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You can bet your last dollar they know when and where those coupons are used and plan sales around it. I rarely used the coupon anymore because what I want is always on sale. I did get to use a 50% off silk shantung for my daughter's bridesmaid's dresses--a savings of $78!!!!
Warning about magazines this week...they are on sale for 10% off. Almost everything a special great edition of magazine comes out and I try to use a coupon and find out that they are almopst always 10% off like right now.
My Joanns also has books and magazines at 10% off. Years ago you could use coupons on books there , but not any more. I have not bought a book from Joanns in years since they changed their coupon policy on books.
I buy all of my books from Amazon. They have great prices and always have free shipping on orders of $25 or more.
I bought my Wizard from Amazon. I can't recall the price , but I think it was $67 and free shipping. It was around Christmas time and they had great sales all with free shipping .
I took a 50 percent off coupon to Joann's once to use on a Fiskars squeeze punch. It was already 40 percent off, but, as has happened before, they'd take 50 percent off the original price instead. Nine times out of ten, I haven't even had to say anything.
Guess this was one of those times I should have said something, because I also grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke. When I got the total, I found out she'd taken 40 percent off the Fiskars punch...and 50 percent off the bottle of Diet Coke. *sigh*
On more than one occasion when I tried , My Joanns has refused to let me use a 50% off coupon on item that was on sale for a lessor percentage. My Michael's will not do it either.
So unless they have something on sale that I want or there is a MS punch at Michael's that I want , I don't bother going to either store.
I have not been in either store for nearly 2 months
I generally shop at HL. They don't play games with coupons you can use them on books. If they run out of a sale item they cheerfully give a raincheck.
sounds like michaels this week i saw a ms punch i want then i noticed they are on sale allready along with everything else, i have a 50% but nothing to use it on..i have enuf adhesive etc. nothing caught my eye grrr. hate that when that happens
At one time, if an item was on sale, Joanns would ring up the regular price then take off the coupon price. They stopped doing that several years ago which is a real bummer. Fortunately, because I belong to the American Sewing Guild, I get 10% off sale items.
I think Joanns and Michael's are behind the times.
There was a time when we thought it was wasteful to not use a coupon. So we would find something to buy to use the coupon.
WELL the economy reduced our craft budgets and we wised up.
Now we only buy exactly what we want or need and only if it is on sale.
We know they raise the prices so they "claim" something is on sale and we refuse to pay the inflated prices.
They can send all the coupons they want to , but if we can't use them on what we want/need they go in the recycling bin.
We got at 20% off entire order for Michaels a while ago. My friends and I went to look and EVERYTHING we wanted was on sale for 10% off and of course you couldn't use it on items that are already on sale. I'm sure that was NO ACCIDENT. Why do they do stuff like that??? First they made it virtually impossible to get a coupon and now that you can actually get a coupon they make it impossible to use it.... I don't shop there much anymore. We were in the States yesterday and I went to the Joann's in Watertown NY and had a 50% coupon and everything was on sale for 40% off that I was interested in. I ended up spending $2 on a couple of tiny stamp sets and go 50cents off one of them.
I am sure they do this to get us in the store assuming as long as we took the time to come we will buy something even if we don't need/want it.
When I bother to visit Joanns or Michael's I am on my way to the grocery store. So I have no problem walking out of the store without buying anything. Now many times I just drive right past their stores
Warning about magazines this week...they are on sale for 10% off. Almost everything a special great edition of magazine comes out and I try to use a coupon and find out that they are almopst always 10% off like right now.
Sheena
I have noticed the same thing! :rolleyes:
I do like to pick up the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks with my coupon though. I keep some for myself and give some for gifts.
When this happens, I go to a LSS that I frequent. If you spend $25, you can use a coupon from JoAnn/Michael for up to 40% off. At least you are helping a locally own hobby store and you can get what you want for 40% off after you spend the initial $25. I can usually find some stamps/embossing folders/dies/Cricut cartridge so then I use the coupon. Often, a friend & I go together and combine our purchases plus she uses her teacher discount too.
I agree with everyone else here about the larger percentage coupon but all the things you want are already on sale for less of a discount. I have been doing more online purchasing because of this.
I find that with Michaels and JoAnns alot. I was able to use last weeks 50 off coupons at JoAnns and actually found alot of stuff. Michaels, not so much, I ended up using a 40off at Michaels for Redline tape since it ends up repairing all sorts of things!
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
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Yes, I've been aware of the coupon game for quite some time now.
What's even more irking with Michaels is the way they do "clearance." They had some MS punches on "clearance." I'm using quotes as I'm sure you'll agree that original price $11.99, clearance $9.99 is not much of a savings. Especially when "all" MS punches are 40% off, excluding "clearance" punches. That means that the $11.99 punches are actually cheaper than the clearance ones because of the sale. They do that all the time--I don't get it.
From a marketing perspective, Barbara, I would have to say marketing/coupons is almost a science. Their philosophy behind situations similar to yours is that these coupons will get you into their store. As with most stampers, we'll still end up using it them even though what we want is already 50% off. There is a method to their madness.
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I'm with you all here...usually end up walking out with either a 3-pack of double-stick tape or some fiskars trimmer blades (though those are often on sale with fiskars supplies) instead of something more substantial to use the coupon on. But it is nice to get adhesive at a good discount as we go through that like a house on fire, don't we?
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I've lost track of the number of coupons that have ended up in the recycling bin for me lately. I was lucky enough to get my upcoming JoAnn's ad in the mail while the last sale with a 50% coupon was still going on. I saw that magazines were going to be coming up on sale for 10% off so I was able to get at least a couple of magazines before the sale would start. My JoAnn's doesn't have them on sale all the time like some do but I do have to watch after a sale goes off because they don't always clear the sale info out of their computer system and will get charged the 10% off even when it's not.
I have enough adhesive and basic supplies that if I go into a store and what I'm thinking about getting is already on sale, then I typically walk out without getting anything. Both my Michael's and JoAnn's are smaller ones so the availability of anything is small, so I have most of what I need and they don't get much new stuff in when they do get new. I guess I'm not one of their target customers because I have a ton of supplies and I won't buy "something" just to use a coupon.
The Joann's in my area has a terrible selection of stamping supplies. Their online store is much better.
I totally agree. If I have enough items to buy online where shipping is reasonable I'll just order on-line. I weigh the fact that if I go to Joann's retail it will cost me minimum $3 in gas money. And it saves me A LOT in frustration (and time) of not being able to find what I want when I roam the store.
Generally how it works for me is I go in with my coupon, have a few things in mind I might get.
Those things are either not there because I'm a dork and saw them at Michales, not Joannes (or vice versa) or they are already discounted, but not as much of a discount as my coupon.
so I wander around looking for something to get with my coupon. Buy something I don't need or even especially want.
Leave store having spent money on something I didn't need/want and not having what I came for.
I'm over it now. My new system is this:
I decide I want something at a craft store. I decide I want it enough to pay full price. I see if I have a coupon. If I do I take it in. I buy that one thing, full price, with a coupon or slightly discounted. I am happy to have the whatever it is I wanted to buy. Yeah I pay more for some items than my old plan but I'm overall spending WAY less at the craft stores.
Which leaves me more money for my first love: Online shopping!
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When I've gone to Michaels with a coupon and not been able to find anything I can use it on (Making Memories Slice cards, anyone?), sometimes I'll give the coupon to someone wandering the aisles or in the checkout lane.
It seems to me that Michael's is worse about this. They send out a coupon for 10 or 20% off your entire order but it has to be regular priced items. To me this does not seem to be a big deal as most of the time items are 40 to 50% off or you can use a coupon for that amount off. Why do they think I am going to jump at the chance to save only 10 - 20% off:rolleyes:.
Everyone once in a while I will get one that says 10% off your total purchase including sales items. So I will go in and find that hardly anything is on sale (no stamping supplies whatsoever). Again why would I be willing to only save 10%:rolleyes:.
I agree with most of the statements already made on this topic. It feels rotten not to be able to use the coveted 50% coupon on what you really want, however, these are businesses and they are trying to make money. With that said, you just have to be a smart shopper. Know exactly what you want, be patient, and avoid the impulse buys. I'm in an unique situation because our local newspaper puts out the ads on Sat instead of Sun, so I know how to play if Sat will be better to use a coupon or Sun. But even with that, I stick to my list of wants and wait for the right opportunity. I too noticed that Michael's had nearly put every major scrapbooking category on sale this week, so I will be using my 50% coupon on the 3-pack Tombow refill (retail $10). It is something that I will use and $5 is good savings.
Perhaps I and others are fed up with the "Sale' schemes.
I have a list of equipment or supplies I need and won't buy things just to use a coupon.
When I did a lot of sewing I went to all the sales and stocked up. I figured you can never have too much fabric, thread, buttons, trim; interfacing, etc.
Then when I started to sew something the thread, buttons, or trim in my stash didn't work with the fabric (from my stash) that I was using. :rolleyes:
I realized I was spending a lot more money buying things on sale or with coupons just to have them on hand. I talked myself into the idea I saved money because I bought it on sale until I realized to have a couple of hundred dollars invested in stuff I was not using was no savings at all.
Now I only buy what I will use for my project.
Guess this was one of those times I should have said something, because I also grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke. When I got the total, I found out she'd taken 40 percent off the Fiskars punch...and 50 percent off the bottle of Diet Coke. *sigh*[/QUOTE]
OMG this totally cracked me up! That is EXACTLY something I would do...feel thirsty waiting in line after perusing the aisles forever to decide where best to use my coupon, all to have it go up in smoke for a diet coke....POOR YOU!!!
"I realized I was spending a lot more money buying things on sale or with coupons just to have them on hand. I talked myself into the idea I saved money because I bought it on sale until I realized to have a couple of hundred dollars invested in stuff I was not using was no savings at all.
Now I only buy what I will use for my project. "
Well said Barbara Jay, I need to keep that saying posted just above my work station to remind me I do not need to buy more because I have a 50% off coupon. That must be why I have so many unused bargains in my craft room.
My pet peeve
