My inbox has been crammed with emails these past two weeks with readers asking my thoughts about how the show Extreme Couponer will affect couponing. Will it be harder to get the deals that we’ve been enjoying? Could the stores put limitations on the deals? Will manufacturers change the verbiage on coupons and limit redemptions? And it’s not just my readers who are concerned. The whole coupon community is in an uproar over it. Change is in the air and we all see it coming.
When the show first came out I saw a tremendous jump of traffic on my blog. The typical search was “how to become an extreme couponer” and it sent a TON of people my way. I really thought that after the first show the searches for extreme couponing would die down, but they haven’t. They’ve remained steady which tells me that the general public has a serious interest in this topic. And as I mentioned the other day, we are already seeing the effects. The shelves are being picked clean and people are flat out asking me at the stores if I’m one of those “extreme couponers”. So clearly couponers are in the spotlight and we are going to see some changes in the way stores and manufacturers are dealing with us. Actually we already are….
When a newbie couponer is birthed they are very much like baby vampires. Have you read the Twilight books or watched the movies? The baby vampires are crazy out of control little blood suckers who aren’t easily restrained. Some baby couponers can be the same way. Some are so excited about the free of it all that they go on a couponing rampage that wrecks havoc at every store they descend upon. Shelves are cleared, peelies are stripped, blinkies are drained from their boxes, and tearpads are taken in their entirety, cardboard backing and all. Carnage.
But as they grow and mature (hopefully) they realize that they can’t keep up with that kind of intensity so they dial it back a bit and go for the deals that they really need. And this was all well and good pre-Extreme Couponer because there wasn’t that much attention to what we do so the occasional overzealous couponer didn’t affect us much, but now that there are so many more people hunting down the deals we will most certainly see changes.
Already you may have noticed that P&G has a limit of four like coupons per transaction printed on their coupons. Expect to see more of this and don’t be the least bit surprised if they limit it to one coupon per transaction. But I want to be clear about one thing…. manufacturers know extreme couponing exists. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to some very large companies on this very topic and they know what we are up to. And guess what? The people I talked to were not worried about us in the least, but that was a year ago. I’d sure like to have that same talk with them today.
There’s also talk in the coupon community about national catalinas being modified which doesn’t surprise me in the least. The idea of tying catalinas to your loyalty card and limiting how many you can get was just a matter of time and I might even step out on a limb here and say it isn’t really such a bad idea. Another possibility is that the coding of coupons will be changed so that the register recognizes how many like coupons have been redeemed. So yes, there are possibly some major changes coming to retail stores near you.
So what now? We wait. 2011 will be a pivotal year for couponing. Extreme Couponer will certainly change things up for us. In some ways it will be harder to get the deals we want at the level we want them, but is this such a bad thing? Maybe not. Maybe this will help keep products in stock longer. You just might possibly be able to shop on a Wednesday for a change of pace and actually find what you are looking for. Can you even imagine that? So for now just keep on doing your thing. Roll with the punches and save where you can and let the rest play out as it will.
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I had just started couponing about a month before this show. And I was just at the point where I had collected enough coupons to go out and get some deals. I went every day to a couple rite aids, and could never get the 2 things that I really wanted. I wish that people would think of stocking up slowly, as these things do come on sale again. It really ruins it for those who want to save money, but not hoard.
As always, solid advice!
While retailers/manufacturers will certainly change redemption allowances and rules, I also believe the percentage of people willing to stick with the extreme aspect of couponing will dwindle in numbers.
Let’s face it; it takes a lot of work to be as successful as you are at this!
This is truly a game of survival of the fittest, and there is no one more fit at this than you are!
I believe supermarkets will be affected in a major way. We already see Walmart price matching ads and taking competitor coupons. Modify grocery store catalinas and limiting coupons to consumer disadvantage = goodbye loyal customer! I foresee discount retailer Aldi profiting BIG TIME! If manufacturers want to keep their consumers, they have to work at it…no way around it.
Sheila, Walmart taking competitor coupons, haha not in OKC, the manager told me store coupons were the ones issued by Walmart themselves.
A change would only affect my Walgreens deals. My grocery store already only doubles the first like coupon up to a dollar. So everything has to be broken into seperate transactions as it is. Let’s just hope they don’t get rid of the doubling.
Nausea is right! LOL. Where is my Kraft catalina that came out this time last year? Buy 5 get $5? Bleh. I hear a revolt coming. I’ve gone three years without having to pay for toothpaste darnit and I’m not gonna take these changes lightly!
I read in Entertainment Weekly mag that TLC has picked up Extreme Couponing for a 12-episode series. Melanie, if asked would you go on the show? I think your perspective would be the right one to learn from, just my opinion. love the baby vamp refrence! lol
I am extremely upset that I have to go to a store at 5 am Sunday morning just to get a PAPER. The people in my town buy papers out the wazoo for some reason… there has even been *multiple* occasions that I have found papers, but the coupons have been taken from them. Really people? I try to order my coupons, but they never arrive before I need them.
I am almost hoping the manufacturers put a limit on the items. Every single time I go into a store, the item I want is sold out. Every single time.
Thank you for this post Mel. The people up in arms about free toilet paper or the limit imposed on it really opened my eyes to how crazy and entitled people can get. I agree, the limits might be just what we need. I am grateful for the “gift” of even one free TP, and that is what it is – a gift. I have to say that the word “extreme” to me automatically has a negative ring to it. I do believe that the extremers will slowly decrease over time though.
I’m hoping it will calm down, but i think after the past few tough years and now the tlc show, it will be changing. I think some stores will be looking at policies and how to control sales, mostly at their view to control inventory. I still see freebies at stores with limits(cvs) when i combine my coupons with the sale. In this house the one free tube of toothpaste i get every month is enough. The freebies at rite aid with their share check program the same. Rite aid i’m sure will be changing things(probably by march) I don’t think they realized how crazy some of their deals have been.
Oh and i ended up giving a good deal of my baby vampire deals away, i was grabbing everything i could whether or not we needed it. In the past two years i’ve calmed down and try to stick to my list. I actually have not been to rite aid for toilet paper yet this week. I know they don’t get their truck until thurs/fri so no rush. And i’m only going because i have other items we need. At this point in the game going out of my way of one deal isn’t worth my energy.
I agree with your post. I’d also like to add that many people probably made new year’s resolutions to save money and started couponing. We all know most people don’t stick to their resolutions very long so that will also weed some newbies out.
Many months ago when I first read that an “extreme couponer” reality show was in the works, I told my husband about it. Even he said something like “that will ruin it for most of you”…
I’m just happy to get what I can get for my family and maybe some things to donate.
Winnie P. MA
I guarantee that as soon as people can breath again in regard to the economy that we will see many many couponers falling away from the lifestyle.
Many folks came to couponing as a necessary reaction to personal economic woes. It’s something they NEED to do…not something they WANT to do.
As soon as that need goes away, they will stop, except for a small percentage that will continue because they enjoy the game of it.
There were coupon based scandals in the ’80s and again in the ’90′s that led to lawsuits and criminal convictions and tightening up of coupons by manufacturer’s(P&G most notably).
This leads me to believe that this sort of shake-up is cyclical…much like the food sales biz itself.
I tend to think things will change too. But Mel, I think you’re right when you say that limits may not be such a bad thing. I for one, look forward to being able to get in on deals and not miss out (like the Rite Aid tp-I didn’t even bother to try to get a few rolls because I figured the shelves would be empty.).
“This is truly a game of survival of the fittest”…
I agree… I also think this will be a “fad”… people want to save money YES… but how many people are really going to put in the time… it’s like a part time job for me… and I like it… it’s just not for everyone… I’m thinking by the end of summer it will taper off…
If not… We’ll all have to start praying to Clara…. the Patron Saint of Coupon Clippers.
Best post I have seen on this so far! I can’t say the show is to blame for this, but if it was my business I would put limits on them for sure. So I can’t get mad at anyone for doing so. I think even if limits were there we will still be able to get deals and I also think limits would be a good thing.
I am racing to the store just to be the guy who sells all his items. I am hoping with the series happening they will put some normal people on and show that you have to do multiple transactions and how it takes time…That will keep them away
But in all honestly I would love for couponing in a good light be shown because it really has helped my family a lot.
The show is too much in my opinion. They only show those that use tons of coupons and hoard. The man that was on there, I think they call him Mr. Coupon, he can’t even put any vehicles in his garage. He has a stockpile bigger than what they can ever use up in a reasonable amount of time. The lady Amanda had tons of Stove Top Stuffing, these things have expiration dates on them. It is teaching those who are finding out about coupons from the TLC show that using coupons is all about getting as much as you can for as little money as possible even if it is 1000 boxes of cereal. That is just plain crazy. I do think it is great that he donated the cereal, but I think it is way over the top when you hoard and you still need to dumpster dive to find more coupons so you can do more hoarding. There is an addictive way about this for some people and that is the sad part. They get a “high” off of getting the bargain and having all the stuff.
I think it would be absolutely fantastic if a limit was put on how many coupons could be used for a particular item. I went to CVS to get the cheap laundry soap deal – basically to help out my brother and his wife, they are going through a lot financially. I went there on Monday and the sale started on Sunday. They were already out of all the laundry soap. They gave me a rain check, but honestly with gas to drive there and the time it takes to go back, I will most likely not get it done.
What would be wrong with someone like this guy from the TLC show that does all this hoarding and dumpster diving putting his energy in to something else. I appreciate the women who blog and offer other insights on many money saving blogs. It is great to see blogs about taming the stockpile. A nice reminder to not get carried away. It is nice to see blogs that remind us to stick to a budget and to go shopping with cash and use only the cash you have set for that trip. It is great to see blogs where women are making more of what they use from scratch and finding ways to share some of their talents. It is also nice to see blogs where women are teaching other women through coupon classes also. I am very thankful that women are stepping up to the plate to teach these classes. It gives a more informed view of good coupon methods and how to have a focus on what you actually need instead of just buying things, just to buy things. People that hoard things they get cheap or free with coupons, sure they have tons of stuff, but stuff does not make a person truly happy. Just my opinions.