Office Depot Shopping Tips & Forum Announcements

[pasharain]

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Maximizing Recycling Rewards Using MIRS

$50 Printer Trade In and TIP for saving even more!

Save on HP Ink at Office Depot!

Buying Empty "Virgin" HP Cartridges for Recycling on eBay

Use Discounted Gift Cards & Watch Your Savings Soar

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[pasharain]

Maximizing Recycling Rewards Using MIRS

If you recycle ink cartridges at Office Depot, you probably know that you can only get back recycling reward "money" up to the amount you have already spent in the store.* I use FREE rebate items** (NOT 100% back reward items) to get my "amount spent in store" up and thereby maximize the amount I receive in recycling rewards.

If you are an eBay seller, you can go one step further and sell the rebate items and use the funds on something you actually need.

*You can recycle up to 10 cartridges per month, which are valued at $2 each provided you spend $2 in the store for each cartridged recycled prior to recycling rewards being issued.

**Examples would include software that is FREE after MIR or any other item that uses a MIR. Please Note:Items that are advertised as 100% back in rewards DO NOT count toward the spending needed to obtain your recycling rewards.

If any of this does not make sense, please ask. I will be happy to help you.

[pasharain]

$50 Printer Trade In and TIP for saving even more!

Office Depot regularly offers $50 toward the purchaseof a new printer when you trade in any printer (working or not) and purchase a regularly advertised printer of $199.99 and above.

What you may not know: When I did this deal myself, I learned that the printer only has to have a "regular price" of $199.99 or above. It can be on sale for less! The price tag on the printer I bought stated "Reg. Price $199.99, Sale Price $159.99" so this deal applied.

Tip to Save Even More: You can use a competitor's coupon that does not exclude technology items to bring the new printer down in price further!

When I did this deal, trading in my old printer brought the price down to $109.99, then I used a $15 off competitor's coupon that did not exclude technology items and got the printer for $94.99!

One catch: Not all printers qualify for the trade in deal, but most of the popular brands do. Just check with your store regarding the printer you choose to make sure it qualifies for the trade in deal.

[pasharain]

Save on HP Ink at Office Depot!

Office Depot's coupons almost always exclude the purchase of HP ink. However, OD gladly accepts competitor's coupons. Office Max rarely excludes the purchase of HP ink on their coupons and almost always has $10 off $20 coupons available. I get mine on eBay and happily head to OD for half priced ink.

If you have two different Office Max coupons, most OD will honor them both in the same visit provided you perform two separate transactions.

Please note: When shopping on eBay be sure to check the seller's feedback in order to make sure you are dealing with someone reputible, who is trading valid coupons.

[pasharain]

Buying Empty "Virgin" HP Cartridges for Recycling on eBay
How to make a little money while saving the planet.

Whilst searching for something else entirely, I stumbled upon an eBay listing for "Empty Virgin HP Cartridges." Apparently, "virgin" means never refilled. It occurred to me that by buying these cartridges I could maximize my recycling rewards at OD. I searched for the lowest price and, more importantly, a reputable seller by checking feedback.

I purchased 50 cartridges for $.30 each and stood to profit $1.70 per cartridge by recycling. It all seemed too good to be true. But, a few days later, I happily accepted my box from UPS and recycled 20 cartridges the next day! Note: Starting July 1, 2011, can only recycle 10 cartridges per month.

Since they occassionally run $5 per cartridge recycling specials, it is best to recycle at the end of the month. Holding out to the end of the month ensures you do not miss any such specials.

VERY IMPORTANT
At OD, you can only get back recycling reward "money" up to the amount you have already spent in the store.

IF YOU DO NOT PLAN TO SPEND FIRST, DO NOT RECYCLE. THEY WILL NOT PAY YOU FOR CARTRIDGES IF YOU HAVE NOT PURCHASED ANYTHING IN THEIR STORE.

You can recycle up to 10 cartridges per month, which are valued at $2 each provided you spend $2 in the store for each cartridged recycled prior to recycling rewards being issued.

Starting July 1, 2011: Your Rewards will expire at the end of any quarter in which you have earned less than $10. Rewards balances less than $10 on June 30, 2011 will be carried over to the next calendar quarter. Any balance less than $10 on September 30, 2011 will expire.


If any of this does not make sense, please ask. I will be happy to help you.

[pasharain]

Use Discounted Gift Cards & Watch Your Savings Soar
Did you know that you can purchase discounted gift cards for Office Depot and a ton of other stores online? Combine that with a coupon and watch your savings soar. I stumbled across this article one day - click HERE - in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine and have been hooked on buying discounted GCs ever since.

Personally, I prefer plasticjungle.com (the site mentioned in the article above), but have used cardpool.com as a backup. There are many other online sites offering discounted GCs, just be sure they are reputable before making a purchase.

eBay has a plethora of listings for GCs too, but I prefer the convenience of PJ and CP. Plus, PJ and CP verify the balances and offer a guarantee without me having to sort through tons of different sellers' feedback scores.