(Not so) Extreme Price Matching!
Posted by Beckie | Filed under Beckie
I can’t watch the Extreme Couponing television show anymore. For one, it drives me absolutely bonkers that the “stars” of the show think nothing of clearing the shelves and back rooms of every single item, leaving zip, zero and nada for the next person who comes along (probably just searching for a couple of deodorants, not a HUNDRED). My other issue is that despite several Canadian coupon sites and coupon newspaper inserts, we just don’t have the same coupon supply available in Canada. Dumpster diving for newspaper inserts might only yield a handful of personally relevant coupons. Usually I feel pretty excited if I’m able to use two coupons, for a savings of a couple of dollars.
Plan B. Well, I get a stack of flyers on my driveway every week left with the free local newspaper. I usually have every other Friday free (no work, which makes it “chore day”). The plan? Extreme Price Matching starring the well…looking a little tired, clad in jeans and a sweatshirt… moi. At least two stores near me offer price matching, where they will match an advertised price in the flyer from a local competitor grocery store.
In advance of doing this for the first time, I gave myself two “rules” for causing “trouble” at the checkout. One, I decided not to go during rush hour (I assume this is right around 5pm but I really don’t know for sure). I went early in the morning. My second rule was to attempt to be organized. I had my flyers ready and sorted, with items I wanted to look for circled in black marker, as well as taped pieces of scrap paper for really obvious “bookmarks”.
The lowdown:
How many items did I price match? About 15. I couldn’t find a bunch of items, and I purchased duplicates of a few items.
Any problems? No, the cashier was so nice and told me stories about recent customers that saved a lot of money (one woman the previous week had managed to drop her grocery bill by $70, I wish I had been there). Also, it was my lucky day and no one was behind me huffing and puffing while waiting in the lineup.
Total amount of time investing in perusing flyers and making the shopping list? About an hour (time is $ right? I imagine if I had a lot more free time, I would make price matching part of my regular shopping routine)
Total amount of money “saved” by Price Matching? About $17
So as you can see, although I had lofty ambitions it wasn’t an extreme experience. It is still nice though to save money that I can use for other things we need. Like diapers. We flush about $800/year down the toilet, so to speak (luckily our municipality allows us to put diapers in green bins). I see toilet training my two year old in my imminent future.
In her late 30s, with a husband and two small children, she lives in the ‘burbs of Toronto. A librarian, Beckie works part-time. In her free time, “I am a chauffeur/part-time cook/boo boo kisser/housecleaner and laundry lady extraordinaire. I do most of the household shopping and financial planning.”
May 21, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Nice to hear you are price matching. I just started 2-3 months ago and just got myself a binder to put mycoupons in for organization. I love it. The best deals are when theitems are on sale and you use coupons, thats where I get excited. I don’t buy things just because I have a coupon…. I shop forthe week with whatever is on sale that week. I still buy generic brand items. I don’t worry about the people in the line behind me any more, I make sure I go when its not busy and I think I’m pretty speedy…. I figure anything to save a buck or two….
May 21, 2012 at 3:26 pm
Price matching works well for us. I find we save money every week and shopping the flyers is also a good way to decide what to buy where (sometimes what I want can’t be priced matched because it’s 1) not available at the price matching store or 2) a store brand item at the non-price-matching store). I usually go through the flyers and make my grocery list during my lunch break at work on Fridays and go shopping Friday night. Never once in the last 3 months have I been the only in the store price-matching so I think price-matchers really seem to like shopping Friday nights
May 21, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Beckie, i love your posts each week, i am a mom of 2 under 4 and you and i seem to be a lot alike!! i haven’t price matched, but want to, your point about going NOT at peak times was a great one, i got caught behind someone at Walmart when i was on my lunch break and there was only 2 tills open, ugh, to say that people were mad is an understatement!!
May 22, 2012 at 10:46 am
Thanks Lori!
I wish every store had self check out machines!
I think they are really great if you have a few items and can just scan them faster yourself. Not so fast for fruits and vegetables, but with UPC code I can scan quickly (lots of practice with play food
)
May 21, 2012 at 7:36 pm
I love couponing and price matching!! My best receipt to date was $110 brought down to $2.49 after coupons!! This past week it was $72.80 down to $18.92. It does take time to get organized (I also have 2 coupon binders divided into categories) and going through all the flyers but it is well worth it!! It also helps with the meal planning.
May 21, 2012 at 7:39 pm
I can’t watch those shows either. Hey lets have out children do playtime cutting out coupons. Only to not have toys under their bed but flammables like toilet paper. Or fight with spouse over him wanting to leave one jar of mustard on the shelf for others. The 28 bottles weren’t enough? Almost lost it when he remarked she hates the stuff anyways. A family of 2 and need 28 jars for 1 person. I see the people price matching. Myself I get the sales. I only wish if your planning on price matching make it noticeable. Don’t pull out 10 flyers at the last minute. Please have them circled and maybe on the list which flyer it was and page #. I’d prefer to have the option of going to another cashier. Then have some of my stuff loaded. Last person I seen I congratulated on the savings but explained my time was worth more then I’d save. That one coupon couple were in the store for 6hrs. Yikes.
May 21, 2012 at 7:45 pm
My experience with coupons has not been so positive. Had a coupon handy for an urgently needed product. One product, one coupon, one item being purchased that trip. Cashier wasn’t sure if they accepted Save.ca coupons. Had to check with customer service. Much deliberation and conversation ensued. Ironically, the item I was purchasing was Immodium Rapid Relief for use urgently, in that moment. The lengthy back and forth deciding if the coupon could be honoured negated any benefit the ‘rapid relief’ the product promised. Finally after an exhaustive wait, they finally honoured the coupon. It was the most excruciating $2 I ever saved!
May 22, 2012 at 10:42 am
Thanks for all of your responses. I hope to do more PMing in the future, but I think I like my regular job better i.e. Time is $ so to speak. It is also frustrating that products at one store often aren’t available at a different store. But if I had a bit more free time I’d definitely take advantage of PMing more often.
It is really strange that coupons aren’t as big in Canada vs United States…maybe there is just less competition i.e. we just expect to pay more, so the retailers don’t bother issuing many coupons. Then, when we do take the effort to print them out (like Leanne’s story) it is often a big hassle.
May 22, 2012 at 1:42 pm
My darling husband has banned me from watching “Extereme Couponing” and it truly is for my own good. I get whipped up in an angry froth over how unrealistic the entire show is. There is simply no way a grocery store would allow this kind of behaviour on a consistent basis – they would have no product or profit, and why the heck are people buying yet another 57 boxes of cereal when the stockroom they show off already has 286 boxes of Cheerios? Or how about the woman who bought boxes and boxes and boxes of cat food despite the fact she didn’t have a cat. I could go on and on…
I actually find couponing to be a rather pointless exercise. I will cut out the coupons and carry them into the store only to find the generic version is still cheaper at full price, but still I keep clipping for those few times where things do work out.
We have never price matched, we will simply drive to that store and pick up the item from the store offering it on sale. We don’t live too far away from any given chain so we don’t consider it a great burden.
May 22, 2012 at 10:50 pm
I have price matched a few times, mostly at Walmart. I too went when it wasn’t busy and I had all the flyers out and ready to go. I found it no slower than any other check out and I have also never had a problem with save.ca coupons. That being said…I too am amazed and upset at the same time by the actions of the extreme couponers…only a handful have actually used that “skill” to donate to the benefit of others. I like a deal but not so much that I’ll give up family time to work it.
May 23, 2012 at 11:16 am
I do pretty well with coupons (based in the US) but really try not to go overboard (the toothpaste was a GREAT deal). I usually cycle shop so it seems to work out for use of coupons a lot better. That show extreme couponer makes me want to sign them up for the show Hoarders. Most of the stores know me, and know that I use coupons. I try to organzie them so it is easy for the cashier, I also have a habit of giving out coupons to people who I see are purchasing something that I have extra coupons for. Now off to the store they have Turkey Hill Ice Cream on sale for 1.98 and I have a coupone for a 1.00 off 2.
May 27, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I avoid walmart during busy hours. I attempt to go at 8:00 when they open, anytime after 10 am, and its crazy.
I do coupon – But I’m not “EXTREME” as others.
The only thing I coupon for the most part is cleaning supplies, and beauty supplies such as shampoo and conditioner.
I refuse to have to have too much. I seriously think my shampoo and conditioner being at 20 each is more than enough…. so I now don’t request for these coupons. ~ Unless its a Free product one, or a b1g1 free then I’ll consider.
I did my first price match ( I live in a small town – and generally only shop at 3 stores as is…So I tend to visit each one ~ within the course of a sales week.
But the other 2 grocery stores( I don’t generally shop at) , had a good sale on one item each, but I didn’t want to make 2 extra stops . So I did a Price Match at Walmart.
I picked Dave – He’s been there a long time, and I know him. He has been there 2 years, and has never done a price match. He called management to verify.
I scored 3 loaves of Dempsters bread for $5
Saving about $2.50
And I got kraft cheese slices for $4.00 saving $1.97
September 24, 2012 at 2:45 am
I try and get my hubby to Price Match. He goes through the fliers each week and we shop from what’s on sale. Most times he goes to at least 2 stores – I tell him they price match and all he has to do is show the flyer, but he always says he wants to buy other things at the other store anyway so….
A major difference in couponing in Canada is that we pay tax on the pre-coupon amount. Also, on Extreme Couponing, have you noticed that those carts are full of CRAP?!? How much pop/frozen pizza/chocolate bars to these ppl need? Hardly ever see a fresh veggie/fruit or unprocessed meat…
It does seem quite difficult to get decent coupons on good foods here anymore, just laundry and cleaning supplies, and even then, the best coupons are when they are launching a new product.