CVS ~ Question: cvs---Has anyone seen CVS offer so few deals in the past

[kuponer]

Amen to the rainchecks!

[lakies]

Originally Posted by mrsfloyd I'm still doing okay. No I'm not rolling as many bucks as I used to, but I'm keeping them alive and I'm able to still keep my OOP's low (under $1 and either rolling or making money). The KEY to surviving during the slumps is to have RAINCHECKS from the great deals of the past. EVERY SINGLE TIME there's a freebie deal, go and get your deal if you can but also go check and see if they ran out of the item so you can get a raincheck. EVERY SINGLE TIME there's a moneymaker deal, go and check stock - even if you don't have the coupon for it right then, GET A RAINCHECK b/c you never know when you'll be able to get a coupon in the future to make it a great MM for you. I don't care if you don't need the item, you can donate it somewhere that can use it or at least take it to Goodwill or Salvation Army and they'll sell it cheap and use the money for a good cause. And the BEST PART about rainchecks? You're going to get the deal when no one else is looking for it, so you're not going to have to fight to find stock. AND you don't pay tax on amounts paid for by ECBs that were manually printed, so if you just keep rolling with rainchecks, you get those super-duper low OOP's like we used to have before they started charging tax on ECBs. You also need to consider deals we've had in the past and use that info to try and plan for possible future deals. 2 years ago we had an AWESOME deal on Nova-Max monitors where they were $20 and we got $20 ECBs back, PLUS there was a CVS coupon that made them FREE, no tax, no nothing. They're free-after ECBs right now this week - even if you don't need to buy them right now to roll your ECBs, keep checking back to see if your store runs out of stock and GET A RAINCHECK. You never know if CVS might put out a nice little coupon that makes them free again sometime in the future, and even if there's not an ECB deal on them right then, you'll have a raincheck to make it an instant moneymaker for you if/when a coupon surfaces. Same thing with other monitors - Contour, Breeze, Accucheck, everything. Always check stock during the weeks we have those deals even if you can't get in on the deal yourself - and ALWAYS get rainchecks on those deals. ALWAYS. A CVS-er that has a nice stash of rainchecks doesn't have to worry about a 'slow week' or 'slow month' or even longer slump, b/c you're not stuck shopping JUST that week's deals - you have lots of other weeks to play with. CVS-ing is TOTALLY still doable, you just have to tweak your strategy.

ITA. You made the key point to rolling ECB's without a headache. Most times it doesn't matter anymore if there is no stock on the freebie the week it is offered. A raincheck takes care of it just fine!

(exceptions would be seasonal things that they won't be reordering like the pumpkin carving kit)This week I used Northern BT and Glade Diffuser rainchecks with my last $5/25 from the flu quiz--it expired on 11/4 and I did not want it to go to waste. I loved it that the 5/25 helped pay for the Northern while getting the Glade for free and rolling a $10 ECB.

[House_Of_Six]

Originally Posted by RockyGap I believe the purpose of the slim ECB deals this past month is to have you spend and use most of your ECB's before Black Thursday.

I must have missed what kind of deals people have got in the past on Black Thursday/Friday.

I was depressed all week not able to roll any ECB's mostly because I had no flue book for coupons. Oh well...Hoping for a big and exciting next few weeks for all of us to prosper and help us out all with the winter coming.

[Katie80]

I am just about bored to tears with CVS! I just sat down to make a list for tomorrow, and I don't know if I even feel like going! I think the initial euphoria from getting free stuff is gone. Long gone! I am not excited about a single thing, and to be quite honest, when I got out my coupons I had to check to make sure my ECBs hadn't expired. It's been that long since I've even gone. Blah!!!

[hholder]

Last year I stopped CVS when the throat coolers were in stock for one week out of the month that they were to be free. I turned to Walgreens, and RR's are better now than ECB's

[kidsrn]

Originally Posted by ekoury Yeah, so would I. I think it is a combination of the economic crisis and upcoming Holiday season. They are trying to get as many ECB out of us as possible so that we would have to spend real money to aquire new ones.

Last year I had about $90 in ECBs to use for the Black Friday deals. This year I had $18 on each of 2 cards. So, yes, I had far less in ECBs....BUT this year I had awesome coupons as well as over $300 in GC. I never pay OOP b/c of the GC but that is not an excuse for me to just spend frivolously. The deals this month have been HORRIBLE and I am thankful that I have had 3 Walgreens stores nearby as they have gotten a ton of my business. I will come back to CVS when the deals reappear (and I hope they do!) Plus, now that I have about $30 in ECBs on each card I will have to go within the next month for sure!!

[seedlady]

it ebbs, it flows.

it comes, it goes.



some months the deals are better, some worse.


that's just the way it is.

and it's been that way since before julie and heidi were born, and it will be that way after i die.