New York Times
There was some suspicion among some people in a Waldbaum's supermarket in Mount Vernon, N.Y., that Susan Samtur was somehow pulling a fast one. When the cash register totaled her grocery bill at $48.87, she reached into her handbag and produced not a wallet, not a checkbook, but a fistful of refund certificates entitling the bearer to such items as a free half-gallon of milk and three pounds of free chopped beef. After the cash register subtracted all the refunds, Samtur's bill shrank to $2.15. The clerk gasped. So did others in the checkout line. Before long, one of the managers walked over to see what all the fuss was about. "She should have a sign on her that says 'Wanted by the FBI.' " he said, pointing to Samtur. "She should have numbers on her." Samtur just smiled as he walked away. "He's only teasing," she said. "He's a very nice man." Then, popping a free Hersheys Chocolate Kiss into the expectant mouth of her 3-year old son. Stuart, Samtur wheeled a brimming shopping cart from the store. It was all perfectly legal. And all perfectly routine for this 34-year-old mother of two, who is famed in the supermarket aisles as one of the so-called coupon queens. The title is a bit deceptive, however, since shoppers in Samtur's league do not rely merely on store coupons clipped from newspapers and fliers. What pays off for them are the manufacturers' certificates and refund offers found on specially marked packages and occasionally on the store shelves. In the ranks of supermarket shoppers, they belong to an elite subculture known as refunders. Coupon clippers are common. According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, which keeps tabs on such things, coupons are used by eight out of 10Americans households. By contrast, only one family in five has a resident refunder. "It doesn't really excite that many consumers," a Neilson spokesman said. "They have to wait four to eight weeks before getting anything back." Even so, there are enough refunders out there to hold conventions every year, enough to spur the sales of bumper stickers saying "Refunding makes cents." and enough to support at least 60 monthly
|
