they put up coupons. Coupons get put across the country in about 3000 stores... sometimes less ... sometimes more... they put about 150 -300 coupons in a store... value on the coupons is 450, 000 - 900 000 dollars per $1 coupon. Of those only a percentage get redeemed and it is a sale every single time.

A company can put on a commercial for approx $350,000 with a additional cost of 100,000 per 30 second time slot. << the 100K time slot is a CHEAP slot too. They can spend millions and get nothing back.

When coupons are put out the only cost the company has is the printing cost... they don't really incur a cost until the product is purchased and then the company will order more to maintain the stock. If you include the fact that coupons are put on the shelf when the product is at the highest possible price you better believe companies know what they are doing when they offer us coupons.

Coupons Make huge financial sense to companies and getting their product to appear on a episode of extreme couponing is actually worth millions. There is a chance if manufactures figure this out that they may just put out a few more coupons for us.

*seriously crossing my fingers here!

Excellent analogy Cheekysaver!

Just got a coupon for a free 2L bottle of Coke stuffed into my mailbox. Nice!!! Hope the rest of you get the same.

Wow - I have missed a lot on the past few days on this thread -lol! Very interesting discussion :)

My husband has been telling me for years that I should start a blog, I guess someone beat me to it :P I will be interested to see Breakfast Television on Friday!

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Originally Posted by kittyboots

Not sure if anyone follows this blog...is it someone who is a member here? http://calgarycouponmomma.blogspot.com/ she has agreed to be on Breakfast Tv next Friday, May 13th (extreme couponing).

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This comes from my knowledge from my marketing class. Companies want to ENTICE consumers but not to their full extent. They also want to tempt new users but they also hope that people "forget" the coupons and purchase the product anyhow. Coupons have never been the advertisement of choice (because they loose money) but in the past due to the lower redemption rates they figure that it was worth while. In the end, remember that companies want to make a PROFIT and giving you an item for free does not let them achieve their goals. I do agree that coupons are not going to go anywhere but if compnies see that coupons are not helping their bottom line they certainly can, and they have as we have seen, restrict their use by limiting how many coupons can be used, etc. It is without a doubt that companies like walmart, save on foods, will try to use that to their advantage but remember that ultimately the ones who "control" are the manufacturers so if they make coupons very restrictive (or to a degree where retailers are not getting their money back) then ultimately it will affect us.

Just

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Originally Posted by Goddess in this Household

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this point. Companies WANT us to use those coupons! They're used to entice us to buy their product, whether it's buying more of it or to tempt us to buy something new. Coupon usage is still relatively low, 4% in 2009 according to this Nielsen article:

http://ca.nielsen.com/content/nielse...oupon_use.html

Coupons are a marketing tool. They've been here for a long time, and they're not going anywhere soon.

This article also states that coupon usage has gone up. I agree with KMammy - companies are responding to this and using it as part of their marketing scheme. SaveOn (which is rumoured to be coming to Calgary) is now allowing stacking. This is even AFTER that fluff aired on TLC!

Bilby - There's a permanent thread on here somewhere that gives you a tutorial on stacking at London Drugs. Have fun while you're in Calgary!

As for Cheekysaver's question on stockpiling, I have a "don't look, don't tell" policy, which is the same policy that I have for my shoe closet. :lol:

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Coupons are considered an account recievable (debt) by the manufacturers. You are absolutely right that if the coupons are used at the highest price possible that companies are making a profit, the intermediate party (walmart e.g.) will have to buy more and it's a win win for them. To them success is also based on turning the consumer from their usual product to buy their product. Now lets look at it at the couponer point of view. Lets say you got a product X like Tide for close to free, got yourself a few bottles. Lets say you run out of the product will you now buy it at full price or will you get a competitors for free? Most people here I'm quite sure will go to the later option. Hence the company makes NO profit by providing coupons. It is this NEW trend that companies are weary about. Before people didn't think of the potential of coupons (stacking, getting it with deals that makes the product free). Coupons are a great advertisement tool for companies if and only if: 1) they can convert consumers to their product (without giving them the item for free), 2) if ultimately they make a profit. If either of those fail they will modify coupons to ensure they obtain these two goals.

And just in case people here think I'm for tighter coupon use... I am not. I love couponing and see how helpful it has been to my family but also to other families which, due to circumstances, helps their finances stretch from a little bit to quite a bit. I am just giving the buisness view perspective which is NOT the same as the couponers. I am a strong believer that if something gets abused we will all loose out on a good thing. We haven't gotten to that point yet but considering the chances we have seen (RCSS one coupon per family, LD stacking rules, P&G coupon limit as well as restrictive wording) this COULD happen. Do not take this as me saying someone should buy only a few items (2-4) thats not my point at all. But if someone shelf clears (lets say 40+ of an item) people get angry compnies restrict us even more... we can't cry then that companies put on a limit where we can only buy 1-2 items of a deal.

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Originally Posted by cheekysaver

just a few quick numbers so we understand where companies are coming from when they put up coupons. Coupons get put across the country in about 3000 stores... sometimes less ... sometimes more... they put about 150 -300 coupons in a store... value on the coupons is 450, 000 - 900 000 dollars per $1 coupon. Of those only a percentage get redeemed and it is a sale every single time.

A company can put on a commercial for approx $350,000 with a additional cost of 100,000 per 30 second time slot. << the 100K time slot is a CHEAP slot too. They can spend millions and get nothing back.

When coupons are put out the only cost the company has is the printing cost... they don't really incur a cost until the product is purchased and then the company will order more to maintain the stock. If you include the fact that coupons are put on the shelf when the product is at the highest possible price you better believe companies know what they are doing when they offer us coupons.

Coupons Make huge financial sense to companies and getting their product to appear on a episode of extreme couponing is actually worth millions. There is a chance if manufactures figure this out that they may just put out a few more coupons for us.

*seriously crossing my fingers here!

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