Extreme couponing show!!! good/bad thing?

[Tapshoe]

It was pleasurable to watch the much anticipated segment yesterday about couponing of the Nate Berkus Show. I am certain that it will sell many books for the women who presented the information about couponing.

Regrettably, by drawing national consumer attention to dramatically cutting grocery costs, this is likely to radically diminish the opportunities we current enjoy.

Yesterday, Rite Aid notified me of their new policy that permits no more than four coupons per deal. This is a significant change in the benefits we have so grown to depend upon.

[meggers]

Yeah, it could very well diminish the deals for many, but at the same time...there's a lot of folks that really need to learn how to save right now. I would rather they learn how to depend upon themselves than on a bankrupt government. If that means less stock for me & more limits, then I'm okay with that.

[angeliainwonderland]

Hello!
I have to say that I am a lil excited about this show. I myself do alot of couponing and trading. I do have a small stockpile , ie 19 fabric softeners, 15 detergents 30 bbq sauce etc. The most I have bought of 1 item at a time with coupon is 15. I normally save about 30% a month using coupons. So compared to the show I really am not doing very good, but in my personal opinion and experiences I think I am doing great.
So , My question is, What do you think about this show coming on? And yes I am open to all opinions. I just wanna discuss it and I have no local "couponers". And if you disagree with me , fine. That is your right!!
Anyway,,,, I have mixed feelings. Believe me I will be watching. In fact I already have a timer on DVR set! But I am worried that this show will cause problems for "semi extreme" couponers, like me.
Let me explain why I feel this way.
After the first show I believe there was a surge to this site. ( at least some have said that) So that is good it means people are interested, cool. BUT are they gonna be crazy about it?
I have been told by many store employees that more coupons are coming through every day. I am also told by those same people that they are being told to watch coupons more closely. That is fine for me because I try really hard to always follow the rules. I do admit that I have made mistakes. When that happens I do feel bad and apolgize profusely.
My local grocery store has became uber strict on coupons. I have been asked to give coupons up front befor beginning. They read every single word on coupon and must go through log and match up. I have recently started doing smaller trips and lining coupon stack up just like I place them on checkout, to make it easier and quicker. Becoming a pain. All due to increase in coupon usage. I actual feel bad for cashiers and to make it worse I was told by one the other day that with the new coupon policy, if a cashier takes an invalid coupon or one that doesnt match to log at end of day then that amount comes off of their paycheck. Seems wrong to me.

So Superlong post brokedown: Do you think this show will cause problems? And are you as excited as me about it coming out? Do you have any other input, concerns, etc about show?
Really looking forward to some open and honest opinions/posts on this topic!!!!

[jenn09138]

I'm going to stay out of this one but I cant wait to hear what everyone else has to say about it!

[Doglover8180]

I am not excited at all about this show. I think it certainly will cause problems for us couponers and that is evident in it already causing problems for us after the special aired. The show is an inaccurate portrayal of a typical couponer, a typical grocery store, a typical cashier, and a typical experience. Nothing about it is accurate and it will greatly hurt couponers as a whole. I will watch it cause it's like a train wreck - can't help but watch it and me not watching it - won't change the fact that it's going to air. I didn't like the special and this will be just as bad, I have no doubt.

You are correct, there was a surge to this site after the special aired... I remember the site being slammed and having trouble logging in and it being slow for days. However, the kind of couponers that this show is going to draw, isn't the kind of couponers that is going to give us a good name (for the most part). It's people who think they are going to walk into the store and get 1,000 cereal boxes for free and have the store employees clap for them as they walk out the door - that's just absurd!

With respect to the donation aspect of the show... I think donating is great, however, donations on that scale - I think should be left up to the company to decide if and who they wish to donate their product to, not to customers clearing shelves at all the stores in town, and then making the decision for the manufacturer to donate it all (I think that's the company's choice). I think companies will say - wait a minute, when we put out 2,000 of such and such coupon, we meant for our product to make it into numerous houses (not one household bringing in 2,000) and if companies feel that their coupons aren't being used the way they wish for them to - they will start making changes (already have).

[kittensqueak]

My thoughts on the extreme couponing fad...I'll keep quiet on the show, for now, except for this...

Who wears an anthropologie $$$ jacket while dumpster diving. (I don't have a TV, so I only know what I have seen in pictures...). Really?!

[queenofthehivemomof5]

You don't have to be poor to dumpster dive for coupons. I do it and am not poor. Plus she may have gotten a great deal on her jacket for all we know.

That being said I am worried about fraudulent use of coupons and mis-information given on the show than anything else. I think it is great to want to share how to coupon, just make sure you are not giving bad advice. Also there is a line between hoarding and stockpiling and I think some of the folks on the first show crossed that line (in my opinion).

I did write an article about Extreme Couponing Versus Hardcore Couponing in case anyone missed it (yes shameless plug for a HCW article)

[getnby]

I did write an article about Extreme Couponing Versus Hardcore Couponing in case anyone missed it (yes shameless plug for a HCW article)

Shameless plug or not, I still wish there was a law that made reading that article a requirement before they allowed anybody else to watch any more of the TLC couponing shows. And I don't mean just people here at HCW, I mean anybody!

[everprincess]

What I wish for is for TLC to do some educating on coupons after this show is done. You show these people getting all these products for so little but no educating on how it's done the right way.

[434Teresa]

No I am not excited about the show at all..becuase I think they really only make us couponers look bad and give no "real" info on how to coupon shop. I also think the show will cause the manfucturers of the products to come down with more rules on the use of their coupons such as how many can be used in one shopping trip or day like P&G already has on most of the ones they put out.
I also feel that the show will scare away some families that are looking to help feed their family with coupons with all the talk of seaching for hours a day for days for coupons to get ready to go on a shopping trip that will take 3 hours itself, most people dont have that kind of time to put into coupons so they wont even try to save the $10 or $20 that may have been able to save each week by just buying 2 or 3 news papers. Then there is the fear of NOT being as good at it as others are, come on we all know we compare our finds to what other are able to pay for the same thing. But the truth about that is that things cost different and sales are different from state to state, then there is the double coupon and triple coupon stores that alot of us DONT have in our states/towns.

This show is just away to boost rateings and that is all it is.....they know that so many need to save money so they know they will watch even if they really are not teaching anything that much at all.