Did a dangerous thing....got to thinking. LOL

Would it just be better to scrap the whole business of paper coupons and mail-in rebates and instead cut the prices on products every day for everyone?

There is all this costly handling on top of the coupon value itself. Folks on food stamps (who in my experience tend not to be coupon users ), could have their food dollar go farther.

Or is the idea heresy to those who are avid coupon queens (and kings, can't forget the kings!)?

cj/

P.S. Hypothetical question, of course, because it could probably never happen

Coupons in my area have been so bad in months I rarely use a coupon. The only place I find a coupon is when I buy a newspaper. I can understand why someone on food stamps don't use coupons. In my experience the people I know on food stamps don't spend their money on a newspaper, don't live close to a recycle bin or have a car to get there. Any ideas where someone on food stamps is suppose to get coupons? Years ago in CO stores they put bins in their stores that every one put their extra coupons in for the customers to use. Does anyone store still do that ? I have never seen it around here.

I think coupons are a way for the manufacturer to get a consumer to buy their product. If there were no coupons or rebates, then the consumer wouldn't be so likely to buy that certain product. It would be nice if all manufacturers would just reduce their product price, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

The amount of savings spread out over all the food would be so small we wouldn't even notice it. Only a small percentage of coupons are ever redeemed. Plus I think the grocers may not even pass the savings along. Good coupons are a good source of advertising for the companies. How many times have you tried something new because you had a good coupon? Are there things you only buy if you have a coupon? Something to think about.

Can't we have both? Lower prices and coupons and rebates? LOL....

I use coupons but only for items I would buy anyway like Downy or Dawn dishwashing liquid. I occasionally will use a coupon to try a new product. I agree with the others about coupons being a way for manufacturers to get us to buy their products.
Personally, I don't think they'll lower prices so I'll take my coupons because I am able to save a little money on items I buy and need anyway.

ETA: Wanted to mention that I also get coupons from the newspaper. My parents gave me a year's subscription to the paper as a gift. So I'm out nothing at this point. But I do understand there are those who don't buy newspapers or can't. I don't find many coupons anywhere else. An occasional blinky at the store or a magazine and every once in a while I get some in the mail. Overall the majority of my coupons come from the newspaper. When my subscription runs out, it probably will not be worth it for me to go each Sunday and buy a newspaper. They're $1.75 for Sunday's paper and I may or may not get that much in coupons out of it. Through the week, I think the local paper is .50 and they usually have coupons in them as well, the same coupons from Sundays paper. If you're buying the paper anyway, the coupons are a bonus but to buy the newspaper just for the coupons may not be worth it, IMO.

In my town, the library cuts up the coupons from the newspapers they get and put them in a bin for whoever wants to sift through them. I used to do that, but decided that it wasn't worth my time. There are too few coupons for items I buy. (I have more than enough toothbrushes for now!)

I've stopped doing rebates too. There are too many "gotchas." I try to buy less stuff, get food in season, and things like that to save money these days.

we might as well not have coupons here they're so bad. Plus we don't have doubles or triples except @ Albertsons and when they do it, they raise the price of the item anyway.
I usually try to stick to Walmart or Sams club brand or generic if I'm buying else where. The only time I get good deals is when I print out the coupons from general mills and there's a sale going on. We can't even use alcohol coupons (like the ones for meat from Bud) here in Texas.

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I think that there are so many people out there that don't mind paying full price for something. They either don't want to coupon or do rebates...in a hurry to get things...etc.

It would be more cost effective as a whole I think, to keep that influx of money coming. I wouldn't think that the people that do coupons and rebates would offset so much of a difference as if they lowered the prices on everything.

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I am so tired of rebates....and got taken once again by a an employee who sold me a cell phone and telling me there was a $50 rebates....and she assured me that it was teh right rebate(I told her I didn;t like rebates ,cbecause often mine were rejected for whatever reason) .and bingo ,mine was rejected ,because it wasn;t part of my plan....ughhhhhhhhh.
the time before,it was for a printer(bundle with a desktop at office max),there were out of teh printer that was advertised,but told me that the other one(same brand,different number was elligible) nope,no luck.I was out of $79.....
coupons,I can deal with them(most of the time) ,only once at super target an employee gave me a hard time with using 2 of teh same coupons for 2 products.....

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Rebates are the biggest pain in the butt, but I think that what happens there is that there is a lot of buying because of the rebate and not so many people actually complete it, so it's a win for the manufacturer. Same with things like CVS Extracare bucks....I bet many of them go expired.

I guess I was just frustrated with my coupon holder and how much time I was wasting in the store trying to find a coupon...and trying to dream up a way to just be done with it.

cj/

I love using coupons. I've been able to get many things free or at little cost. I'd hate for that to go away.

Rebates I will sometimes do. I prefer to get instant savings on items. I hate when I see something advertised for $99, then you read the small numbers and find that price is after one or two rebates. Annoying. If the price is good in the first place, I may buy it anyway and look at the rebate as some bonus. But like I said, I'd prefer the get the savings right then and there and not have to wait.
I would not mind it if rebates were to end.

I do agree that coupons are a way for the manufacturers to advertise. And sometimes the coupon item is a bit higher than other similar items on the shelf. So I usually just wait for the coupon item to be on sale or special before using it.

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GROW through life

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I do this so much! I buy a part of the rebate or I forget to save the upc, drives me nuts. I really need to be more organized about it and I guess I just don't take the time.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

I would be lost without my coupons. I get so much for free, or really cheap. It is great. Others behind me in line get frustrated and say they just dont have time for coupons. But many times when my bill starts at over $200 and I pay less then a $1 they are impressed, and some say they might have to start cutting coupons too.
I do rebates some, I use to do them more years ago. But in at least 12 years I have not had to pay anything more then tax for toothpaste, toothbrushes, deoderants, shampoo, conditoner, shaving cream, razors, hairspray, gel, and products And I have so much of the above items stocked up that I paid nothing but tax for that I donate at least $1000 worth per year. I also have enough other personal items stocked up to last a long time. I have done foster care and with the teen girls that I fostered my coupons came in handy.
16 years ago when I first got in to coupons and rebates, I was struggling big time just to put food on the table when a friend introduced me to it. After 1 month I had a stocked freezer, fridge and my cuboards were full. My kids thought were so excited they never seen so much food in our house.
I will do coupons even if I win the lottery. It is a way of life for me now. I dont "NEED" to coupon any more.. but I love doing it.