COUPON ALLIES

How Important is Red Plum to you?

Would you please take a second and participate in our poll in the left sidebar? Thank you!

JCPenney ~ Sign Up for Savings!

 

Sign Up and receive coupons

Family Emergency - No Posts

UPDATE:

My Mom's surgery on Thursday went well - it lasted 4 1/2 hours.  She was resting as well as could be expected yesterday but they did have her up and standing with a special walker since her left arm is in a cast.

They are moving her to a different room today as she will begin therapy - already!  Amazingly, at 75, she has just gone through a partial hip replacement and repair of two fractured bones in her wrist but she is up and moving around.  The doctor says it's best for her not to get stiff or allow blood clots to form or other complications to set in. 

Thanks everyone for keeping her in your prayers!

---

Wednesday, 7/13/11

My Mom fell in her kitchen Tuesday night and fractured her hip and her left arm in two places.  She is in the hospital and will have surgery on Thursday.

I won't be posting anything for a few days.

Please pray for her (her name is Dorothy) and all the medical staff, nurses, and doctors that will care for her.

Thanks everyone!

 

He Is Risen ~ Happy Easter

It is a day to celebrate - He is Risen!

Happy Easter Everyone.

 

Links Above ~ Technical Issues

UPDATE:    IT'S FIXED.  TESTED IN INTERNET EXPLORER, FIREFOX AND SAFARI AND SEEMS TO BE WORKING FINE.

Please let us know if you experience any other problems.

We are aware of the technical issues you're experiencing with the above links. 

They WORK in Internet Explorer but not in Mozilla Firefox or other browsers.

We are trying to correct it.

You may follow us on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/couponallies.com

To subscribe to RSS feed

To subscribe to email updates

 

Coupon Binder ~ CouponClutch

In our classes, we recommend putting all your coupons in a binder with plastic baseball card sleeves.  A large 3-ring binder works great.  Utilizing baseball card sleeves lets you see all your coupons when you're shopping.  And, it makes it easier to remove the ones that expire since you can see the back of it when you flip the page.

We have teamed up with CouponClutch to offer a "prettier" binder if you'd like to order one!

This is the coupon organizer that looks like a designer tote!  It comes in a lot of different colors and patterns.

Holds 3,000+ coupons

Get organized and save more.  Fun to carry.

I like the CouponClutch because it has the velcroed flaps that fold in to keep your coupons from sliding out.

One that fits 2" binder - $29.95
One that fits 3" binder - $34.95

Check it out!

 

The Light 95.9 ~ CouponAllies

Listen to The Light at 95.9 FM (Especially this Friday at 8:15 a.m).

Allie and I will be interviewed by Jim Berni on the morning show.

TLC ~ Extreme Couponing Series

Last night was the premiere of TLCs new "Extreme Couponing" series. We are not sure how other people who have had their hobbies/jobs splashed on reality TV feel (loggers, crab fishermen, etc.) but we do not believe this is a good thing for couponers as a whole.

In the opening credits I heard, "Lets clear the shelf."  While there is no rule or law against clearing the shelves of a store, it is bad coupon ettiquette and gives couponers a bad name.

Has anyone out there ever had store employees or managers clap and cheer when you are done with a two hour check out?  Not a chance!  This gives people who are novices or inquiring about couponing a false sense that you will be congratulated at the store.

Couponing is a hobby and just like scrapbooking, fishing or collecting stamps, there has to be a balance.  We have spouses, children, pets and homes that need love and attention.  When the latest deals overtake other areas of life, couponing can become a problem just like any other hobby.

If you are new to our site, we want to welcome you! 

If you are afraid to get into couponing because your children's beds do not have room under them for 1,400 rolls of toilet paper, do not worry.  This is not the norm.  Just learn a little at a time, and soon you will be a pro!

If you would like to get started learning about coupons, check out our Workshop at Akron Baptist Temple on April 17th, our in-home workshops and our Guide to Couponing.

If you would like to read what we thought about the original Extreme Couponing show, read about it here.

Subway ~ Free Cookie on Valentine's Day

Have you heard Subway has a new cookie!?! Available for a limited time is a Raspberry Cheesecake cookie! And on Valentine's Day, February 14th you can recieve one free cookie per customer with any purchase (one cookie is $.49). You do not have to pick the new Raspberry Cheesecake but I can tell you- its YUMMY!!

Girl Scout Cookies ~ They're Available Now!

I know this has nothing to do with couponing but I LOVE Girl Scout cookies and often I'm not "in the know" when they're available or who's selling them.  Well, now I do. 

A good friend of mine emailed me to let me know her daughter, Evi, is selling Girl Scout cookies.  I figured that some of you might also want some Girl Scout cookies but didn't know where to find them. 

So, for those of you that live in Stark County (Massillon, Canton, North Canton, Canal Fulton, Navarre, and surrounding areas), if you want Girl Scout cookies, here's your chance!

These are the flavors that are available:

1.  Lemon Chalet Cremes (vanilla cookies with lemon creme filling)
2.  Trefoils (shortbread)
3.  Do-Si-Dos (oatmeal cookies with peanut butter filling)
4.  Samoas (vanilla cookies topped with caramel, coconut & chocolate)
5.  Dulce De Leche (bite-size cookies with milk caramel chips)
6.  Thank U Berry Munch (crispy rice cookies with cranberries and white fudge chips)
7.  Tagalongs (cookie topped with peanut butter and coated in chocolate)
8.  And, the All-Star - Thin Mints

If you'd like to order some from Evi, please email me at services@couponallies.com with your order.  I will forward your order on to Evi.  

No money is due now.  The cookies will be in mid-March and you can pay Evi when they're delivered and picked up.  Evi's Mom has agreed to deliver them to you on the following dates:  Sunday March 13th, Saturday March 19th or Sunday March 20th at locations convenient for you.  

I ordered Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints and Samoas.   Can't wait!

These freeze really well too so order several boxes for later in the year.  I know, "later in the year" means "next week" at my house too!

 
 

Amazon ~ Pampers Diaper Deal

UPDATE: When you sign up for Subscribe & Save you are signing up to recieve one box of diapers each month automatically. AFTER your box has shipped, go to your Account page and under Orders click "Manage Subscribe & Save Items." Current subscritions are in orange, and in the bottom right of the orange box is "Cancel Subscrition." It really is that easy! The Amazon codes are going for $.99-$3 on eBay, you should not have to pay shipping because the seller can email you the code, you do not need the actual card.

There is a great deal on Amazon.com right now for diapers.

First you need a 20% off coupon code from the November issue of Parents or Parenting magazine.  The code is on a bright green card (like a subscription card).  Check one at your doctor's office!

Secondly, head over to Amazon.com and join Amazon Mom.  

Then, go to Amazon's coupon page and refresh the page until you find a $1 Pampers coupon.  It seems that these offers are different for everyone but hopefully, you'll find it.  Click on the coupon and it will take you to a page that lists all the varieties of Pampers that are included.

Choose the one you need and click "Subscribe & Save" on the right hand side.   On the right, enter your code.  The codes from Parents and Parenting won't stack this time.  (Last time this deal was going, you could stack the 20% off codes.  I used three codes (each with a discount of $7.90) and ended up paying $3.94 for the same box of diapers.  Maybe this will come around again!)

I purchased 176 count box of size 4 Baby Dry diapers. Original price was $37.98, minus $1 coupon, minus $7.60 code, final price $17.99 for 176 diapers or $.10 each! I then used Amazon gift cards I earned from Swagbucks to cover the rest.

Kleenex ~ Share a Pack for FREE!

Send a pack of Kleenex to a friend - they'll get them in the mail within 14 days!

 

eBay ~ Changes in Coupon Buying & Selling

Have you purchased coupons on eBay?  Or perhaps sold any extras you have?  We have always recommended eBay to our readers as a way to acquire extra coupons.  eBay has recently announced a few changes that will directly impact our ability to buy and sell coupons on their site.  We have started a petition to directly inform eBay about our unhappiness about this new policy.  Sign the petition and let your voice be heard!

On the petition page, you can also share via Twitter, Facebook, email and there is a Widget available. 

There are two main changes:

Recently eBay started ending listings and issuing policy violations to sellers if there were more than 20 identical coupons per listing (multiple lots).  This has apparently been the policy but they started enforcing it in the last six months or so.

For sellers, this means more eBay fees and more time involved in listing coupons. 

When a seller can list, for example, five sets of 20 in one Buy It Now listing, the seller pays one fee for the listing (and a final value fee when the coupons sell) and the buyer can pick between one and five sets.

Sellers have dealt with this policy by creating separate listings for each set of 20 coupons.  So if they have five sets of 20, there are five identical listings.

This also creates higher costs for buyers. 

This eliminates the need to go back and forth between the search results and individual listings.  Also, many sellers offer combined shipping and when buying multiple sets within one listing it simplifies the shipping charges.

However, eBay makes more money!  

eBay sent out an email on September 21, 2010 to explain a new policy, the Duplicate Listing Policy, which will go into effect on October 26, 2010.  This policy effects all sellers, but for coupon sellers, it will have even more impact because of the policy above.   This policy will restrict coupon sellers to one listing (with up to 20 identical coupons) per fixed price (But It Now) listing.

For example: 

If a coupon seller has 100 coupon inserts, they will have to list 20 coupons and then wait for those to sell before listing 20 more. This will become a massive hassle for inventory control for these sellers.   As a result, many will probably stop selling coupons on eBay and buyers will only be able to purchase 20 coupons from any individual seller.  If they want to buy 100 coupons, they would have to find five different sellers, and pay five different shipping fees.

As of right now, there are over 100,000 active listings for “coupon” on eBay and over 180,000 completed listings.  Many of those are duplicate listings.  After October 26, 2010, these will no longer exist. 

Feel free to read eBay’s coupon selling policy and the new Duplicate Listing Policy.

Coupon sellers and buyers are the only ones who can effect change in eBay’s policy.  If we stay quiet, the policies will go into effect and people who add to their income by selling will see this opportunity disappear.  People who buy coupons to stock up on items for their families or to donate to needy organizations will see an increase in prices and fewer coupons for sale in general.  We need to get together and let eBay know how we feel!

Please do three things:
1. Contact eBay.  After you login, click “Contact Us” in the upper right corner, do a search for contact customer support and two blue boxes should come up on the right, one for live chat and one for phone.  You may get a box with an email option as well.  There is another page with eBay contact information- http://www.ebayinc.com/contact.  This page has an address, print this letter, sign it and send it directly to eBay.

2. Sign the petition.

3. Tell your friends.  There are links on the petition page to share via Facebook, Twitter and email. You can also share this post via Facebook, Twitter or email (look for links under the post).

Let your voice be heard!

Chick-fil-A ~ Cow Appreciation Day 2010!

Do you need a reason go to Chick-fil-A two days in a row?

Here are two really good reasons!

Thursday, July 8th there will be a fundraiser at our local Belden Village (across from Kohls/Target) for a local family.   Jeff Thomas, husband and father of three little girls, was seriously injured in a car accident on June 13th.  Ten percent of proceeds from 5-8 pm on Thursday will go to the family to help with medical and other expenses.  You can find out more on their Facebook page HERE.

Friday, July 9th is Cow Appreciation Day! My family has attended this event two years in a row and we are excited to go again! If you dress "head to hoof" in a cow costume you will receive a free meal. If you are "too chicken" to wear a whole costume, but do dress up a bit, you will receive a free entree. Our location had a wheel of prizes to spin & win, the big cow was walking around, and there were balloons.  It was a lot of fun! You can get details HERE or HERE on Facebook.

We will post reminders on Facebook.  You can "Like" CouponAllies HERE.  You will get all up our updates in your news feed and occasionally some exclusive content just for Facebook readers! 

GetGo FoodPerks ~ Watch Video Earn 10% FoodPerks at Giant Eagle

 
Get your Advantage Card out and be ready to enter the number below the bar code when you watch this video.

And, some are reporting that you get an additional 5% FoodPerks if you recommend this site to friends at the end.  It didn't work for me, but 10% is nice any way for watching a 60 second video.

Here Ya' Go!