Family Circle August 1980
The first thing you should do when you enter the supermarket is check the in-store sales flyer and coupon-exchange bin. The in-store flyer is usually very similar to the newspaper flyer you've received at home, but occasionally the in-store version will include unadvertised specials, which the manager decided to offer after the newspaper flyer had already gone to the printers. These specials can save you money, so I always grab an extra flyer as I enter. They're usually near the manager's office (sometimes called courtesy booth) or in a stack at the end of the checkout lane. Always check the coupon-exchange bin, which is usually near the courtesy booth, to see if there are any cash-offs there you can use. You're not obliged to put in as many as you take out, though courtesy dictates that you not grab whole batches of coupons you have no intension of using. Use the exchange to add to your stock of usable cash-offs while getting rid of those someone else could use better. REFUNDING PROOFS: WHAT TO SAVE The proofs of purchase (POP) that manufacturer ask for are simply parts of the packaging in which their product has been sold: every thing from labels and box tops to Universal Product Code (UPC) seals and, even, the entire package. Companies don't have any hard-and-fast rules about which part of the package they request, and in fact they switch the requested qualifiers quite frequently. For instance, one Pampers offer will ask for the front panel of the box, while another will want the size oval. For this reason, I save everything from every brand-name product – or, more exactly, everything with writing on it. (Nobody ever ask for an entire bottle or can, but they might want the entire soaked-off label.) I know that for me it has paid off in checks and gifts. However, for those of you who prefer to throw out as much card-board and wrappings as possible, here's guide to the most frequently requested proofs of purchase for refunding. Save these, if nothing else! Batteries: cardboard packing. Bottles: front, back and neck labels; cap liner (be sure to identify this for yourself). Bread and bagels: entire outer wrapper, with bulky ends cut off to make folding easier. Cake mixes: box top, box bottom, net-weight statement. Candy: outer wrapper. Cans and jars: entire soaked-off label. Cereals, cookies and crackers: box top, box bottom, POP seal. Cleansers: net-weight statement, opening tab. Coffee: from instant – the label and inner seal; from ground – the plastic lid, with the edge trimmed for storage. Detergent: box top, box bottom, net-weight statement. Gravy and dressing mixes: envelop Juices: tear strip, on "Minute Maid", the words "Fresh if used by above date." Paper products: same as bread. Pet food: POP seals, weight circles. Plastic bottles: front and back labels. Potato chips and pretzels: complete wrapper. Soda: cap liners, labels and neck bands. Sugar, rice and flour: entire paper package; or box top, box bottom, net weight statement, POP seal. Tea: from fresh – front panel with net-weight statement; from instant – inner seal and front label. Tissues: teat strip, UPC seal, quality seal. Note: There are certain products you just shouldn't skimp on when saving the packaging, either because the manufacturers change the POPs so often that it's impossible to know what they'll want next, or because they generally ask for the entire package rather than a part They are frozen foods, health and beauty aids. light bulbs, cigarettes, plastic wraps and bags, butter, margarine and cream cheese. By "entire package" I don't mean the corrugated paper from light bulbs or the bottle itself from aspirin, but just the entire outer carton or label. HOW TO FIND COUPONS If you've already made a commitment to save as much as you can, it's easy to become alert to coupon offers. Here are some tips: Check every magazine and newspaper you see, even the back issues. Check the coupon-exchange box or bin in your local library and supermarket. If they don't have one, try to get them to start one. Look for specially marked packages in the store. If you're going to buy a box of cereal or a jar of ketchup, it makes sense to choose the cereals with the coupon inside, or the ketchup with the 10c-off hang tag. Finally put your name on a direct mail couponing list, so you'll be sure to receive as many resident cash-offs as possible. Write to Donnelly Marketing to be added to its mailing list, the address is 1235 N Ave., Nevada, Iowa 50201 The following two companies will mail you refund forms upon request: Libby, McNeill & Libby, 200 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60804. (Write the words "Refund Forms" on the envelope and enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelop.) Procter & Gamble, P.O. Box 432, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229. To order a copy of Coupon Magic, send a check or money order for $5.70 ($4.95 + 75c postage and handling fee) to Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., Dept FC, P.O. Box 857. Madison Square Post Office, New York, N.Y. 10159
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