To receive full membership benefits, just

• print your FREE 60-day trial membership offer:

BJ’s 60 day free membership coupon

• take it to your nearest club (you can find locations here)
• Activate it at the membership desk, and receive FULL Member benefits for 60 days.

So, what are the benefits? Well, unlike most warehouse stores, BJ’s has a FANTASTIC coupon policy. More about that below

In addition, BJ’s prices are about 30% below regular retail prices at local stores, including items in these categories:

• Apparel
• Automotive
• Baby
• Bakery
• Cameras
• Club Brand
• Computers
• Electronics
• Entertainment
• Fresh Produce and Meat
• Gas & Propane
• Gifts
• Grocery & Gourmet
• Health & Beauty
• Home & Housewares
• Household Basics
• Jewelry
• Meal Solutions
• Office Supplies
• Pet Supplies
• Seasonal
• Toys

Then, there are the COUPONS!
Unlike most membership and warehouse clubs, BJ’s accepts all manufacturers’ coupons — including the ones that come in your Sunday newspaper — giving you additional savings.

In addition, they offer their own, larger value in-club coupons. You can locate these membership-only coupons:

• online (for example see BJ In-Club Coupons )
• in BJ’s Journal, a BJ’s Member magazine
• through special-offer mailings
• in BJ’s in-Club coupon flyers

You can also use more than one coupon when you buy their multi-packed products (a pack that contains multiple full-sized packages of a single product shrink-wrapped together)! For example, if you have 2 coupons for 50% off an 8-oz. bottle of face cleanser and you are buying a multi-pack that contains 2 or more 8-oz. bottles of face cleanser you may use both coupons.

With the new coupons available in stores, booklets, and even newspapers for TOYS, you might find some great gifts, and great savings too!. It might just be worth a free trial!

To access and use the coupons, you simply sign up for Zavers with your store card, and click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use.  Once the coupons have been linked to your store shopping card, the discounts will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

You can store and use up to 40 clipfree coupons through Zavers.  Paperless coupons are not doubled or tripled.  Some manufacturers allow the use of a paperless coupon and a paper coupon for the same item, while others do not.
Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• A&P
• Waldbaum’s
• Superfresh
• The Food Emporium
• Pathmark

Kellogg’s coupons

and consider signing up for their updates.

You can also learn about the

Special K $10 “skinny jeans” rebate, the

$10 bonus bucks when you buy 3 cereal boxes rebate, and even

which cereal brands have specially marked boxes with $5 in coupon inside

as well as other current AND past offers.

So, what other offers are you looking for?

The new site

Tablespoon.com

is designed to provide a huge reference of searchable commercial kitchen-tested recipes (like the ones from Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and their other brands), along with your own recipes, and share them with friends and family. You can also rate the commercial recipes.

There is also a large block of 100 printable coupons to go along with the recipes. (The site is currently in beta testing, but I understand the coupons will link up with recipes soon). The printable coupons are powered by Coupons.com, and include some from the coupons.com monthly site, as well as other coupons exclusive for site members.

I’ll admit, I’m getting overwhelmed by the number of electronic and printable coupon sites to keep track of, but this site seems to offer some fairly good coupons in a large range of categories.  Here’s an example of what you can find in this month’s 100 coupons, with a face value of $153.75:

Tablespoon.com coupons

Save $.50
on any one (1) StarKist® Pouch Product

Save $.50
when you buy ONE any variety Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen vegetables

Save $1.50
on Any ONE (1) DiGiorno Ultimate Toppings Pizza Product

SAVE $1.00
on ONE package of Kellogg’s® Special K® Blueberry Cereal (11.4 oz. or Larger)

Save $0.50
on any ONE (1) Steamfresh® Lightly Sauced vegetable or pasta variety

Save $.50
when you buy ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker® Frosting

Save $.40
when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker® Potatoes (Except Potato Buds®)

Save $1.50
when you buy two (2) 15 oz. or larger package of COFFEE-MATE® Liquid or Powder any variety

Save $.50
when you buy any variety 19 OZ. – 24 OZ. ONLY Green Giant® Frozen Bagged Vegetables

$1.00 off
FOUR (4) or more rolls of Scott® Long Lasting or Mega Roll Paper Towels

Save $2.00
on Any ONE (1) HUGGIES® Diapers

Save $.50 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls

SAVE $1.00
on any ONE package of Kellogg’s™ Special K™ Protein Shakes (4 ct. or Larger, Any Flavor)

Save $1.00
On any ONE (1) Snuggle® Fabric Softener or Sheets

Save $.50
when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait® Yogurt cups (Includes Original, Light, Thick & Creamy, …

$.75 OFF
on your next purchase of Del Monte Gold® Extra Sweet Pineapple!

$.50 Off
any THREE (3) packages or ONE (1) BundlePack® of KLEENEX® Facial Tissue

Save $1.10 on THREE
when you buy THREE any flavor Progresso® Soups

Save $.55
On any ONE package of Keebler® Sandwich Crackers

Save $1.50
on any ONE (1) bag of Steamfresh Meals

Save $1.50
On One (1) Pkg HORMEL® Refrigerated Entrée

Save $.55
when you buy Original Cheerios® cereal (the one in the yellow box)

Save $.30 on TWO
when you buy TWO any size/variety Refrigerated Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits

Save $.50 on TWO
when you buy TWO any variety Green Giant® Frozen Boxed Vegetables

Save $1.00
on Any ONE (1) California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust Pizza

Save $1.00 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Chex® cereals

Save $.60
when you buy 40 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix

Save $1.00
Off One Ore-Ida® Steam n’ Mash™ Potatoes

Save $.75
when you buy any Kix® cereal: Kix®, Berry Berry Kix® OR Honey Kix®

Save $.50
when you buy any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack

$1.00 off
when you buy EIGHT (8) rolls or more of SCOTT® Extra Soft Tissue

SAVE $.40
when you buy any flavor Yoplait® products listed: • Yoplait® Go-GURT® Yogurt • Yoplait® Kids Cup…

Save $1.00
On any TWO packages of Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies Treats® Crispy Marshmallow Squares

Save $1.00
on Any TWO (2) Packages of Maxwell House Coffee (10.5 oz. or larger)

SAVE $0.75
on any ONE package of Kellogg’s® Special K® Chocolatey Pretzel Bars (6 ct. or Larger)

Save $2.00
with purchase of two GE lighting products (Redeemable only at Target)

Save $1.50
on Any ONE (1) HUGGIES® Little Snugglers or HUGGIES® Little Movers Diapers

Save $1.00
when you buy two (2) Ghirardelli Baking Products

Save $.75
when you buy MultiGrain Cheerios® cereal

Save $1.00
on ONE Kellogg’s Corn Flakes® Touch of Honey Cereal (12 oz. or Larger)

Save $3.00
on Any ONE (1) HUGGIES® Pure & Natural Diapers

Save $1.00
when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Delights™ Yogurt Multipack

Save $1.00
when you buy any flavor YoPlus® OR YoPlus® Light Yogurt 4-pack

Save $.40 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls or Grands!® Sweet Rolls

Save $5.00
on a My Little Pony purchase of $20 or more.

Save $1.0
when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Fiber One® Yogurt Multipacks

SAVE $.40
when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley® Granola Bars

Save $.50
when you buy ONE any variety Progresso® Broth

Save $1.00
On any TWO packages of Kellogg’s® Special K® Bars (6 ct. or Larger, Any Flavor, Mix or Match)

Save $.40
when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker® Cookie Mix

Save $.50
when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Mini…

Save 75¢
On any 1 (one) Weight Watchers® cheese or cream cheese item.

Save $.50 on TWO
when you buy TWO packages of Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts

Save $2.00
on GE Energy Smart® compact fluorescent lighting product (Redeemable only at Target)

Save $.55
when you buy ONE PACKAGE any variety Pillsbury® Simply…™ Refrigerated Cookie Dough

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) Mr. Potato Head® Spud Buds™ toy

SAVE $1.00
On any ONE package of Kellogg’s® Cinnabon™Bars (6 ct., Any Flavor)

SAVE $3.00
ON 1 MAYBELLINE NEW YORK PULSE PERFECTION VIBRATING MASCARA

SAVE $1.00
On any ONE package of Kellogg’s™ Special K™ Crackers (4.62 oz. or Larger, Any Flavor)

Save $.40 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Italian Meal Breads (Includes any Loaves, Breadsticks, Dinner …

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® DinoRoars™ Hatchlings toy

Save $1.00 on TWO
when you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie Dough

Save $.75 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Refrigerated Holiday Cookies

Save $.80 on TWO
when you buy TWO any flavor Yoplait®

Save $1.00
Good on any Aleve Cold product.12 hours of sinus relief with one pill.

Save $3.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® LULLABY GLOWORM™ toy

Save $1.00 on TWO
when you buy any TWO Progresso® Products (Excluding Soup and Broth)

SAVE $1.00
on any ONE (1) HÄAGEN-DAZS FIVE™ 14oz ice cream product

Save $3.00
on one tube of Nexcare™ Cold Sore Treatment

SAVE $1.00
on any Jergens Naturals® Daily Moisturizer 16.8oz or larger

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® Activity Ball toy

Save $1.00
on Any TWO (2) packages of California Pizza Kitchen Flatbread Melts

Save $.55
when you buy any flavor/variety Pillsbury® Savorings® products

Save $10.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® Musical Sit ‘N Spin™ toy

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® STEP START WALK’N RIDE™ toy

Save $.75 on 2
when you buy any TWO Frozen Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls, OR Mini Cinnamon Rolls

$.50 off
when you buy one (1) package of any Tetley Tea

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) MR. POTATO HEAD® Silly Suitcase™ toy

Save $.75
when you buy Whole Grain Total®, Total® Raisin Bran, Total® Honey Clusters®, Total® Cranberry Crunch,…

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® SWING ‘N SCORE BASEBALL™ toy

Save $10.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® Dance Cam™ toy

SAVE $1.00
Good on any flintstones multivitamin product

SAVE $1.50
when you buy any flavor Wanchai Ferry™ Frozen Entrée

Save $1.10
when you buy any flavor Wanchai Ferry® Dinner Kit

Save $.75
when you buy any Fiber One™ Frozen Muffins

Save $2.00
on any ONE (1) Energizer® Hearing Aid Battery pack

Save $1.00
when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters

Save $.50
when you buy any flavor/variety Fiber One™ Box Muffin Mix

Save $2.00
on the purchase of (1) MR. POTATO HEAD® or MRS. POTATO HEAD® toy

SAVE $.50
when you buy any flavor Chocolate Chex Mix® 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® Busy Ball Popper™ toy

SAVE $1.10
when you buy any flavor Romano’s Macaroni Grill® Restaurant Favorites™ Dinner Kit

Save $1.50
Good on any TWO (2) POISE® Liners

Save $.40
when you buy any flavor/variety LÄRABAR®, JOCALAT® or JamFrakas™ bars

Save $1.50
Good on any TWO (2) POISE® Pads

Save $5.00
on the purchase of (1) PLAYSKOOL® Tumble ‘N Twirl Top™ toy

SAVE $1.00
ON ANY ALKA-SELTZER PLUS PRODUCT 10 CT. AND LARGER (EXCLUDES ALKA-SELTZER ANTACID PRODUCTS)

SAVE $1.00
ON ANY ALKA-SELTZER PRODUCT 12 CT. AND LARGER (EXCLUDES ALKA-SELTZER PLUS COLD PRODUCTS)

SAVE $1.00
on Zyrtec® Itchy Eye Drops

Save $1.00
on any box of Barbara’s Organic Cereals

It would be wonderful if everyone had access to great coupons. It would be even better if we all had the time and patience to clip them from papers, organize them, and compare them against sales prices at various local stores. It would be icing on the cake if the stores had all the items in stock, we could match the right coupon to the exact time, remember to had them to the cashier, and the coupons all scanned. What an amazing day that would be!

In real life, we all don’t have the time, patience or even the best coupons to get great savings at grocery stores. Even so, there are some “clip-free” alternatives that provide reasonably good savings:

PGeSavers. Proctor & Gamble has initiated a program, PGeSavers, that allows consumers to load coupons for their P&G products directly onto a store’s shopper/discount checkout card. Once applied to the card, the savings are typically valid for up to three months. You can opt to receive email reminders when the coupons are about to expire and/or new coupons are available. Items with coupon savings can also be added directly to your electronic shopping list. When the product is purchased using the store card, the coupon savings are automatically deducted at the register. If other family members use the card when shopping, they receive the same coupon savings. Additionally, family members can assist elderly parents or disabled relatives by going online and loading the appropriate savings onto their store shopping card, thereby eliminating the need for these relatives to haul around and handle paper coupons.

PGeSaver also provides exclusive access to a monthly email newsletter, free samples, sweepstakes, coupons, and product updates.

Shortcuts.com AOL has introduced a paper-free service, shortcuts.com, which allows shoppers to load manufacturer’s coupons directly onto store shopping cards. Simply click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use, and they will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• Baker’s
• City Market
• Dillon’s
• Fry’s
• Fry’s Marketplace
• Gerbes
• Hilander
• JayC
• King Soopers
• Kroger
• Kroger Marketplace
• Owen’s
• Pay Less
• QFC
• Ralph’s
• Randalls
• Smith’s
• Smith’s Marketplace
• Tom Thumb

New stores are being added regularly, so even if your local store isn’t currently using this service, you can review a list of stores that are considering this service here, and request an email notifying you if they sign up to participate.

CellFire.com Another clipfree source is CellFire.com, a free service allowing members to access and use grocery coupons from a PC or mobile phone. Coupons can be selected and loaded directly onto your store card. Stores currently featured include

• Safeway
• Kroger
• Ralphs
• Vons
• King Soopers
• Fry’s
• Baker’s
• Dillons
• City Market
• QFC
• JayC
• Smith’s

upromise ecoupons. Upromise has also added a new feature of clipfree coupons, upromise ecoupons, which are added directly from your computer to your grocery card, and redeemed when your grocery card is scanned. Over 22,000 stores participate in this service, which also allows members to earn college savings with your everyday spending — when you buy groceries, fill the gas tank, shop online, book travel, eat out, you name it. You’ll automatically get a percentage of your purchases back as college savings.

You can redeem up to $30 in upromise ecoupons each month! Stores currently participating include:

• A&P, A&P Super Foodmart, ACME Markets, Albertsons’s
• Balls Food, Bakers, Bashas, Bel Air, bigg’s, Big Y, BiLo, Brookshire, Buehler’s
• Cala’Bell, Carrs, City Market, Copps, Country Mart, CVS/pharmacy
• D&W Foods, Dicks, Dillons, Dominick’s, Dorothy Lane
• Family Fare, Farm Fresh, Festival Foods, Food City, Food Emporium, Food Lion, Food Town, Food 4 Less, Fry’s
• Genuardi’s, Gerbes, Gerland’s Food Fair, Glen’s Markets, Giant Eagle Giant (PA), GIANT
• Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Harter House, Hilander, Homeland, Hy-Vee
• Ingle’s
• Jewel-Osco
• Kash ‘n Karry. Key Foods. Kennies. King Kullen. Kings Super Markets. King Soopers. Kroger
• Lofino’s, Lowe’s
• Marsh, Martin’s Food Markets, Meijer, Metro Food Market
• Nob Hill Foods
• O’Malia, Owens
• P&C Foods, Pathmark, Pavillions, Payless, Pick n Save, Park n Save, Piggly Wiggly, Price Chopper, Publix
• QFC, Quality Markets
• Raley’s, Ralph’s, Randalls, Redner’s Warehouse Markets, Riverside Markets, Roche Bros.
• Safeway, Sav-a-Center, Savon, Scots, Shaw’s, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, ShopRite, Shurfine, Shursave, Smith’s, Star Market, Stater Bros., Stop & Shop, Super Fresh, Super G, SuperValu Foods, Sweetbay
• Thriftway/Shop N Bag, Tom’s, Tom Thumb, Tops Markets
• Ukrop’s
• Village Market, Von’s
• Waldbaums, Wegmans, Weis Markets, Winn-Dixie

Zavers.com. Zavers.com, a leader in providing paperless coupons, has recently launched a clip-free grocery coupon service. The Zavers program allows you to link coupons directly from your PC and/or your mobile phone on to your grocery store shopping card; however, unlike some paperless coupon sites, Zavers does not require you to sign up for both services (internet and text/mobile). Zavers.com also uniquely provides store coupons, in addition to the manufacturer coupons.

To access and use the coupons, you simply sign up for Zavers with your store card, and click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use. Once the coupons have been linked to your store shopping card, the discounts will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

You can store and use up to 40 clipfree coupons through Zavers. Paperless coupons are not doubled or tripled. Some manufacturers allow the use of a paperless coupon and a paper coupon for the same item, while others do not.
Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• A&P
• Waldbaum’s
• Superfresh
• The Food Emporium
• Pathmark

Online shopping with Sunday newspaper inserts. Several internet shopping sites, like Drugstore.com and Riteaidonline.com, have the same Sunday insert coupons available for your online shopping items, and these can be combined with sales prices, rebates and special offers to achieve convenient savings. Coupons are typically high value, such as the $7 off Claritin coupon from a recent Sunday newspaper. You must remember to click through the coupon offer when adding the item to your cart. Only one coupon per item can be applied per order, i.e. one Claritin coupon, one Natural Instincts coupon, one Swiffer coupon, etc. One other factor to keep track of is the minimum order value required to get free shipping.

Personalized Shopper Card Savings. Most major stores provide “clip-free coupons” or additional savings for customers who routinely use their Store shopping checkout card. While some savings are advertised, many are not. There is a new trend for stores to provide frequent shoppers additional unadvertised discounts on items they personally use the most, including food, household cleaning products, beauty and hygiene products, etc. Check you receipts to see if there are “bonus savings” identified.

Return to Where to Find Coupons

These sites are typically created and maintained by the same companies that print the Sunday inserts (SmartSource, Red Plum, etc). They offer a similar variety of coupons, frequently on the same products.

Any difficulties with printing or redeeming the coupons should be addressed directly to the publisher, not the manufacturer. The trade-off between the cost of printing (paper, toner, supplies) needs to be considered against potential savings from the coupons.

It should be noted that as with those Sunday inserts, each publishing site offers a different selection of coupons, depending upon your locale, shopping habits, and even the site you are using to access their coupon database.

The major sites for “online insert database coupons” are:

• SmartSource
• RedPlum
• Coupons.com
• Boodle  (managed by Coupons Inc)
• CouponBug.com (generally coordinated with a local news station for your area)
• ValPak Grocery Coupons
• HealtheSavers (many different sites with varied offers to choose from)
• Mambo Sprouts
• PGEveryday  (A mixture of printable and postal mails offers delivered to your inbox)
• Newspaper featured coupons:  Log into your local major metro newspaper website for printable coupons
  for example, go to www.baltimoresun.com, select grocery coupons, and a unique page of printable grocery coupons will be displayed (powered by Coupons Inc.)

Manufacturers/Brand Coupon Sites

Most major brand websites do not publish and manage their own printable coupons and mailing lists, but contract this out to other firms, such as Coupons.com. These coupons are typically not available in the “clearinghouse” of the publishers other printable coupon sites, but are only available for people visiting the brand website and signing up for these “loyal customer” type printable coupons.

Since different brands use different distribution firms, and printing programs, and manage their printable coupons according to their own needs, it’s often easiest to find coupons for the brands you want using the information on manufacturer coupon links pages. However, there are some general brand-specific sites you can start with:

• Coupons Inc Clients list (lists all current offers for individual brand printable coupons managed by Coupons Inc;  just scroll down the list at the bottom of their page to view and click through to current offers.)
• Arm & Hammer products
• Colgate Palmolive brand coupons
• Reckitt Bencksier Home Solution News coupons
• SCJohnson Right at Home coupons
• Healthzone 365 (coupons for Motrin, Pepcid, Tylenol, Imodium, Mylanta, St. Joseph, Mylicon, Viactiv, and Lactaid.)
• My Healthy Seasons offers on OTC products

Grocery Store Website coupons
Three years ago, many stores refused to accept internet printed coupons. It was simply too easy for fraudulent coupons to be “created” at home, and the stores bore the cost of redeeming “fake” coupons they could not be reimbursed for.

Most grocery stores have worked with SmartSource and Coupons Inc to provide a secure source of print-at-home coupons for their loyal customers. These coupons, available from each grocery stores own web site, are coded directly in to the stores computer scanning system. When a coupon printed from a grocery store site is used at that store, the terms are already established and verified in the system, including coupon value, expiration date, specific items to be used on, etc. These coupons are also frequently printed with the stores logo directly on the coupon.  Stores require these coupons scan clearly to be redeemed, however, so make sure your printer has enough ink and quality paper before printing.

Each store determines which coupons they want to make available to consumers, so the available coupons vary greatly from store to store. Before shopping at a specific store, check their website for specific offers available.

Tips
All three types of sites provide coupons that can be printed and redeemed at local stores for savings on specific products. The coupons are printed directly from your computer using a standard printer, paper, and toner/ink cartridge. In general, the user must download and install coupon printing software (Active X script). Each publisher has their own software, with subsequent security and privacy issues.

Most, but not all, brands require users to register, provide a profile, complete a survey or other promotion prior to printing the coupon offers. Once registered, coupons are easy to access, and additional coupon offers may be sent through newsletters, emails, or other notices. Once you have registered at a site, manufacturers may also use email promotions to provide traceable coupons to you directly. Each recipient’s link is a unique, onetime-use-only link. Emails can be timed to promotions, purchases, or even the age of your baby!

Printed coupons  have unique coding to identify the individual who printed it. Most sources utilize Digital FSI encoding, within the Coupons.com information system. Information is collected and analyzed based on the coupons printed, and when, if, and where they are redeemed. There is a limit on the number of times a coupon may be printed, and each printed coupon is coded with a unique identifier to the individual account it was printed from. Once a unique link has been printed, it cannot be printed again.

 Very importantly, printed coupons may not be copied, reproduced, or transferred.  To do so is considered fraud, and it is traceable back to the original account holder for each coupon. Emailing them or posting them on forum sites only creates frustration and confusion.  However, many manufacturers utilize the Coupons, Inc Tell-A-Friend Brick to allow consumers to “send their coupon” to friends.  This allows people to “share” coupons while creating unique, legitimate, coupon codes for the additional coupons.  The consumer provides names and email addresses, and each friend receives a personalized email that contains a new unique coupon link. If the recipients register their profile with the manufacturer, the coupon may be printed.

Return to Where to Find Coupons

Auction sites are a good place to find coupons for the products you use regularly and in bulk. Coupons auctioned off are usually product specific and come in multiples. That is, most auctions you will get a number of the exact same coupon.

When using auctions to find coupons, it’s helpful to know exactly what coupon brand name you are searching for since there are literally thousands of coupon auctions going on at any single moment. If you use a particular brand product, simply input the brand name into the eBay search engine such as “pampers coupons.” If you aren’t brand conscious, you can input the generic term such as “diaper coupons.” Since most sellers are offering groups of coupons rather than just one, “coupons” will usually bring up more results that “coupon.”

You will also find that the auctions are also a good place to get coupons for items beyond groceries. You’ll soon find that there are a lot of restaurant, store specific, drug, cosmetic, travel etc. coupons to be had. You can use the link below to see a small sampling of how many different coupons are available.

Free Samples

Manufacturers want you to sample their products. They also want you to head out to the store and buy their products and to encourage you to do this they will sometimes give away free samples. Sign up for free samples of any products, or brands for which you may want coupons.

When you receive a free sample, that sample may also arrive with even more savings. Here a sample of two or three post-it flags arrives in a brochure:

Which opens to reveal not only the sample, but a $2 coupon on ANY Post-It Flag product.

Manufacturers Newsletters and Promotions

While you are signing up for samples and newsletters, check the box to receive future promotions by mail. You may be surprised at what shows up periodically in your mailbox:

Eukanuba, Iams, Purina, Science Diet, and other puppy registrations result in periodic coupon mailings for pet food formulas supporting your dogs growth and development:

Gerber, Beechnut, Similac, Enfamil, and other manufacturers periodically mail coupons geared to your child’s changing stages of development. No matter your need, once manufacturers have your mailing information, and permission to send you promotions, they will. In order to receive these discounts, however, you must sign up to receive them.

Junk Mail

Most people don’t like being on mailing lists for stores and products they are not familiar with, but before you discard that circular or flyer, take a few seconds to open it up. It may just be filled with incentives to change your mind:

Customer Loyalty Cards

If you thought the customer loyalty cards were just a means of tracking your purchases while allowing you to receive the sales prices, think again. Many stores tailor coupons at check out, and in the mail, to your specific shopping patterns. If you purchased dog food at one store for several weeks, but haven’t lately, your junk mail may include store coupons to reclaim your business.

You may think you don’t shop at a store frequently enough to sign up for a customer card and decide not to bother. This is a mistake. If you have a card and aren’t using it, you may once again be surprised at the shopping incentives you receive in the mail. Often times more coupons will arrive to try and lure you back to shopping at the store:

Instant Win Games

An increasing trend among manufacturers provides coupons as a prize for instant win games and sweepstakes. Healthy Choice, Dannon, Kraft, Calgon, Clorox, Nestle, Coca-Cola, to name but a few, all have offered coupons as prizes for instant win games. The best chances for winning are in the first few days of the game, and towards the end, when all prizes must be awarded.

Magazines

Magazines have long been a source of coupons. While the times and styles have changed, coupon inserts are frequently found in women’s magazines. Coupons printed within the pages are less common, but are frequently found in targeted audience magazines. Natural Health frequently has coupons for natural/organic products. Men’s Health magazine usually contains coupons for protein bars, codes for free samples and coupons for nutrition or body building products. The frequency and exact coupons vary, but check your pages before discarding your favorite periodicals.

Other Sources

Coupons can be found almost anywhere there is print space

Coupons are commonly available printed inside cardboard product packaging, such as cereal boxes, frozen dinners, yogurt packs, to name a few. Coupons also often tucked behind labels on cans! While the exterior of the package often indicates coupons are present, it’s not always obvious, as in the above Scotch tape coupon. Remember, if print space is available, a manufacturer may be using it for a coupon, so be on the alert when you see printing anywhere unusual.

Return to Where to Find Coupons

Coupon trains are simply a way of exchanging coupons by postal mail. While this is not a new concept and predates the Internet, the Internet has opened up opportunities to better connect savers. This means those “Great Coupons” that aren’t available in your local paper, supermarket, or even mail just may be in someone else’s. That pile of “free” products or coupons you were going to discard may be exactly what someone else is looking for. Add in a few more people, and you may just have a savings Dream Team!

Every train is different, depending on who needs what, when, why, and where! Whoever starts up a train usually defines the specific goals and rules for that group. There are a few key fundamentals to consider before you decide which train is right for you.

Basic Coupon Trains – The basic coupon train begins with a group of 3 – 6 members at different mailing addresses. An envelope of coupons (typically 40 – 200) is mailed from the “conductor” to the first person on the “train route” (mailing list). That person takes out the coupons they want and replace them with other coupons at least equal to the number they took out. They then mail the envelope (“envie”) to the next person on the route, who does the same.

Ideally each person keeps the envelope for no longer than 1 – 3 days, and pulls out any expired coupons. The train needs to keep moving along, since the idea is to send and receive those much needed coupons before the next sale, or the expiration date. Coupons expire quickly, so the train is only worthwhile if the coupons can be received, matched up with sales, and redeemed before they expire.

Key factors in forming a train are members needs and turnaround time:

Opposing Needs – Trains may be formed between people with opposing needs (wish lists): i.e., one needs pet coupons, one needs baby coupons, and one needs a specific detergent while another prefers a different brand. So, when that Pampers coupon shows up in Sunday’s paper, the one member who needs baby coupons knows that all five will be available for her.

Similar Needs – Some trains are formed among people with similar wish lists. Examples would be food only, cleanser only, baby only, organic only. Here the idea is for people with the same interest but different brand needs, babies in different stages of development, or even people on the same “coupon newsletter” lists, to exchange coupons they are the most interested in.

Wish Lists. – Once the type of train and coupons are established, each person should put together a “wish list” of their top 10 coupons, or types of coupons, they are looking for. If everyone is looking for the same thing, you will need to share the wealth, but if everyone has different needs, even in the same general category (i.e. Pampers vs. Huggies), it shouldn’t be a problem. The Wish List also allows people to gear their coupon finds and packages to give the best value to each member on the train.

Turnaround Times – Receiving coupons in sufficient time before they expire is just as important. To help with this, trains may be organized geographically. All members may be in a single state, in a region (mid-atlantic, pacific…), or in major cities with major mail hubs. Coupon Trains may also exchange store-specific coupons and even rainchecks, which require members to have the same stores in their areas.

The ideal train combines all of the above. In reality, trade-offs must be made, so know your priorities when forming or joining a coupon train.

Basic Coupon Train Guidelines

There are a few basic guidelines members should commit to:

1. Expiration Dates – Ideally members will remove expired coupons, and any that will expire within 20 days of when THEY will mail the envelope. So for an envelope to be mailed on 4/1, the coupons should be good through 4/20 or longer. This helps to ensure that members don’t receive expired coupons due to postal delays. Take into account holidays and three day weekends, when mail may be running up to a week behind.

There are exceptions to this rule, particularly great coupons or those on someone’s wish list. Again, the rules for each train are different, so check with your conductor.

2. The Golden Rule – If you want to receive great coupons from others, you need to send out great coupons to them. Sure, you are exchanging the coupons you don’t want for those that you do. But that implies that the person receiving coupons from you will be getting great coupons from you, too, just not ones you can use yourself. There is something exciting about generating and receiving a bigger pile of coupons. However, bigger isn’t necessarily better if they are not coupons other members can use. Bigger piles are also heavier piles, increasing postage costs, which can outweigh the cost benefit of the coupons!

In general, never put in expired coupons, store-specific, Catalina (check-out coupons or register rewards), or internet printed coupons are of limited use to others, and can increase postage costs. In contrast, inserts, non-inserts, wine tags, peel offs, rebate forms, are often useful but not available in all areas, so can add great value for other members of the train. If you aren’t sure, ask!

Also, don’t “gut” the train by removing everything great. If there are multiple copies of a fantastic coupon, leave a few for others, unless they are specifically listed on your “wish list” for the train.

3. The Numbers Game – Some trains require that members add in only enough coupons to replace what they have taken out. In this case, a train that starts with 40 coupons would return to the conductor with exactly 40 coupons. A member who removes 10 coupons must replace them with exactly 10 coupons. There are advantages and disadvantages to this method. However, in this case only replacing coupons with multiples of the same coupon is not allowed.

The majority of trains do not have this rule. There are exceptions, though, since you have a great coupon, rebate, or other item, every member may want one too! Check with your conductor if you need guidance.

4. Routing Slips – The train should circulate with the routing slip showing mail addresses in order. Even though you may have received the same train before, always check the routing slip for changes to ensure you are sending to the right person. Occasionally people go on vacation, have a family emergency, or may need to leave a train. There may be an addresses change or typo that’s been updated. Always check your routing list before mailing the train!

The routing slip should also have the “name” of the train and the date it left the conductor. While this may seem unnecessary, members may participate in multiple trains. Having the train ID clearly displayed keeps the right train on the right track. Ideally the routing slip will also have the wish lists displayed next to members name, and updates may also occur, so double check before you send.

5. The Forum Thread – PLEASE subscribe to the thread for the train you are on. Post updates when you receive and mail the train. Having the train “lost in the great unknown” of the postal service can be nerve racking. Trains do get lost. And, if the train is running a bit behind, members have the opportunity to mail off valuable wish list coupons directly to a member before they expire. The conductor can restart the train, double check addresses, whatever is needed to keep or return the train to it’s tracks. But they can’t do it without your help.

6. Timelines – Envies should be mailed to the next person within 1 – 3 days of receipt. If you receive a train on Saturday, it needs to be mailed the following Monday. If you aren’t able to do so, post or contact the conductor immediately.

Most of all, remember that the coupon train is a team effort! It should be enjoyable, rewarding, and bring SAVINGS to all the members. If you have any questions about your train, just ask!

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