Zellers - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging and couponing in general for the Christmas season. It was quite a busy one as it s Big B's first Christmas and my boyfriend was able to get Christmas off this year and was home for 18 days straight. I managed to get some more dog food for my big lug of a lab for near free courtesy of stacking at London Drugs. I got some good food deals - near free frozen pizza, cheap pop and juices. But we have such a well stocked pantry and freezer the only time I really ran to the grocery store was for fresh items and we all know that coupons for those things are few and far between.

As for Boxing Day sales - we didn't bother going out shopping that day at all. I'm sure there were some really good deals out there but there isn't much that we need in all reality.

Yesterday night while cruising my favorite forum I came across a popular thread that had stories of people getting Kitchen Aid mix masters for a ridiculously low price - under $100! I wanted in on that for sure. I've always wanted one and since moving out from home and from the one my mom has, I've always thought how nice it'd be to have one. My best friend gave and her Hamilton Beach one when she got a new Kitchen Aid and it is great but starting to putter out.

Zellers, of all places, had a Boxing Week promotion running on their Facebook page. Buy any item for 50% off. They even stated on the coupon that this deal COULD be used on sale items. Zellers had their Kitchen Aid mixer on sale for $189.99 (reg. $299.99). With the 50% off coupon, that would make the mixer around $95. Excitedly, I found the coupon online and printed it out. I planned to get my boyfriend to get a second on for a friend of mine. All is good.

The next morning I log into the same forum to see that Zellers has put out a retraction. They will only honor the coupon on NON sale items. WTH. This coupon has been being used since Boxing Day, so why, now over half way through the promotion, are they nixing it? I phoned the number on the Zellers website and spoke to some women. She stated that they were loosing too much money from this sale and that is why eh are removing the 'can be used with sale item' clause. I basically, and politely, told them that is not my problem. How fair is it that less than 24 hrs ago someone got a get deal from your store and now I won't be able to when we were all under the assumption that this coupon was good until December 31st? She took my name and asked me what location I was planning on going to. She said she would phone the store and speak to the manager there and I would be able to use my coupon on a non sale item as long as I went to the customer service desk.

So, off the three of us went. I found my mixer. They only had one, so the boyfriend grabbed a piece of luggage that was $300 marked down to $60 and off to the customer service desk we went. I got to the counter and explained what I had been told. The girl called her manager who said she did not receive a call and then went to go check her email to say they didn't email her anything either. Mmmm. I showed her my cell phone with the time I called the customer service number. She then called her District Manager who ok'd one transaction for my family. We ended up buying the luggage because we can really use it. And buying the mixer at 50% saved us $95, vr the $30 on the luggage.

The Good - I stood my ground and got my mixer!

The Bad - The way this store operates. I worked there when I was 19 a few nights a week on top of my job at a law firm. It is a horrible place to work. It is a horrible place to shop. It is always dirty, messy and has zero consistency.

The Ugly - because this coupon was offered on a social networking site and because there are numerous forums out there, people have taken this very personally. Facebook, Smart Canucks and now the local news are all calling Zellers on this shady business practice as they should. They are claiming that it was a misprint, yet they honored it for 3 whole business days before 'realizing' their error. C'mon. Zeddy, the Club Zed bear must be rolling in his grave from the amount of negative bad press HBC is getting over this. It will take another deal of a lifetime to get me to darken their doorstep again. The stores of abusive behavior towards customers trying to use this coupon today are mind boggling. I feel sorry for the poor, under paid cashiers working in this chaos. *shudder*

Happy baking I come!

New York!

My little family and I went to Niagara Falls, ON / Buffalo, NY / Hamilton, ON over this past weekend. While my boyfriend went to go watch a Buffalo Bills game on Sunday (his favourite NFL team - he's a die hard), Big B and I ventured out and shopped the shops of Buffalo Area. We had a great day together! I managed to get two coats - a short Tommy Hillfiger Peacoat and a long style Calvin Klein down/feather winter jacket for just over $200. I found a bunch of clothes for Cal's nieces for Christmas and for one of their birthdays this January. The 3 little boys and 1 little girl of my cousins were bought for as well. I was a little surprised WHERE I found the deals - I didn't expect to find much there and where I expected to find deals, I walked out without purchasing anything.

Burlington Coat Factory - why this store chain does not exist in Canada is beyond me. It is basically like the best Winners in the world. It is messy - you have to dig to find what you're looking for, but the selection is the best I've ever seen! It is about the size of one of our Superstores. 1/4 of the store is dedicated to baby gear; cribs, bedding, strollers - basically a well priced Babies R Us. 1/4 is for housewares. And the other half is just for clothes. All different brand names, styles, ages. Like I said, it was messy. I had a hard time getting the stroller through the aisles of coats without running over at least a dozen along the line. But it feels like a treasure hunt.

Target - walked in, expected to find some nice clothes for the kids, was shocked there was nothing really, walked through the rest of the store, walked out. I hope this is not a sign of things to come when they take over the Zellers up here.

Walmart - tried and true, found tons of great things, great clothes, great everything. Perhaps I'm partial, but an American Walmart and I get along well generally.

The surprise store - K-Mart. I found the best deals here for kids clothes. Shirt/pant sets that were normally $25 on for $3.99. Lots of selection. And for the young ladies / adult clothes.... wow. They carried Bongo, my favorite brand of jeans! And Sophia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family). Her line is gorgeous and afforable. If I would have had someone with me to watch Big B while I was in the change room, I would have done some serious damage there.

Marshall's - The American version of Winners. It was so so. Found one really cute jersey material overall set for Big B. Messy and hard to navigate.

Outlet Malls - either than Carters, who always has a sale when I've been to one; the rest, no deals. Just the lure that it is an 'outlet', when it really isn't anything special. I guess because it is so close to the Canadian border and because a lot of those stores are not in Canada or do not have the same stock as Canadian stores - that is the lure and good thing about it. I wasn't impressed.

I figured with all the money that I save with couponing, I'm due for a trip or two like this a year. Happy to be home! Glad I have most of my Christmas shopping done!

Free Pledge Dusting Cloths

Pledge had a promotion running in one of the last coupon inserts for free Dusting Cloths. Purchase any Pledge product and receive a free package of Dusting Cloths. I love using Pledge for dusting. The lemon smell reminds me of cleaning my parents Real Estate office after hours. A few of the board rooms had lots of wood furniture that attracted dust like no ones business and my brother and I cleaned for allowance money. Now, I love using it on our leather furniture and living room furniture. Superstore had a 'Coupon Zone' coupon for $1 off any Pledge product and I had a few Pledge coupons from the insert, so I was able to get $2 each can. I believe they ended up costing around $2.50 a can that way. I mailed off my receipt with the redemption forms and viola - a month and half later, I have 2 2pks of Dusting Cloths for the price of a stamp. Pretty spiffy.

Dove

I love me a good Dove sale! The last time I was able to stock up on Dove, it was for the mens line. I was able to get my boyfriend and his Dad a bunch of hair/body washes and bars of soap from a great deal they had at London Drugs.

This time, it's for the ladies! I had enough coupons from trades and trains to acquire 9 bottles of shampoo and 9 bottles of conditioner for nearly free at London Drugs. I could have got more with the same amount of coupons I had if I had price matched from Walmart ($3 each as opposed to London Drugs' sale of $3.99 each). London Drugs limits 4 price matches per visit and because I have Big B and I've been by myself for several weeks (his Dad is away at work), I am not capable of hauling him all around and making several visits just yet. How I worked it out:

$3.99/bottle
-$1.50 Dove Haircare Coupon
-$2.00 When you buy two different Dove products
-$2.00 When you buy two different Dove products
= $0.49 a bottle

My "$2.00 When you buy two different Dove products" had different UPC's on the coupon, so I was able to use this when purchasing 2.

Regular price of this Dove Shampoo and Conditioner was $5.99. I saved $5.50 a bottle, and $99.00 total. I'll have lots to share with my Mom and my boyfriends Mom, Sisters and Niece.

Next I was able to stack for my Dog's food. He eats Purina One Smart Blends and there are quite a few coupons out there circulating.
His food wasn't on sale, and was $12.49 for a 2.7 kg bag.
I was able to use $11.50 work of stacks which means I paid $0.99 a bag - which is awesome!



London Drugs is a promotion, buy $66 worth of items (after coupons) and get $10 gift card. I purchased the above and a Christmas present for my boyfriend. Then made another separate purchase for his birthday present and was able to score $20 worth of gift cards. I was able to apply the one $10 gift card to his birthday present, which was great!



I ran into Walmart with my fellow couponer friend and good lady friend and didn't see too many good sales on much. She was able to save a lot on Frank's Red Hot Sauce, some Glade sandwich bags and a few other things. I just picked Big B up some jarred (*shudder*) baby food. We are leaving a week today for a trip out east and it will not be possible for me to safely transport his homemade baby food for the duration of the trip. Oh well, only so much I can do!

Hope you all found great Black Friday deals!

Sephora

I'm very frugal (read: cheap) when it comes to things for myself. I do, however, have a soft spot. Over priced cosmetics from Sephora.

They primarily carry lines that are not available anywhere else in Canada, and a few that are, but from high end boutiques that believe it or not, charge more than they do. Any of the products I've bought from there are 10 times the quality of that of drug store cosmetics (Cover Girl, Maybelline etc.). But it can also be a hit and miss thing when it comes to brand new lines that may not work for you. That's why I hesitate to shop there. But when Sephora has a sale... mmmm, I don't mind trying it out!

As with most retailers, this year Sephora jumped on the 'Canadian Black Friday' sale boat. I got an email from them with their Black Friday sales list and my eyes widened as I saw a particular brand that I've always wanted to try but never ponied up the money to. Stila. They are offering, for Friday only, a Stila eyeshadow pallette with lip glaze for only $12. This is usually $76. I thought I would get one for me and one for my boyfriends niece for her stocking - she's becoming quite the young lady now.

This is what I ended up ordering:

Josie Maran Argan Color Stick - Petal Pink ($22 Value) - Petal Pink - On Sale $12

Stila Glitz and Glam Palette & Lip Glaze ($76 Value) - Glitz and Glam Palette & Lip Glaze - Ordered 2, $12 each

Tarte MultiplEYE™ Primer and Lights, Camera, Lashes! ($30 Value) - MultiplEYE™ Primer and Lights, Camera, Lashes! - Ordered 2, $12 each

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals All Decked Out™ ($44 Value) - bareMinerals® All Decked Out™ - $12

I decided to go with the online route this time. I do not usually have the ability to get to a store when it opens because of Big B. And this way I know I have the products without waiting in line with a thousand other women just to find out that they are sold out of the hot items (Stila and Bare Minerals). Down side? I have to wait for it. But then it feels like Christmas when I get the package from the delivery person, so that evens out. I also got 3 free samples to choose from (I chose two perfumes and a Bumble & Bumble face mask) - which I would not have got in store. And I added to my Sephora points account - I'm so very close to that free full sized product now.

With this sale, I saved $206. Shipping was $9.99, so I guess really, just under $200. And I saved a piece of my sanity to not be standing in line with a bunch of hormone crazed 16 year olds hoping to get their hands on a 'Stripper Powder Blue' eyeshadow.

It feels good to treat myself every once in a while. Between getting my hair done this week and now a revamp to my makeup bag - geez, I should be good for a long while!

Near Free Toothpaste!

There are few products in life that I am extremely picky about. Toothpaste is one of them. I am cursed with sensitive teeth, so cheaping out on an off brand 'sensitive' toothpaste just doesn't work when I have a drink of something cold and it feels like I have needles being shoved into my teeth. Painful and annoying.

I've been stuck on Sensodyne for the last 10+ years because of this. Arm & Hammer, Crest - all their sensitive formulas don't cut it for me. I've heard from a good friend of mine the Colgate's new Sensitive Pro-Relief is a miracle paste. Like Sensodyne, it is a lot more expensive than most toothpastes. In a recent coupon insert, there was a coupon for $3 off a 75 ml tube of the said Colgate toothpaste. That $3 off takes it down to about normal price of regular toothpaste. So, not too bad, but I still wasn't going to give up my Sensodyne for that price. I can usually get it down to that price as well.

While in my local Sobey's the other day, I noticed they had theirs on an instore sale.


So, with my $3 coupons, this makes it $0.49 + GST a tube! I had 8 coupons, so I scooped 8 of them up for a grand total of $4.12! That's $1.64 LESS than one Regular priced tube.



This type of toothpaste is a relatively new product. And the higher dollar coupon was in the insert for that very reason - to give people the incentive to try it. And it worked for me - but mainly because I got it really cheap!

I actually didn't have any toothpaste in my stock pile, so this is great!

Good Mail Day!

Today was a great mail day! I got my Costco Brandsampler in the mail, my Kettle Chips FPC (Free Purchase Coupon), the digital camera I won off a Facebook contest and my Similac Club package!

The Costco Brandsampler was available for anyone with a valid Costco card to apply for online. I did so back in October, I believe. What I got in my box was a trial size Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner, Scope Mouthwash, a 2 pk of Cascade Action Packs, a Mr. Clean Magic eraser and a Gillette Fusion Pro Glide. All for free!


The Similac Club is a program Similac runs for new Moms. I applied for mine a while ago and just got it now. It consists of:
1 365g can of Similac Advance Omega 3 & Omega 6
1 385 ml (soup can) of Similac Sensitive Lactose Free Formula Concentrate Can
1 $10 Similac Cheque
1 $5 Similac Cheque
$5 off Similac Sensitive Lactose Free coupon
$5 off Similac Advance with Omega 3 and Omega 6 Ready to Feed Nursers

So, if you're a first time Mom, or have a little one on the way, check out Similac's website and sign yourself up! I personally have no use for this package as Big B gets his formula from Costco and all the new Mom's I know are using different brands. I put a thread out on Smart Canucks to see if anyone there could use it. If not, it'll go to the food bank.

I also recieved a FPC for Kettle Chips. This was through a giveaway they were doing a few weeks ago. Will be perfect to use for Christmas company!

The next thing I got in the mail was a Canon Point and Shoot Digital Camera I won from a contest on Facebook. I had to describe a scent that reminded me of Christmas for the Glade fan page. I wrote about the smell of Cloves and Oranges. When we were little my Mom used to get us to stick cloves in an Orange in an abstract pattern and we would hang that on the tree. It's a great scent and totally reminds me of Christmas when I was little.

All in all, a great mail day!

Free Listerine!

I stopped into my local Shoppers Drug Mart. I was looking at coupon tearpads they had there and found this one for Listerine Whitening Plus Restoring for $5.00 off.

This coupon is good for two sizes, 473 ml & 946 ml.

I looked for the product on the shelf and to my surprise the 473 ml bottle was only $4.99. So that means.... FREE!

Most stores are allowed to adjust the total of a coupon down to the price if the coupon exceeds the amount of the product. Sometimes if it is just a penny, they don't bother. And in this case, they didn't. So they paid me a penny to take the bottle out of the store. They only had 4 on the shelf, but I will keep my eyes open this week. FREE is best :)



Coupon details: $5.00 off the purchase of Listerine Whitening Plus Restorng 473 ml or 946 ml bottle. UPC: 04386142 Expiry: December 31, 2011

Unicorn Diapers!!!

The term 'unicorn' in the coupon world is used to describe either deals and/or coupons that are either near impossible to find or simply do not exist.

But... sometimes, they do - and I found one!

Like I have said, I have a beautiful 4 month old son, Big B. He weighed in at almost 20 lbs at his 4 month shots, so he is in the upper range of size 3 diapers right now. I see size 4 being a part of his future shortly. As with any baby, we go through a good number of diapers. And they are pricey. Even with the $ off coupons that Pampers (our brand of choice) puts in the cases, the ones that come out in the P&G flyer a few times a year - it all adds up buying $40 cases, with only a few dollars off. We tried the Kirkland diapers, but in the end they cost more between the extra laundry I was doing due to leaks and the lack of sleep from having Big B wake up in the middle of the night with a wet sleeper.

I hit gold with a bunch of Pampers coupons that I've been saving - but was worried I wasn't going to be able to use as they all expire for the most part on 12/31/11. Some came right from the manufacturer, some from inserts and others from previous packs of diapers we've purchased. I noticed the other day that I was down to my last case (I got a relatively good deal back in September and stocked up then). I made a mental note that Diapers would soon be on the 'Must Have' shopping list.

After logging on the Smart Canucks site, I read about people in Ontario getting CRAZY good deals on Pampers. They were paying anywhere between $19.99 - $9.99 a CASE. $5 for the plastic packages. I knew that Pampers was re branding their cases. They are now selling cases that include more diapers (on average, 20-30 more depending on the size). These cases also have a $5 off coupon inside. BUT - these cases are anywhere between $5-8 MORE a case. It equals out to be about the same in the end. And because Pampers are made by Proctor & Gamble, it is automatically known that their coupons have restrictive language on them that do not allow stacking (using 2 or more different manufactures coupons on the same item at the same time - only allowed at London Drugs and Save On Foods). When I heard about this packaging change, I was personally not happy about it. Just a sneaky way for the manufacture to make the impression that you'll be saving more money, but in the end, you won't.

Well, this is what brings me to the Unicorn Diapers. Upon hearing about this sale going on at a store that is also in Alberta, I started hunting. I literally spent a morning hauling my son around to 7-8 different locations all to find nothing more than a few of them having $19.99 cases - which isn't that great of a deal. I was told by a veteran couponer and mom that paying $0.18 or less a diaper is a great deal. The $19.99 cases worked out to be $0.23 a diaper.

So, I still held out hope and checked a few other locations throughout the week only to find nothing even close to a sale at any of them. The old style boxes were still $38.99 a box. There are 4 stores of this chain in the city I live in. 3 are on main streets, 1 is fairly new and also kinda tucked in behind residential. I took the off chance to hit up that one before picking my son up from his Grandparents (they graciously let me drop him off if I need to do a lot of running in and out of stores).

And am I ever glad I did......

I purchased the following:
1 case of Newborn Diapers - 84 count
4 cases of Size 1 Diapers - 92 count
2 cases of Size 3 Diapers - 80 count
7 cases of Size 4 Diapers - 68 count
5 cases of Size 5 Diapers - 58 count
7 cases of Size 6 Diapers - 48 count

26 Cases for a Grand Total of $195.26!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Retail for these cases would be $1064.43
I saved $869.17

All of these cases were on sale for $9.99 (except for the Newborn case - that one was $12.99). With the sale price, in combination of my coupons, I paid an average of $7.51 a case.

So my price per diaper according to size of case equals the following:
Newborn - 84 count: $7.51 / 84 = $0.0894 each
Size 1 - 92 count: $7.51 / 92 = $0.0816 each
Size 3 - 80 count: $7.51 / 80 = $0.0938 each
Size 4 - 68 count: $7.51 / 68 = $0.1104 each
Size 5 - 58 count: $7.51 / 58 = $0.1294 each
Size 6 - 48 count: $7.51 / 48 = $0.1564 each

All well below the goal of $0.18 each or less!

This has blown my mind to be completely honest. I will probably never have to buy diapers for Big B ever again. My boyfriends cousin had a little girl in October (why I bought the Newborn and Size 1's) - she is set for a while. He also has a coworker with twins - they will be getting a few cases as well. I am so happy to be able to provide this for MY family!

In the meantime, I am so proud of my haul. It goes to show that couponing is a game. The timing between your searching for sale prices and knowing and being able to obtain the quantity of coupons you need are all intricate keys to getting savings like this.

Poop to your little hearts content Big B! We have lots of diapers for you!

First Things First...

There are some sites that are a must for a Canadian Couponer. Avid or not.

www.smartcanucks.ca

This site will be your reference. From the blog posts about upcoming deals, freebies, printable coupons etc. To forums where you can find local couponers in your area who are really good about sharing their finds. There are places to join coupon trains, which are vital in collecting a wide range of coupons that you are looking for specifically. There are people that post the next weeks upcoming flyers and deals that they find within them. It's a great site - sign up and start reading and talking to others that have the same goal - Free or close to.

There are 6 sites I can think of off the top of my head that will either snail mail or allow you to print off coupons at home. All are worth checking out. All are free (of course). And all have coupons that change from daily to weekly. Create accounts, have them mailed to you, print them out - they are all vital for using and trading with others.

www.save.ca <- Mailed to you
www.websaver.ca <- Mailed to you
www.gocoupon.ca <- Mailed to you
www.smartsource.ca <- Printable
www.brandsaver.ca <- Mailed to you
www.livingwell.ca <- Printable

Remember, some stores will not accept printable coupons - so check your stores policy before you plan to use a bunch of them and then get turned away.

Another site that I like that is in a blog like format is www.womenfreebies.ca
On this site, you can access Free Sample offers, coupons and deals. It usually varies from what is posted on Smart Canucks, so I check both daily.

Spend an evening going through these sites. Try and soak in all that you can from them and then start gathering your coupons...

Hello. My name is Jess... I am a Couponer.

My name is Jess. I am the proud Momma of a beautiful baby boy, Big B, born this past July. I'm 25 years old, and for the time being, a stay at home Mom. I don't have a fabulous story as to why I started couponing, really. I almost think I was brainwashed into it. lol

Basically, during my pregnancy with Big B I had a lot of insomnia. I was up until all hours of the night. To get through it, sometimes I read. Sometimes I listened to music. But most of the time, I watched TV in our bedroom. At the time, TLC just started airing "Extreme Couponing". They played marathons upon marathons of this show. I would fall asleep (eventually) watching this show and I kinda got hooked from there. Mind you, I see what the men and women on this show are getting - mostly cleaning products or non nutritious foods, so I knew it was limited to begin with. I wasn't planning on being one of those broads with 1000 boxes of pasta in her basement. But I figured, if I can save a few bucks here and there, why not. I was preparing to go on Maternity leave and knew that my income was going to be cut down 45% of what I was used to making (which wasn't overly much to begin with). I knew that a baby costs a lot of money. And I knew that I didn't want my boyfriend to feel like I was just sitting there and not trying to contribute to the family. So, I thought I'd give it a go.

Well. Here's the kicker... in Canada, for whatever reason, it is next to impossible to shop like those people on that show. There are no doubling on coupons (though I hear a few small towns grocery stores will do this every once in a while - but very rare and with restrictions). There are very limited opportunities to 'stack' (using more than one coupon on one single item). The store cards are run differently, there are very few places that will give you overages - and those places are not ones where you can stack - so that makes it even harder to do. There are a lot more rules, regulations and walls to run into here in Canada. But for me, this makes it more of a challenge. And I like being challenged. It feels like a huge chess game. Takes a lot of plotting and planning to hit it big - Free!

There is a lot to learn to be a smart couponer in Canada - and I'm not going to say I know it all. I'm still learning. But I do believe I have a good grasp at the concept, rules and regulations. And like everything, these rules are generally Province specific. I could not do what I do in Ontario. Or Quebec. They have their own rules, store regulations etc. So, as I write - I am writing my experiences from the Central Alberta view point. My shopping area includes Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan. This is where I find my deals.

I will post my deals, finds and tricks that I know in hopes to encourage others to take advantage of what others do frequently. It takes some time, dedication and patience, but it all is worth it in the end when you end up with free or next to free items that you and your family use on a daily bases.