If you have shopped at a grocery store (and certain other retailers) and received a check-out coupon after your purchase, you have probably received what is known in couponing as a ‘catalina coupon’.
Catalina Marketing Corporation is responsible for a majority of these coupons. Sometimes, you may become aware of Catalina offers because the store will place informational stickers at product locations, informing you of something like,
At other times, an offer is targeted based on what you buy. For example, 2 weeks ago I bought a package of Cottenelle toilet paper. After checking out I received a catalina advisory coupon telling me about an upcoming promotion for this same product:
* “Buy (2) Between July 8 and July 31 - Get $3.50 Coupon Off Your Next Shopping Order”
Using the example of this offer, I started looking for Cottenelle coupons, and found some through the Cottenelle website. But then last week, I saw a higher value coupon listed in the Sunday coupon insert preview. By being aware of this offer as well as the upcoming coupon inserts, I was able to plan for purchasing the number of newspapers I needed to complete this deal.
On Sunday I obtained my newspapers, clipped the Cottenelle coupons, then bought (2) 12-pack rolls @$5, used (2) 75¢ coupons, received a $3.50 catalina coupon (which I always factor into my deal cost) – resulting in a net cost of $5.00 for (2) 12-pack packages of toilet paper. For someone who needed to stock up even more, they would simply want to acquire 2 additional coupons for each additional deal (before the deal expires on July 31).
Catalina Offers are a tool many extreme couponers use, enabling them to know about current and upcoming deals and to be able to plan for purchasing items at rock bottom prices.
In a future article, I’ll write more about the different kinds of Catalina coupons, CouponNetwork.com, and how you can use strategies such as stacking, to reduce your costs even more.
* Wording is paraphrased in order to summarize the content for this article.
I’ll be watching for a sale on this item at Safeway or Smith’s. (Save up to $2 on your next order/purchase when you buy 5 or more.) And the picture shows a product called 'Asian Helper' that I've never noticed before - has anyone else tried this type of skillet meal?
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