Organizing Q's to Trade ?

[mommas2moody]

How do you organize your q's that you wish to trade?

Right now I have my binder for "my" q's but then I have a stack of the ones I have up for trade. I have put all of my trading q's on my have list but when it's time to search for something some one wants, it's such a PITA. I need a much better, much simpler system!!!

[rbunnymom]

I found a very simple way to sort coupons for trade. I put them in envelopes alphabetically by Mfg. You could use a file with file folders and do alphabetically or by category if you find that easier. I put the envelopes in a shoebox or rubbermaid-type shoebox($1 at Target or dollar store) and it is easy to sort through to find what I need.

[mommas2moody]

Oh I like that idea! thanks for sharing.

[rbunnymom]

I want to add that since not all traders want pet, meds, hba or cleaning, I have separate envelopes for those coupons. So, basically I am alphabetizing the food coupons (insert and non-insert). If I have any HOT coupons, I will put them in an envelope marked HOT. I hope this all makes sense.

[lauramama2]

I have mine sorted by category (food, meds, pet, h&b, baby, restaurant) and within each category they are sorted by expiration date. This way I can go through each category and just pull from the front the ones that are expired/expiring and because they are all listed in the database I can look up requests by expiration easily. I have them in an accordion check file, but it is exploding so I need to move them to a box (shoe box) with separators.

[suesaving]

bumping a good discussion for others to see

[kdmiller90]

This helped me a lot. All of my trade q's are in a giant pile right now, waiting to be sorted through. Thanks for the help!

[busyasabeecrg]

Before I started buying 60-70 inserts to help out a young man struggling to make ends meet during this difficult economy, I used the envelope method described by others, and was happy with it until I just had way too many coupons.

Thanks to HCW for their awesome database that tells us the source of the coupon. It allowed me to set up a different system that works best for me.

Now I separate the non-insert categories: blinkies, peelies, tearpads, hang tags, wine tags, booklet, IPs, etc. and each one has a box of its own, and the coupons are filed by expiration date and sub-filed alphabetically.

For the inserts ...I no longer cut each coupon until a trade for a coupon is final. I stack the inserts by date and keep them separated ...SS, RP, PG.

Just a FYI that might be helpful for those wanting to get a lot of inserts....
increase the amount slowly. LOL There is such a thing as having too many!! I am a fairly active trader and it takes a huge amount of time and I have lots of coupons that don't get traded so take up space.

I pay $1 for each insert because it helps someone out, and I know he will be disappointed, but I just have to cut the amount each week by half.
If I find I need more, I can always increase the amount as needed.

The main thing is...get organized...use any system that works for you, and
you will see how much it will increase the number of trades, which will save you even more $$$ than you dreamed of!!!

[burgess4kids]

I guess I'm the odd one. I cut out all of my q's and file them in my binder, no matter whether I think I'll use them or not. That way if I can find it easily if I want to trade.

[dianna_04]

I am glad that I read this! I have envelopes, but it is basically trade, keep, sort, and shopping. I have a feeling that with the big trade I just made, I am going to need to figure somethings else out. I am also maintaining a have list, this way I know exaxctly what I am looking for when it comes to a trade. I think this will also help me sort the coupons more effectively!