Couponing 102:Trading, Rebates, and Tracking Your Savings
Introduction
Now that you have learned the basics of couponing, you are ready to take it to the next level: tracking how much you spend (and save) and trading for the coupons that you need and do not have.
Tracking Your Savings
Once you know how to save the money, the next logical step is to keep track of exactly how much you save!
It is up to you what values you consider savings. I personally use the regular retail price of the item, and then I deduct store card savings and sales, and then coupons. My reasoning is that although I would disdain to pay regular retail, never say never! If I had to run to the store and grab something, and didn’t have coupons and the item wasn’t on sale, that’s what they would make me pay.
I also never count a Catalina or similar register reward as savings on the deal that earned it. For example, many people list their CVS Extra Care Bucks as making a particular deal “FREE”. While I do consider them as part of the rationale for doing a deal in the first place, I don’t count them on the actual deal. ECBs can expire, Catalinas can be lost… you get the picture.
Also, applying it to the deal that earned them can skew your savings picture, since you will undoubtedly count them as savings on the purchase in which they are redeemed. Then you are counting them twice—once when you earned them and once when you spent them.
Rebate Tracking-Free software to help you keep track of the “who, what, where and when” of your rebates. This
It is always good to keep track of your outstanding rebates. You wouldn’t want to lose out on any money that you might have coming to you!
There are many schools of thought on price books. Some people swear by them, but I am not one of those people. They are a colossal amount of work to create and maintain. I tried to start one, and gave up very quickly. Prices change too fast for a price book to be useful to me. After a short while, you begin to know what is a good deal just by looking at the shelf tags. Trading for Coupons
Regional Variation in Coupons
Since you have undoubtedly become addicted to HCW like the rest of us, you may have noticed that people in different areas of the country often get different values for the weekly insert coupons or weekly sales. There are a couple of reasons for this:
- Competition: some markets are much more competitive when it comes to grocery stores. If a store has to compete against 4 other major chains in the area, their sales and promotions are going to be better than a town where they are one of 2 stores.Conversely, if there is little to no competition, there is no need to attract customers with hot sales.
Double coupons: the areas where stores double coupons often get the $1/2 coupons for an item, rather than $.50/1, for example. Why? Because Chain X doubles coupons up to .99, and they don't want to double if they don't have to! The HCW Coupon Database What is the database used for?The database lets you know what coupons our members have found. This lets you know if there is a better-value coupon (or a coupon at all, for that matter!) for which you might want to trade.
EXAMPLE: Your store doubles coupons up to .99, and the value of the insert coupon in your local paper is 1.00/2. It's worthless to you for doubling purposes. By checking the HCW database, you discover that another area got the .50/1 coupon. Now you can either check people's HAVE lists or post an ISO (in search of) of your own, in hopes of trading for what you need!
The database can be accessed through the Coupon Resources dropdown menu in the top toolbar.
How to Search: Enter the name of the product that you are looking for and hit SEARCH!
- If you get too many results, try to narrow your search by choosing a category or adding terms.
If you don't find what you are looking for, use fewer, simpler, or partial words. You can search just through Expired coupons by checking the expired checkbox.
You can search for coupons from a particular insert by entering the date in the COMMENTS box and searching. Use the MM-DD-YY format followed by SS for Smart Source, V for Valassis or P&G for Procter & Gamble.
How to Enter a Coupon into the Database: Detailed information on how to properly enter coupons into the database may be found HERE. Please read over this information before you attempt to enter coupons. Coupons that are entered are subject to verification by the Super Moderators prior to going “live”. Duplicates and incorrectly formatted coupons will be deleted, so please be sure that you are entering information from the coupon correctly.
The HCW Trader Group and Trading Rules
To be able to trade at HCW, you must be a member of the Trader Group. To join the group, please follow the procedures outlined HERE. The HCW Trading Rules may be found at the top of the Trading Forums. Please be sure to read the rules prior to conducting trades.
How do I start trading?
Trading is very simple. You can just search the trading forum for someone who has the coupons that you need, or post an ISO (In Search Of) list. You contact the person who has your coupons and work out a trade that is fair to both of you. Exchange addresses via PM, and mail your trades. Be sure to leave feedback once the trade is complete. That’s it!
There is no rule as to what constitutes a “fair trade” for everyone. Some people prefer to trade coupon for coupon, some coupons for a handling fee, or others for stamps.
Tips for Trading
1. Please mail trades promptly - There is no reason that a trade should not be mailed within 24 hours, unless it is a weekend or holiday.
- If you are unable to mail an agreed-upon trade within 24 hours, please let the other person know via PM or email when you will be mailing the trade. Many people need coupons for a sale and need their trades mailed ASAP, not 3, 4 or 5 days later.
If you are short on money for stamps, can't get to the post office in a timely manner, or what ever the reason for not mailing a trade in a timely manner, please let the other person know. Most people that you will encounter on HCW are generous and understanding, but bad feelings start to occur when communication is not there. 2. Please respond to PMs in a timely fashion - Not responding to PMs is usually a tell-tale sign that someone is not doing something right. Most trades on HCW are done via PM, and that is the preferred way of communicating a trade. You need to check your PMs. Moderators and Admin also communicate to HCW members via PM most of the time.
We all know that emergencies happen and internet access is not always reliable. But as soon as you can, please let someone know that there is a problem with your completing a trade. Most public libraries have internet access, so if you are without access at home please make an effort to log into HCW and let others know that there is a problem. It happens; we understand. We at HCW can see if you have visited HCW, if you have been on HCW but are not responding to PMs, it raises a red flag.
If you get a PM from a moderator with the title "A bad trade has been reported against you", please do not be offended. We maintain a Bad Trader list, but give people PLENTY of time to fix a trade before they are listed on the bad trader list. Please respond to the PM and let them know if you are fixing the trade or what else is happening.
3. Please keep records of your trades - Keeping records of your trades helps you know if a trade is missing or late. It also can help you in your dispute if someone reports a bad trade against you.
There are many ways to keep track of your trades. Use a simple notebook and a pen; set up PM folders for each trade and delete them as trades are done and all have received their end; keep a record using your computer or email address book or copy each PM to notebook or Word and save it on your computer.
Things that you should keep track of are 1. HCW user name 2. Mailing addresses 3. Who is sending what to whom 4. Date the trade was made 5. Date your end was mailed.
Things that you might find helpful to keep track of are 1. How many trades you have done with this person 2. Date trade was received 3. If feedback was left and given.
4. Please check feedback - If you have never done a trade with someone please check their trader rating link. If you have done a trade with someone but it has been a while, check their feedback. It only takes a few seconds. The link is the little number next to their user name in any post.
If someone you are considering doing a trade with has no feedback on HCW, please ask them for feed back from any other coupon trading sites.
If a person has no feedback anywhere, it is up to you if you would like to hold a trade until their end arrives. If you are going to hold your end of a trade you need to communicate that to the other person. It is not proper etiquette to hold a trade without the other person knowing about it.
Also, check the Bad Trader list to keep you familiar with who is on the list. Note their city and zip, just in case someone on that list has started using a new ID. It happens.
More helpful tips for trading
If you are putting postage on yourself and are doing a large trade it might be good to make a small investment in a kitchen scale so that you can weigh your envelopes and ensure that they have the correct postage. It is a good idea to have on hand .41 cent, .60 cent, and .01 cent postage stamps and to look up the postage rates on www.usps.com If you have a way to print directly on the envelope or on labels, it is often a good idea to do so. That way any mailing address mistakes are not your fault if the person did not type out their address correctly.
Please include your HCW user name inside or on the envelope somewhere (if it is a HCW trade, of course). Some people have trade slips; some people print it somewhere on the envelope. We are not mind readers, so please include your user names on all trades and RAOK's that you send. You can not expect feedback if the other person does not know who sent the coupons!
When sending someone your mailing address via PM or email, it is advisable to type it out in all capital letters and include your zip code+4 to help with a speedy delivery.
Example: JANE DOE 1234 MAIN STREET CITYNAME AZ 12345-6789
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