I am so excited about the new feature and love that there was such a great response from you all!! Actually there was such a great response that I needed a little help!! My buddy Christy over at Haphazardly Hobbying was kind enough to give me some help to get ten of your questions answered. There was no way we could get to everyone –if we didn’t get to your question this week…don’t worry we will do our best to cover it another week!!
I am going to start a new tab at the top of the site where I will do my best to organize the information so that it can serve as a quick reference!
Here are this week’s questions:

  1. How do manufacturers determine how many of each coupon get distributed in a particular area? Is there such a thing as a rain check for blinkies or tearpad Qs?
  2. How does the Publix Penny Item work?
  3. Does my Publix get reimbursed the full face value of my coupon even when they adjust the amount down to avoid overage?
  4. How do you get multiple internet coupons?
  5. Why is it that coupons vary so much between different papers in the same area?
  6. If an item is BOGO, what’s the best way to pair it with a B2G1 coupon?
  7. Is there a way to get the Sunday inserts at a discount?
  8. Will the Publix pharmacy accept a CVS or Walgreens “get a free $XX gift card when you transfer a prescription” coupon?
  9. How many times a week do you shop, and on which days?
  10. On average, how long does your typical grocery shopping adventure take?

And here are the answers!
Susan wants to know: Why are the blinkies and tearpads always empty when I get to them?? How do manufacturers determine how many of each coupon get distributed in a particular area? Is there such a thing as a rain check for blinkies or tearpad Qs?

Christy: To my knowledge, there is definitely no such thing as a rain check for blinkie or tearpad coupons, and manufacturers determine which areas get coupons based on their sales in that area. After the blinkie or the tearpad gets placed in your store, though, you’re at the mercy of every other shopper and couponer out there – hopefully they will only take the number of coupons they need. As such, you can never count on a blinkie or a tearpad – it might be there, it might not, it might have coupons left, it might not. When I read about a possible blinkie or tearpad, I make a note of it on my shopping list so that I’ll be sure to look for it, but it’s always hit or miss and I never factor it into my shopping scenario until I’ve got the coupon in hand.

Niki wants to know: How does the Publix Penny Item work? Why isn’t it a penny in my store?

The Publix Penny Item is a customer incentive –basically a promotion to get you in the store.  Each week there is a coupon in the newspaper that will allow you to purchase the designated item for just a penny with a $10 purchase.  Florida does not participate in the promotion–my guess is that they don’t need to offer the incentive as they are top dog in Florida 🙂  The date of the penny is the same day that your ad begins.  Here in Atlanta my ad begins on Thursday so that is the day that I can score an item for a penny.

Stephanie, Joelle, and Tammy want to know: Does my Publix get reimbursed the full face value of my coupon even when they adjust the amount down to avoid overage? Tammy writes that “Several weeks ago there was a manufacturers coupon where you bought trash bags and got $3 off Clorox wipes. At that time, the wipes were on sale for $1.99. The cashier outright accused me of coupon fraud andproceeded to throw the coupons in the trash can. I very politely told her that I was happy to accept $1.99 off the wipes if this particular store did not allow overage. She refused the coupons outright until I pressed her further regarding overage. She didn’t understand the term “overage.” In the end, she took $1.99 off my bill (very reluctantly) and when I asked her if Publix would be reimbursed the entire $3 plus 8 cents, she took a sharpie and marked through the $3 and wrote $1.99 on the coupon. So, will Publix get the face value of $3?”

Christy: Unfortunately, we’ve all been in that situation more than once. There are just too many cashiers out there that don’t understand the way coupons work and who have probably been given incorrect information by other workers. In my understanding, the store WILL get the face value of the coupon (plus 8 cents) for every coupon it sends in to the clearinghouse. However, it is still the store’s choice to allow overage or not. If they don’t, you just need to prepare for that. Think of it as a tradeoff for all the competitor coupons you’ve been able to use at Publix since you’ve been couponing – because Publix certainly doesn’t get reimbursed for those amounts. By the way, Tammy, I think you handled this situation perfectly!

Michelle: Each store can make their own rules regarding overage and what coupons they will allow to be used.  Most stores welcome coupons as they are a form of payment that is treated like cash tender in the cashier’s drawer and in store procedures.

Coupon redemption is automated so the fact that that cashier wrote $1.99 means nothing to that scanner reading the bar code at the clearinghouse 🙂 The store will be reimbursed the face value plus a small handling fee. To learn more about the life of a coupon visit THIS site.

An anonymous commenter wants to know: How do you get multiple internet coupons? Is there any way to get more than two if I only have one computer

Unfortunately, you do need to have another computer if you want to be able to print more than one set of internet printables at home. However, there are plenty of other ways to get legitimate printables- have a friend who won’t use them print for you, or use the trade section here on the site to find a few reliable people that you can trade printables & other coupons with regularly.

Theresa and Jennifer want to know: Why is it that coupons vary so much between different papers in the same area? Last week I even got different coupons in two copies of the same paper!

Christy: From what I’ve read, advertising (and therefore the coupons you find) varies by zip code and by the marketing area of each particular paper – so if you get one copy of the paper delivered to your home in one zip code, and then buy another copy of the same paper 15 or 20 miles away, it’s very possible that you’ll get different coupons. My advice is always to CHECK the papers before you purchase them – a quick scan through will tell you if you’re getting the coupons that you want. I always do this with my papers, since the Walgreens and CVS papers are occasionally missing inserts altogether!

Natasha wants to know: If an item is BOGO, what’s the best way to pair it with a B2G1 coupon? For example, if Coke 2 liters are BOGO for $2 and you have B2G1 coupons, would you A) Grab 3 and get all 3 for the price of 1, or B) Grab 4 and get all 4 for the price of 1?

Christy: While scenario (B) gets you the best price, your store may give you a hard time about using that coupon – mine requires that I actually PAY for two if I’m getting one free, so I generally plan on scenario (A). YMMV, of course!

Michelle: In my area BOGO rings half price…so for us we would buy three items and pay the equivalent of one full priced item (1st item is half price with BOGO, 2nd item is half price with BOGO, 3rd item is free with coupon)

In areas of true BOGO you should be able to get four items for the price of one as the coupon covers the price of one item and BOGO covers the cost of the other two!

Kim wants to know: Is there a way to get the Sunday inserts at a discount? I know you can use a clipping service but I was wondering if people pay full price for each paper they get at home or if there are any tips on places that sell them for a discount? I heard someone once post about a “double insert” paper at CVS – do you know anything about that?

Christy: As I think I’ve written before, I almost always get my Sunday papers (I usually buy four a week) at Walgreens or CVS. I use my Register Rewards or ECBs to pay for my papers in order to reduce the amount I pay for the inserts. I’ve read that a lot of couponers get their papers at the dollar stores every week because that’s the cheapest price they can find. Also, if there’s a double insert paper anywhere, I’d love to know about it!

Michelle: Here in Atlanta we have what is called a Sunday Double…it is the Sunday Early Edition (comes out on Saturday) and the regular Sunday paper bundled and sold for $3.  If you purchase each paper separately you pay more–crazy huh?!!

You can buy full inserts from clipping sites like Coupons & Things By Dede and I have heard you can even buy inserts by the pound.  I have not purchased by the pound so maybe those who have could give us a review?

Shirae wants to know: Will the Publix pharmacy accept a CVS or Walgreens coupons for a “get a free $XX gift card when you transfer a prescription” coupon?

This is yet another question that depends on your particular store – ask at your customer service desk before taking the coupon to the Pharmacy.

Malinda wants to know: How many times a week do you shop, and on which days?

Christy: I generally shop at Publix twice a week – once over the weekend to grab any really hot items I think might sell out early in the sale (and also because I’ve noticed that I find the most blinkie/tearpad coupons, MIRs, and booklets during the day on Saturday or Sunday), and (if I have time) again during the week towards the end of the sale. I also shop every Sunday morning at CVS and Walgreens to get their cheap/free items and my Sunday papers.

Michelle:  I usually shop on Monday morning as that is generally when I need to replace the basics like milk & bread.  Monday is also the only day that I don’t have to take the boys to an activity so I can go at my convenience.  I try to only shop once per week but if there is a hot deal I might make a second trip 😉

Rika wants to know: On average, how long does your typical grocery shopping adventure take? Do you usually shop with your kids, or go solo

Christy:  We don’t have kids yet, but I always try to go solo – my husband used to be a professional chef, and when he’s in the store with me he always ends up wrecking my total by adding 10 non-sale things to the cart because he has decided to make a particular dish for dinner that night (I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain!!! :o). That said, though, I find that I can concentrate much better when I’m alone in the store. The actual amount of time it takes me to get in and out of the store depends on the length of my shopping list – if there are only a few sale items I need to pick up, I can get in and out within 10 minutes. If I have a much longer list, though, I’ll allot at least an hour for my shopping trip – that way I have the time to look for new blinkies and tearpads, unadvertised sales, etc. I know how lucky I am to be able to spare this much time, and I’m taking advantage of it while I can!

Michelle: Oh I am so jealous of Christy’s stress free trips…I always have my 2 year old and 4 year old in tow!!  I try to go as early as possible on Monday to avoid the crowds.  My 2 year old is a bit of a  booger and he can make my shopping trips VERY difficult!  I always bring a snacks and drinks for the boys and even toys to keep them entertained!!  I have a very exact spreadsheet prepared and all of my coupons are bagged and ready for checkout!!  Most weeks I can be in and out in an hour.  If the boys are being cooperative I will take a few minutes to price check items and chat with all the great people who work at “my” store.  Checkout can be stressful but the great gals at the bank (who are now all couponers) will come to my rescue with a sucker if they see the boys are getting antsy and I often stroll by the bakery right before I finish to snag a free sanity saver cookie!  It can be a rough adventure but seeing my receipt once I am done is kinda like my little reward!!

I hope our answers to these questions were helpful! Make sure you ‘tune in’ next week for even more Q&A with I Heart Publix. If you have a question you’d like to see answered, email me at contactiheartpublix@gmail.com.