I told you about strategic couponing in one of my earliest posts, and today I am so excited to bring you a great example of couponing in action. Tomorrow marks the beginning of one of my favorite periodic store sales – “Harris Teeter’s Super Double Coupon Sale”! You are probably familiar with the concept of double coupons. Many stores (Harris Teeter included) double manufacturer’s coupons that are valued 99 cents off or less. The only problem is that the highest value you can typically get doubled is 75 cents off because not many coupons exist in the 76-99 cent range. “Harris Teeter’s Super Double Coupon Sale” turns this concept on its head – doubling coupons with a face value of up to $2.00 off.
What this means is that if you have a coupon for $2.00 off it instantly becomes a coupon for $4.00 off. The same doubling goes for any coupon ranging from $1.00-$2.00. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that this spells BIG savings. Many items end up being free or nearly free. It’s an ideal time to stock up on pantry and household items – and I try to always plan a shopping trip when this sale is on.
Just like in normal strategic couponing – the premise is that you find an item on sale and match it with a coupon for the best price. There are two awesome blogs which I use for my Harris Teeter coupon matchups – Southern Savers and My Coupon Teacher. I recommend that you check these blogs out and subscribe to their email list because not only are they the “go to’s” for Harris Teeter sales – they also present excellent tips on saving money in a wide variety of other venues. These blogs report on store sales, coupons, and Harris Teeter e-coupons which can be loaded onto your store loyalty card. What I love is you can combine a sale, a store e-coupon, AND a paper coupon to create a fantastic deal!
I won’t lie – the Super Double Coupon Sale is VERY popular. While it technically runs from 2/20/13-2/26/13, the early bird gets the worm when it comes to the savings. If you wait too long, you will find a lot of empty shelves where the best deals used to sit. I highly recommend going on the first day of the sale if you can. In fact, I usually wake up early on the day these sales start and head out to the store before work. The sale officially starts at 7:00 am, and believe it or not – you won’t be the only person shopping if you arrive at that time. It may seem like a pain in the neck but when you can get an entire cart’s worth of groceries for a couple of dollars – I think it’s worth it.
One other thing to keep in mind – Harris Teeter will only double 20 high value coupons per day. Once you hit 20 – they go back to ringing up normally. You can’t just go through the line again to “cheat” the system, as the daily limit is linked to your customer loyalty card which you will need to use to get the best sales. I say don’t sweat it. I typically make one trip at the beginning of the sale and then I will go again sometime later in the week to use the rest of my coupons. I find that by the weekend many items are restocked.
I realize this may seem a bit extreme to save a buck, but I promise – it only took me about an hour to cut my coupons, and getting up early to shop every once in a blue moon is actually relaxing, and helps me get my head in the game for a busy work day. This time around I won't be able to head out at 7:00 am because of a work meeting, but I'm confident I'll still find some great sales!
If you have a Harris Teeter in your neighborhood I recommend checking out this week’s sale. If you don’t – inquire at your local stores. You might be surprised to find out that they run similar sales periodically. I have read a lot about a store called Lowes which is not local to me but which runs “Super Double Coupon” sales.
Have you ever tried using double coupons to find big savings?
