Coupon Shopping tips: Retailers Are sneaky
We’re ALL looking to save at the stores, right? Here’s more coupon shopping tips you might not have even thought of. Retailers are tricky! And!! Not all their tricks and ploys are as obvious you’d think! Let’s take a look at some ways we can avoid the tricks and have better coupon shopping tips on hand when we head out!
NO TAG, NO DOLLAR SIGN $
Don’t you just hate going and finding your item on the shelf and find there’s no price tag? Me too. Sometimes, it’s not something just as simple as the person before you knocking it off. No way Jose. Retailers actually omit putting that “$$” symbol with the item so we don’t make mental associations between item and price! Sneaky right! For example. No tag period may be a mistake. BUT a tag that reads .49 or 2.13 and leaves off the ‘$$” symbol causes your brain to disassociate MONEY with SPENDING… (Remember, Grandma Juice went to psych school!) Make yourself say it. This bag of potato chips cost TWO DOLLARS AND TWELVE CENTS. Make the association. (AND!!! Make sure you have a coupon, because OBVIOUSLY!!!)
HIGHER ITEMS ON TOP, CHEAPER ITEMS ON BOTTOM
Retailers know time is money. We’re all in a hurry. Our kids are crying, we need to rush home to make dinner, etc. They make a point of placing higher priced items directly at eye level. If we are not practicing smart coupon shopping tips and habits, we’re very likely to grab the first item we see, which ALWAYS costs more. LOOK UP!!! That’s where the lower priced items are kept. Sometimes even out of reach. Go grab yourself a store employee and get that lower priced item (that you have a coupon for!!) It’s YOUR money, spend it wisely!
UNDER STOCKING SALES ITEMS
Oh yeah, we’ve all sat for an hour or so planning out our trips, matching sales prices to our coupons and planning out our trips only to get to the store and have those items GONE. And our first instinct is to blame the shelf clearers. Not always!! Retailers know good and well that with the explosion of ‘Extreme Couponing” we’re planning ahead and will short stock sales items! CVS (one of my most favorite couponing stores) is notorious for doing this. The employees tell me all the time, Grandma Juice, we NEVER stock enough to fill the supply and demand of sales items. Retailers know we now have those sale priced potato chips on the brain. We get there and there aren’t any left. What do most do? Buy the higher priced non-sale bag. RESIST the urge! Get a rain check, go to another store, but do NOT fall for it. You’re a smarter shopper now. Back away from the chips!
DON’T GO SHOPPING HUNGRY
Now, we’ve all heard and said this a million times. But how many of us actually practice not shopping when we’re hungry? There’s a very REAL psychological (and biological!) reason we should always practice this smart coupon shopping tip! We simply can’t help ourselves! Even the most die hard extreme couponer’s mind and body can’t resist the urge to grab that freshly baked bread…. it smells SO good and our tummy’s are screaming “FEED ME”… Retailers know this. There’s a reason the bakery is placed where it is. That yummy smell wafts throughout the store and, yes, it does follow you! Eat before you head out!
What smart coupon shopping tips do you use? Leave a message in the comments section and let’s ALL help each other avoid the sneaky retailers! We need to stick together! We can’t let them win our game of ‘Beat The Register” now can we?
