Jill Brinks
I am not a particular fan of catsup. What most people use catsup on, I use mustard. I put mustard on my fries, hotdogs, burgers, even fish sticks (yummy
fishsticks). But when Meijer & Heinz teamed together and were offering a $5 catalina coupon good toward your next purchase, which would print with the purchase of any 5 participating Heinz products, I couldnt resist. Heinz catsup was on sale for $0.89. So, every 5 bottles of catsup would cost $4.45. Then, using a coupon on the next 5, it gave you $0.55 overage. I was ecstatic. My mother and I went out on Monday afternoon, armed with coupons to make the most of our overage. A package of 15 Van DeKamp fishsticks was on sale 2/$4. I had two of the $1/1 coupons. I bought two packages for $0.45 each (remember how much I like fishsticks?
oh yes).
Manwich was on sale for $0.99, and I had a coupon for $1/3. After the coupon & overage, it cost $1.42, roughly $0.47 per can. I also did the Manwich rebate, which with 3 UPCS & receipts you receive a coupon for $2 off ground beef or turkey. This will be the first rebate Ive done to save on meat! My mom and I also bought other things that only cost a few cents after the overage.
That day we brought home 100 bottles of Heinz catsup. My plan was to wait until Saturday, then visit area Meijers in case they still had some left by the end of the week. I wanted to give others time to get in on the deal as well, especially since I know a RCer who uses the same Meijer as I do.
Saturday turned out to be a very interesting day, in a sort of messed-up way. My cousin Christopher, my sister Rachel and I headed to our nearest Meijer. They only had the 20 oz. easy squeeze variety there, instead of the usual 24 oz. bottles we had bought on Monday. At first I was disappointed because it was a loss of 4 ounces per bottle, but then I reminded myself that they were free after all, and not to let all these deals go to my head and make me spoiled. We took 35 bottles & after putting other merchandise in our cart, headed to the U-Scans. The coupon didnt print. My worst nightmare had come true. Instead, only a slip of paper printed out saying that we were not an instant winner in the Heinz sweepstakes. What on earth? After I went up to the cashier in charge of the U-Scans and explained the situation, she called someone over and he wrote us a handmade coupon. After we completed three deals, a Meijer employee came over and talked to the U-Scan cashier & myself. He told us that the deal was over, whipping out a few papers stapled together with what looked like the official rules for the sweepstakes. I didnt want to fight with him, and to be honest, even if I did, I would not have known how. I had no explanation whatsoever as to why the coupons werent printing.
I was disappointed though because this meant that the last deal we did, we wouldnt receive a coupon for afterwards. I just sucked up my losses as we drove to a different Meijer a few miles away.
We tested one deal at the U-Scan and the coupon printed! Rejoice! After taking our bags to the car, we promptly went back in taking nearly all of the catsup. Something in the computer that day was just not right. Whenever the cashier would scan the $5 coupon, an additional $0.30 would be taken off. Our first couple deals went okay, because we were still paying him money. The next couple however really began to perplex the male cashier. He would be giving us $0.12, $0.18, but then when the deal came through where we had 5 catsups, 2 Ortega taco seasoning mixes & 1 Blow Pop sucker from the bulk candy, he didnt know what to do. The mixes were $0.75 each, and I had a coupon for $1/2, while the sucker was a nickel. Originally, this deal was supposed to be free, but with the computer confusing all of us, it said that we were owed $0.30. After a manager was called over, she told him to go ahead and give us the $0.30 if the computer said so, because they didnt want their till messed up. She reassured him that everything was fine and he wouldnt be in trouble. Having to accept cash from the drawer after I didnt give him any to begin with for that transaction was a total first for me!
But I definitely loved it!
After that was a hit we visited yet another store. I couldnt help it, there were these little packrat genes shouting out from inside longing for just one more catsup bottle.
Unfortunately, this Meijer wasnt a good one at all. Oh sure, they had tons of catsup, but the cashier wasnt going to let us get it all. After accepting two coupons, she called management. I think that the computer automatically deducting an additional $0.30 was the major factor making her a bit edgy. Then she repeated what the employee had told her over the phone, which was that since there was only my cousin & I, that she could only accept two of the coupons and that the one we received after the third deal would have to be used another day. I knew her argument was coming from the distorted one per purchase concept, but I tried reasoning. I told her that if that was the case, I would gladly purchase all the catsup bottles on the belt if the appropriate numbers of coupons would spit out. If not, I could just return them to the customer service desk. She rang them up, I paid for them, and only one coupon printed out. She handed me the receipt & coupon and said that if I just wanted to head up to the customer service desk right now, she would put all the catsup in a cart and take it back for me.
Everything went smoothly at the customer service desk. I didnt think of it then, but later on I realized that the coupon we received for buying all the catsup that we returned sort of made up for the coupon that we didnt receive at the first Meijer. Isnt it great how everything likes to level out?
All total, we netted 170 bottles of catsup which we have given/will give to relatives, friends & my churchs food pantry with still having enough for my family of seven. This was one of the most fun shopping expenditures I have ever done! On top of the 170 free catsups, we also earned $18.70 in overages used toward other groceries, and thats not counting the money we were paid out of the till that Saturday! That amount of earnings is difficult for me to calculate (you would understand if you saw the receipts) but I am guessing that it was roughly $3. Power to the coupon people!
P.S. Only 155 catsup bottles are pictured. We gave some away before I got a chance to take the photo.
|
Photo Comments
|
|
Way to go, Smart Shopper! I think it's great to share with friends/family & to donate, plus you have a great stockpile for your own family.
Oct. 26, 2009 By:
Brandy
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Great Job!! She's not greed and it's not unethical, she's just a smart shopper!!
Oct. 19, 2009 By:
tina
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
I am sure you can donate a lot of those bottles to soup kitchens and everyone would be happy!
Oct. 12, 2009 By:
Karen
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
What a waste of time! There is no food-value to 177 bottles of catsup. Can't make a meal from it. You really didn't save any money at all. Food shelves want FOOD, not condiments.
Sep. 23, 2009 By:
nts
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Couldn't you have made lots more money, by using the time you spent shopping for 170 bottles of ketchup and worked at a real job? You would have made more than $18.70.
Sep. 17, 2009 By:
Jul
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
I think there is a line we cross between shopping with coupons to save money for our families, and becoming greedy, unethical, and letting coupon shopping obsess us. We need to be aware of what is happening in our hearts. W
Sep. 17, 2009 By:
Hoya
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
This is not shopping to save money, this is greed. What about the family that wants to put three bottles in their pantry and you've stolen their privilege because you challenged the system and took it all!
Sep. 16, 2009 By:
Carol
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Wow! I am jealous. I LOVE Ketchup and put it on everything!
Aug. 8, 2008 By:
www.marketingmelodie.com
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
