I received a great question from one of our readers, Kris:
Sometime will you let us know how you know what coupons to buy off Ebay? You always seem to have the great ones on hand when there’s a great deal!
“Buying” coupons, or using a coupon clipping service, is a great way to stockpile food or household items that your family uses without having to buy multiple Sunday papers. The difficulty is knowing when to buy them, where to buy them, and how much to pay.
Keep in mind that I am using the term “buy” to mean “paying someone to collect, cut and send me coupons” because “buying” coupons makes the coupons void. I do not condone breaking the coupon law.
When should I buy coupons?
I buy when I find a great deal on a product my family uses.
A “great deal” to me is free, free with overage, or nearly free. When I find this type of deal on something we regularly use, I set out to buy 10-30 coupons, allowing me to create a healthy stockpile quickly. This requires me to know a store’s deals on the first day or two of the sale so I have enough time for the coupons to arrive in the mail. If it’s a Safeway or Albertsons deal and I only have seven days to complete it, I buy from a west coast seller on ebay by Thursday morning by the latest. There’s a woman from Tacoma, WA that I have used a few times. If it’s a Walmart deal or one from Safeway with an extended date, I look for the least expensive option on ebay.
I suggest you set up a paypal account now, before you are desperately looking for coupons, so you can quickly make your first purchase when you find a great deal.
I buy when the coupon has a high value.
High-dollar coupons often come out when a new product is released. Fantastic store sales will most definitely follow. Start thinking like a food product marketer. How would you draw consumers’ attention to your new product? High-dollar coupons, try-me-free deals, and lots of store sales. All I do is combine these marketing ploys and use them to my advantage.
The release of a high-dollar coupon on an existing, established product is also a signal that the company is perhaps trying to gain market share (think Kellogg’s cereal, Green Giant Steamers, Progresso Broth). Buy these coupons because a great store sales will be coming soon.
I buy for moneymaking “catalina” deals.
A few months ago, Glade Plug-ins ran a catalina deal at Safeway. Long story short, you made a few dollars with each set of Plug-ins when you used a BOGO manufacturer’s coupon. Once I learned of the deal, I immediately purchased 151 BOGO coupons from The Coupon Clippers. Between Rebecca, our friend, Kate & me, we made hundreds of dollars off this deal (and lots of stinky plug-ins).
I buy high-value coupons for dairy items.
I like to have yogurt and other perishable coupons in my stash so I can combine them with Safeway dairy mark-downs and Safeway doubles to get the items for free or as a moneymaker. This is the only way I buy flavored yogurt for my family. Dairy coupons are a great add-on to a transaction at The Coupon Clippers.
I buy coupons for raincheck items.
Oftentimes stores run out of their free or moneymaking deal items. When this happens, I ask for a raincheck. This is a great situation because I now have lots of time to buy coupons. This happened this week at Albertsons. You can read about it here.
Where should I buy coupons?
There are quite a few places out there. I suggest you start with two.
1. The Coupon Clippers–great because you can buy one or hundreds of a certain coupon. You can also buy different coupons and only pay one shipping fee. The down side is your order has to meet their minimum ($3), so you can’t just buy a handful of coupons. Sometimes I can’t find a coupon that I know exists and other times I have only been able to find a coupon with them. And they ship from Florida, which pretty much eliminates them if you’re in a time crunch and live in the Northwest.
2. ebay–awesome if you’re looking to buy a large quantity of one coupon. Seller’s usually sell in lots of 10, 15, and 20. ebay is the best option if you’re looking to stockpile one particular item. Sellers are from around the country, so it’s pretty easy to find someone who lives close to you.
I only purchase coupons on ebay using the “Buy It Now” feature. I usually don’t have time to wait for an auction to end and I don’t want to get caught up in the bidding frenzy. Look for the “Buy It Now” icon or search seller’s stores for set prices.
Once I decide on a coupon lot, I always search the seller’s other auctions/items for sale in case I want to pick up other coupons. This is a great way to save on shipping as almost all seller’s will combine shipping costs with multiple purchases.
How much should I expect to pay for coupons?
This depends on a few factors: value of the coupon, supply & demand, and expiration date. The Glade Plug-ins were $.30 each because of the high demand and low supply of available coupons. Generally, you can expect to pay $.05 – .20 per coupon including shipping. For instance, I purchased 20 more $1/1 Steamers coupons yesterday and paid $4 including shipping. That comes to $.20 per coupon. Make sure you factor the coupon cost into your deal calculations.
I would love to hear your experience with “buying” coupons. Leave a comment with other suggestions or questions running around in your head.
