unsinkable Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 (edited) http://www.supercouponing.com/extremecouponingquestions.html The show is kind of bizarre to me. This article is about the woman who wore the thigh-high boots while extreme-couponing. Edited April 11, 2011 by unsinkable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I haven't read the whole article yet, but I was wondering what did you think of them doing so many transactions per shopping trip to get the deals? That really bugged me about the whole show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I don't have cable so I haven't seen the show. But I am amazed at how detailed that article was. I can't believe people put so much time/money into couponing. I can't imagine how many newspapers she had to buy to get all those coupons (I read the paper on my kindle). And once again every product that was mentioned was nothing that I every buy. Confirming for me once again why I rarely use coupons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Our local couponing group has been discussing this show a lot lately. Most of us feel that lots of the show is staged. Even though we have some of the same stores in our area, we would never be allowed to use that many coupons in a single transaction. I think the most I was ever allowed to use was 100 before I was told that the rest would have to go on a new ticket. No way would we be able to check out 9 carts and thousands of items on one ticket if they all had coupons. Or even if they didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 It's a fraud....I read something the other day describing the whole thing. I can't remember where I read it. The stores allow coupon transactions that they wouldn't normally allow in order to get publicity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 IMO, this era of extreme couponing will soon be coming to an end. The article even talked about how that woman's fraud will not be possible with the new barcodes. I think that they are taking advantage of a weakness in the system and normal people who want to use SOME coupons are the one who suffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Knoll Mom Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 It's a fraud....I read something the other day describing the whole thing. I can't remember where I read it. The stores allow coupon transactions that they wouldn't normally allow in order to get publicity. :iagree: Jenny at Southern Savers was blogging during the most recent episode and pointed out how these stores were breaking their own coupon policies for the publicity. If you or I walked in and tried to shop like that, we'd be shut down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2L Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Coupons are most effective when you use them while an item is on sale or have a store that will double. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendylee Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I did a modified version of extreme couponing with the Grocery Game (google it) a few months ago. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The VAST majority of coupons, I would say on average 95%, were for pure junk. And I'm not a food purist. We're talking just absolute junk that I would buy simply because I could get it for a huge discount, sometimes even free. However, we don't eat that stuff. And I found that the coupons that are talked about in extreme couponing are junk, for the most part. Not for feeding a family on a relatively good diet of good food. You can get just as good deals eating healthily by following your local store's coupons. Rarely, if ever, do coupons come out in the Sunday papers that are for anything but junk and processed food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I have to say that I used to coupon heavily and have decided to get back into it. I only get two papers per week and finally went on my first shopping trip this week. Now, I did "regular" shopping too, so not everything I bought had a coupon attached to it, but I still paid .25 on the $1, so 75% off isn't bad. I did get some processed foods, but I realize that with the amount of potlucks and "bring a snack" get togethers we go to a month (scouts and homeschool game nights and airsoft fun) I take these to those events. I need to stockpile them a bit so I don't have to stop in and pay $4 to $8 before the event. However, I ALWAYS obey the coupon rules....no more than 3 like coupons, no more than 20 coupons doubled per day per store card, etc....and I certainly do not use coupons for items they are not intended for. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Rarely, if ever, do coupons come out in the Sunday papers that are for anything but junk and processed food. I agree. The coupons from the paper are useful for toiletries. I can never find anything for the foods we eat - except for cuties mandarin oranges, I have never seen a single coupon for fresh produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I do the CVS thing and save tons on health & beauty stuff. Tons. For grocery items I usually only save on pasta, canned tomatoes and cereal. We eat mostly whole foods beyond that. But CVS, totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 However, I ALWAYS obey the coupon rules....no more than 3 like coupons, no more than 20 coupons doubled per day per store card, etc....and I certainly do not use coupons for items they are not intended for. Dawn :iagree: And following the rules - its still easy to save. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 IMO, this era of extreme couponing will soon be coming to an end. The article even talked about how that woman's fraud will not be possible with the new barcodes. I think that they are taking advantage of a weakness in the system and normal people who want to use SOME coupons are the one who suffer. i think this is the article you mean: http://www.jillcataldo.com/node/16258 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 One of the episodes was filmed near me, and it was entirely staged. My local couponing site/forum has been discussing this at length. The stores are allowing transactions that go above and beyond the coupon rules for the store. Also, they are allowing coupons to be used that are not even for the product being bought. Rather, they are showing they will take them because the overall manufacturer/distributor created the coupon. ie. $10 off Crest Whitestrips is being used for another P&G product resulting in $10 off the entire order. This is not allowed at the stores & it is fraud. I am a couponer who follows the rules because I believe we need to remain ethical in this or we will lose our ability to coupon. Many stores throughout the country have lessened or abolished their coupon sales (ie. doubles or triples) or radically altered the number able to be used per transaction as a result of being burned by unethical couponers. It worries me that this show is pushing the limits too far, and more of us will lose our right to coupon as a result of the fraud taking place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 i think this is the article you mean:http://www.jillcataldo.com/node/16258 That article is the same as the one in the OP.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Oh no. She's gonna ruin it for us. My stores don't allow that. It's all in the computer and it has to match exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I agree. The coupons from the paper are useful for toiletries. I can never find anything for the foods we eat - except for cuties mandarin oranges, I have never seen a single coupon for fresh produce. I use a lot of coupons, and none for food. But it really helps with toiletries, I get coupons for soy products, almond milk...I really think it has a lot to do whit where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 What that lady is doing is coupon fraud. It says on the coupon that you can only use it for what it is intended, even if you can game the system so it works. Luckily this won't be possible in the future with the new barcodes. That lady was insane. Did you see the stack of inserts she had?? I get 4 papers a week and that's a lot for me to keep track of, and plenty for my family's needs. I can't even imagine the logistics of handling that many inserts. I am trying to be a serious couponer and get lots of good deals, but I don't ever take advantage of the system. There are plenty of good deals out there without committing fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 No store here would allow extreme couponing. There isn't even one that doubles coupons anywhere around here. I use coupons, but they don't save all that much imo. Most of them seem to be for certain brands of air fresheners or candy that I would never use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Well that explains why, when I tried looking for coupons after seeing the show, I wasn't able to find many legit coupons online at ALL (and many of the women on the show said they searched online quite a bit) and after several hours of looking and picking out coupons and printing them out, I was told that our local store won't accept internet coupons so all of my work was for nothing (at the last minute I decided to go to our local store instead of Wal Mart and stupidly I didn't check their coupon policy)...I felt like it was such a frustating waste of time. I can't imagine delving more deeply into this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 :iagree: Jenny at Southern Savers was blogging during the most recent episode and pointed out how these stores were breaking their own coupon policies for the publicity. If you or I walked in and tried to shop like that, we'd be shut down. I love southern savers and check in ALL the time!!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 The most extreme I have gotten on coupons is spending $126, and a saving of $192, and I used 64 coupons and got 120 items. That was two months ago, and I still have lots of stuff still to use. That show is a fraud and it will cause problems for people who coupon trying to stretch their food budget as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 You can get just as good deals eating healthily by following your local store's coupons. Rarely, if ever, do coupons come out in the Sunday papers that are for anything but junk and processed food. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 That article is the same as the one in the OP.:D Ugh. I missed that. Sorry. The URLs were different and I didn't see the note on the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4everHis Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Yeah I don't believe it either. Coupons I've seen have limits and minimal purchase requirements. None of the stores here double coupons either. So how on earth do they manage that? For example, someone once said in an article if they have $1 off seafood they buy $1 worth of seafood and get several of those $1 off coupons. First of all I have never seen coupons like that. They either say $1 when you buy at least x amount and/or limit one per customer. Ok, fraud aside I guess they could be going in several times. But really now, someone asks the guy at the fish counter to sliver off a dollar's worth of fish like 10 times (going in and out of the store)? WHO DOES THAT?! I worked in grocery stores where I would get these people with 50 coupons for the same item and the coupon clearly stated one purchase per customer per visit. I'd reject their 50 coupons for 50 boxes of Cherrioes and they would get all bent out of shape claiming other people rang it up in the past. Yeah well they weren't supposed to. I could have gotten in trouble and the store could too. And of course they would act like they didn't know. Right. :glare: I think it's all bogus. It makes for dumb TV too. Considering our Kroger (major chain) just put up a notice that you can't even stack a store coupon with a manufactures coupon. . . makes this VERY suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Fraud! Ya know - I was invited to a "super couponing" workshop for $20 not long ago,. and almost went. I'd love to pay $100 for healthy food. The person running it swore she only bought fresh, non-packaged food, etc. I couldn't figure out how - I never see coupons for that... However, if this is the method being used, there is a possibility that she could be getting better food with the cruddy coupons. I get wanting to save money, but I won't do it fraudulently. I do agree that it is shoplifting, and raises prices for all of us who won't break the law to save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) Unfortunately, there may be a few novice or non-coupon shoppers who, even when confronted with this, may think, "So what? She got great deals!" And, they're out there. When this story started to break yesterday, a fan on Jaime's Facebook wall wrote, "Gabby Paige - I don't even get why people are bothered by this??!! It does NOT affect YOU or any one else for that matter it doesn't take money or food out of any ones pocket whooooo carrrreessssss everything is so dam n expensive these days any way! This quote just says everything that is wrong with our society. It is fraudulent. It doesn't matter if you can get away with it. And it does eventually affect the rest of us. Most everything does! Does no one have any personal integrity anymore???:confused1: Edited April 12, 2011 by coloradoperkins ETA, wow, I'm having a really cynical day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Unfortunately, there may be a few novice or non-coupon shoppers who, even when confronted with this, may think, "So what? She got great deals!" And, they're out there. When this story started to break yesterday, a fan on Jaime's Facebook wall wrote, "Gabby Paige - I don't even get why people are bothered by this??!! It does NOT affect YOU or any one else for that matter it doesn't take money or food out of any ones pocket whooooo carrrreessssss everything is so dam n expensive these days any way! This quote just says everything that is wrong with our society. It is fraudulent. It doesn't matter if you can get away with it. And it does eventually affect the rest of us. Most everything does! Does no one have any personal integrity anymore???:confused1: I wonder what the whooooooo carrrrreeeeesssss poster would think if it was clearly explained to her just how fraud (in any form) impacts everyone? Maybe she is truly ignorant of the repercussions? Or she could just be immoral... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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