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. Every time I use a lot of coupons, the cashier misses some. How can I be sure they are all counted?
  2. What is your opinion of buying coupons, either from Ebay or from another source?
  3. I’ve heard that at the end of the day, the newspaper no longer needs the coupon inserts, but I called my newspaper to ask about getting some extra inserts on a Monday and they said that would violate their contract with the vendors. Any suggestions?
  4. Are you supposed to use peelie coupons in conjunction with manufacturer coupons?
  5. Where can I find Publix booklets (other than at the store)? Thanks!
  6. Are we ‘allowed’ to photocopy publix coupons that just have the LU # on them?
  7. Why do some zip codes work and others don’t on the coupon printing sites?
  8. Can I use a coupon against an item I am already getting for free because of another coupon?
  9. Where do you get the coupon information for the matchups that you list on your site?
  10. What are good prices ranges or sale prices for different types of meats?

And here are the answers!

  1. Holly wants to know: Every time I use a lot of coupons, the cashier misses some. How can I be sure they are all counted? I organize them very well, but the printed coupons tend to stick together which I think may be part of the problem.

    2. Michelle: I rarely step up to checkout before I am completely organized!  I have all of my coupons organized and in a little bag ready to go before I even walk in the store!  I have all the like coupons together and I actually hand them to the cashier in sets while verbalizing the coupons…EX–“Here are four coupons for Juicy Juice”.  I then make sure the coupons are scanned by keeping an eye on the screen.  I do this to make sure that the coupons are counted but also to make sure I am using the correct coupons.  If an item I had intended to purchase was not available I will be able to pull that coupon as I filter through my stack.  I also shop with a spreadsheet so I usually know what my total should be…if there is a big discrepancy I can check my receipt before I leave the store
    Christy:  This can be a problem, especially if you hand all your coupons over at the beginning of the order. What I do is make sure I know the total number and total amount of all the coupons I hand over. That way I can watch the monitor to make sure my total has reduced by the appropriate amount. If I think there’s been a mistake, I check the receipt before leaving the store and talk to customer service about it; they will almost always refund me the amount I’m due right then and there.

  2. Margaret wants to know: What is your opinion of buying coupons from Ebay or other sources? I know they say the coupons are technically not ‘for sale’, but it seems that even the transfer of a coupon can make it fraudulent and void.

    3. Like many things in the world of coupons…y0u should do what makes you comfortable!  I look at is as paying someone for their time to clip and send what I need.  I am paying for the service rather than the coupon 🙂 

  3. Jennifer wants to know: I’ve heard that at the end of the day, the newspaper no longer needs their extra coupon inserts, but I called my newspaper to ask about getting some extra inserts on a Monday and they said that would violate their contract with the vendors. Any suggestions?

    4. Christy: To the best of my knowledge, even though the paper may have no use for the inserts, they are not allowed to distribute them in any way other than with the sale of the paper. You might want to try asking friends or neighbors that get the Sunday paper if they will use their coupon inserts – if not, I bet many of them would be willing to let you have them!

  4. Romy wants to know: Are you supposed to use peelie coupons in conjunction with manufacturer coupons? It was allowed at my store in the past, but i wasn’t sure if it was supposed to go through or not. I don’t want to be a fraudulent coupon user.

    5. No, you should not use peelies in conjunction with other manufacturer’s coupons – a peelie is a manufacturer’s coupon too so you can only use one. Pick the one that will work best for you and save the other for another deal.  Remember you need to look at the coupon carefully to determine what type of coupon you have.  The vast majority of coupons are manufacturer coupons.  A manufacturer’s coupon will begin with the number 9 or the number 5 and have a barcode.  It does not matter if you have a peelie, a tearpad, a blinkie or an insert coupon–you can only use ONE per item (as specified by the coupon).  Please note that you must determine how many items are required to fulfill the coupon requirements.  If a coupon is $1/2 you must buy TWO items to use that coupon.  In the instance of a $1/2 you are still using one coupon per item–the coupon attaches to and discounts both items!

  5. Marie wants to know: I was wondering if you knew of any sites or alternative ways to get Publix booklets. I haven’t been able to find any in months (and that’s even with going to the store multiple times throughout the week)!

    6. Christy: The only things I could suggest here are trying to find booklets for purchase or trade – and I’d try trade first! There are a number of websites out there – this one included – that have very active trade boards and many people who trade seriously often have a lot of all kinds of coupons you might be looking for – including booklets. However, you might have more luck just trading for a particular coupon or two from the booklet rather than for the booklet itself – so make sure you know what is in the booklet and what you will actually use before you trade or purchase.
    Michelle: I agree with Christy –trading is your best option!!  Those booklets can be hard to find but if you can find coupon buddies then you all can be on the lookout for each other!!

  6. Stacy wants to know: Are we ‘allowed’ to photocopy Publix coupons that just have the LU # on them? I ask because today in my Publix I found only 1 “There’s value in family” booklet so I asked a girl who was walking around if she knew where I could get more. She said she would look and then came back to me and handled me several photocopied coupons from the booklet. Can I skip this step and just photocopy them myself? I would never do this with a manufacturer’s coupon or a Publix coupon that had a barcode on it but I figured since Publix seems to be willing to photocopy LU coupons, it should be okay.

    7. I am going to say that photocopying is a no go. Of course each store can make their own rules so be sure and ask before you make that copy 🙂

  7. Maria wants to know: *Why do some zip codes work and others don’t on the coupon printing sites? My zip code never seems to have all the items listed, and same for my Sunday paper inserts. I end up wasting a lot of time searching for coupons that don’t materialize.

    8. Christy: Regional coupon differences affect all of us at one time or another – case in point: I didn’t get the $4/1 Nivea this week like so many of you did, and I was majorly bummed out about it. My understanding about regional differences in coupon distribution is that the company distributes more or better coupons in areas where they’re trying to promote their product, and less in areas where their product is already popular.
    Michelle: Also, product prices vary greatly by region!! My buddy out in California will often get better coupons that I get here in Georgia…but she also pays a much higher price for her items!!  Coupons vary dramatically –that is why I try to list as many as possible.  You have to be aware of all the coupons available so you can score those higher value coupons via trade!

  8. Mandy wants to know: Can I use a coupon against an item that I am already getting free? For example, if I’m using a “FREE Hillshire Farm Deli Select Lunchmeat with the purchase of Two (2) packages of Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausages,” can I also use a coupon for “$.55/1 Hillshire Lunchmeat”?

    9. No, you can’t use another coupon in this scenario, because the FREE coupon is counted as a manufacturer’s coupon that applies to the lunchmeat rather than to the smoked sausage. However, you CAN use another manufacturer’s coupon to reduce the price of the sausage in this case.

  9. Joe wants to know: Where do you get the coupon information for the matchups that you list on your site? Sometimes the information you have listed for a particular coupon is misleading or even wrong.

    10. I use a coupon database to do matchups.  Coupons vary by region so what may seem incorrect may actually be correct for another area.  I try to list as many matchups that I can find and often use several different databases to double check my matchups.  Back to the Nivea example…some areas received a $1/1 Nivea while others got the $4/1 Nivea.  If you saw a $4/1 listed in the matchup (when you got  the $1/1)  that would not be an incorrect matchup…it just means that somewhere someone received that coupon! 
    Also, I am human and so I will make mistakes 🙂  I try very hard to make sure that all is correct but my days are crazy busy and with my schedule and two small boys running around –some days there will be mistakes!!

  10. Vicki wants to know: What are good prices ranges or sale prices for different types of meats? I want to make sure I stock up at the best possible price.

    11. This varies significantly by region and will also depend on the person and their individual price point!! It is really hard to say what is a “stock up” price as each person will place more/less importance on an item based on their consumption level.  For example–here at my house I don’t buy a lot of red meat…so my price point may be a lot lower than a family who eats red meat three times per week!! Here is an example of our price points:
    Michelle’s prices:
    Ground Turkey  <$1.25/lb
    Chicken (boneless skinless)<$1.99/lb
    Chicken (split breast) <$.99/lb
    Chicken Thighs <$.99/lb
    Chicken Legs <$.89/lb
    Whole Chicken <$.99/lb
    Ground Beef <$2
    Whole Turkey <$.89/lb
    Steak–I don’t buy a lot of steak but I would say <$5/lb I would stock up!
    Pork Chops or Loin <$1.99
    Pork Roasts <$.99/lb
    Christy: I live in Gainesville, Florida (Go Gators!), and here are my low prices:
    Steaks (strip or ribeye): <$5.99/lb
    Ground Beef (80% lean or greater): <$2.29/lb
    Chicken Breast: <$1.99/lb
    Pork chops: <$1.99/lb
    Now, it is your turn…what do you guys consider stock up prices?? 

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.