Can someone explain CVSing - I dont get it!

[ilovedisney1]

So the card and the ECB are to different things? How do you get registered to do this? I watched the video that was posted and I was suprised that she used so many coupons. I wonder if all stores let you use that many? But it probaly varies by store.

 

[CherylA]

You can use one manufacturers coupon and one store coupon per item. CVS sends coupons in the mail or by e-mail sometimes. There are links to coupons other people get by e-mail on some of the couponig sites too and at the bottom of your receipt coupons print out in addition to ECBs, all these are store coupons, you can use a Sunday paper coupon in addition to these. Sometimes at the bottom of the receipt a dollars off coupon will appear like $5/30 since these are not product specific they can be used on your total order. So theoretically you could buy 5 items and use 11 coupons.

ECBs and the card are different things. The card has to be rung when you do these transactions or ECBs won't print at the end. Also ECBs are card specific. They have the last 4 digets of your CVS card on them so they can olny be used by you in conjunction with your CVS card and not by someone else. Thus an ECB receipt found in the parking lot is useless.

 

[Anjelica]

It depends on the ad whether the price is with or without ECB. For Example, if you look at This ad pageFrom next weeks ad. The $1.77 for Crest is without any ECB. The 3 for $7 Pantene is after factoring in earning $3 of ECB (You pay $10 today and get $3 to spend later).

I've only been CVSing for a couple of weeks and I've found it to be good for stocking up on their sale items.

IC - I guess it was confusing to me when they state "with card" and then they give a price "without card". What card are they talking about - the ECB type card and do they really require you to show it before they give you the "with card" price?

 

[CherylA]

IC - I guess it was confusing to me when they state "with card" and then they give a price "without card". What card are they talking about - the ECB type card and do they really require you to show it before they give you the "with card" price?

Yes you have to show it, you have to have your card scanned by the cashier or you won't get the reduced price or the coupon dollars (ECBs) at the end.

 

[global_mom]

I went to CVS today and got the current flyer. I must say that i am still confused about the extra bucks. Can the pros tell me if I have this figured correctly?

The flyer has Tide on the front page for the "with card" price of $5.99. This is actually priced $1 higher than I would pay at Publix. But, it then says that you get $2 extra bucks reward. So if I buy this Tide I will pay $5.99 and get an auto printed $2ECB on that receipt? Then I can turn around and use that $2 to purchase some 12-packs of soft drinks that are on sale for $2.99 per pack. Plus I have a $4 off coupon of a $20 purchase and I can combine that with my $2ECB. So I will now purchase 7 packs of soda ($20.93 before tax) and get $6 off of that. Did I do that right?!?!?!?!

So I got my Tide and sodas and saved $5 total. It would have been $6 total but I could have purchased the Tide at Publix for $1 cheaper than at CVS but I got the $2 ECB so I netted a savings of $1 on that. Whew, I am exhausted!!

 

[tngramma]

I went to CVS today and got the current flyer. I must say that i am still confused about the extra bucks. Can the pros tell me if I have this figured correctly?

The flyer has Tide on the front page for the "with card" price of $5.99. This is actually priced $1 higher than I would pay at Publix. But, it then says that you get $2 extra bucks reward. So if I buy this Tide I will pay $5.99 and get an auto printed $2ECB on that receipt? Then I can turn around and use that $2 to purchase some 12-packs of soft drinks that are on sale for $2.99 per pack. Plus I have a $4 off coupon of a $20 purchase and I can combine that with my $2ECB. So I will now purchase 7 packs of soda ($20.93 before tax) and get $6 off of that. Did I do that right?!?!?!?!

So I got my Tide and sodas and saved $5 total. It would have been $6 total but I could have purchased the Tide at Publix for $1 cheaper than at CVS but I got the $2 ECB so I netted a savings of $1 on that. Whew, I am exhausted!!

You are correct (I think) . I have been CVSing for over a year now and you would not believe the stuff I get free.

CVS is more expensive on most things but when they give you ECB,s (Extra Care Bucks) it is just like giving you money back to shop with the next time you are there. If you happen to have a manf. coupon for the product that is even better.

Be sure to check out the CVS thread each week. Here is the link for next week: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1837285

Notice at the top of the thread it shows the link to Hot Coupon World which is a good source of info.

 

[global_mom]

You are correct (I think) . I have been CVSing for over a year now and you would not believe the stuff I get free.

CVS is more expensive on most things but when they give you ECB,s (Extra Care Bucks) it is just like giving you money back to shop with the next time you are there. If you happen to have a manf. coupon for the product that is even better.

Be sure to check out the CVS thread each week. Here is the link for next week: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1837285

Notice at the top of the thread it shows the link to Hot Coupon World which is a good source of info.

Thanks!!

 

[MrMarv]

Globalmom---You will save a ton of money by using your CVS card, manufacturers coupons from your Sunday newspaper, and by visiting coupons from the assorted coupon websites out there.

CVS also sends out terrific coupons to all of their cardholders from time to time; I just received one which will not only deduct $10.00 from your bill if you spend $50.00, but ship the mechandise for free!!!

Such coupons like that are great for buying pricey items, such as cologne, and easily outshine department store prices for cologne at places such as Nordstrom or Macy's.

The CVS program is essentially a 'frequent shoppers club', and you will usually save lots of money in the process.

In one instance, between the 'buy 1 get one free' promotion, and the use of ECBs, I recently purchased $25.90 worth of shaving cream, and my OOP (out of pocket) expense was $.80 for sales tax!!!!!

Essentially, I got 10 cans of shavng cream for free!!!

I also have 'purchased' tons of shampoo, batteries, toilet tissue, paper towels, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, light bulbs, air freshener, and assorted other staples for free or microscopic OOP expense.

 

[blessedby3]

I watched the video and the girl was using a Walgreens coupon at CVS. Do they let you do that? She was also using a man. coupon for the same item. If so is it only Walgreens coupons that they take?

 

[disneysteve]

Essentially, I got 10 cans of shavng cream for free!!!

This kind of touches on why we haven't gotten into the CVS thing. We tried, really. We reviewed the weekly circular to check the offers and compared it with the weekly coupons to see what could be combined. And after a few weeks, we realized that rarely was there actually much that we needed to purchase. Even if it is free, what the heck do you need 10 cans of shaving cream for? A can lasts for months so you now have 5 or more years worth of shaving cream. Who needs that (or has space to store it)?

Toothbrushes keep getting mentioned. That's great. You can get a toothbrush really cheap or even free. But we go to the dentist regularly and he gives us one at each visit. We never buy toothbrushes.

Now I have read here and elsewhere that many people have started making a business out of buying and reselling their CVS purchases. I could see us doing that. If you can get stuff free or close to it, you could put together lots of items and ebay them, like maybe have an auction for 6 toothbrushes and 6 tubes of toothpaste. Put together $25 worth of merchandise per auction. If you only paid a couple of dollars for the stuff, you could make out pretty well.

I think for CVS to work for you, you probably need to have a larger family so that you go through more toiletry items faster and you need to be not brand loyal so that you are willing to use whichever brand happens to be on sale. For us, we simply don't buy that much stuff. The ECBs would expire before we got to use them.

 

[global_mom]

This kind of touches on why we haven't gotten into the CVS thing. We tried, really. We reviewed the weekly circular to check the offers and compared it with the weekly coupons to see what could be combined. And after a few weeks, we realized that rarely was there actually much that we needed to purchase. Even if it is free, what the heck do you need 10 cans of shaving cream for? A can lasts for months so you now have 5 or more years worth of shaving cream. Who needs that (or has space to store it)?

Toothbrushes keep getting mentioned. That's great. You can get a toothbrush really cheap or even free. But we go to the dentist regularly and he gives us one at each visit. We never buy toothbrushes.

Now I have read here and elsewhere that many people have started making a business out of buying and reselling their CVS purchases. I could see us doing that. If you can get stuff free or close to it, you could put together lots of items and ebay them, like maybe have an auction for 6 toothbrushes and 6 tubes of toothpaste. Put together $25 worth of merchandise per auction. If you only paid a couple of dollars for the stuff, you could make out pretty well.

I think for CVS to work for you, you probably need to have a larger family so that you go through more toiletry items faster and you need to be not brand loyal so that you are willing to use whichever brand happens to be on sale. For us, we simply don't buy that much stuff. The ECBs would expire before we got to use them.

This post touches on the one major caveat that I see with using the CVS plan. How often are you buying things that you really need?

We are a family of 5 so we do use LOTS of stuff like tp, paper towels, toothpaste etc. But will I be buying items that will go unused just to get the ECBs in order to get a few things "for free" that I will actually use. If I dont really need the first batch of products then the second batch of products was not really free.

Example: in the current CVS circular there is an ad for $10ECB with the purchase of some wrinkle cream that is $16.99. This is tempting b/c of the $10 ECBs but do I really need this wrinkle cream? (ok, I do need all the wrinkle cream that I can get but will I actually use this brand?)

So I guess that CVSing can be a super great thing as long as you are getting products that you will really use.

And about the 10 cans of shaving cream.....in our household that would last us awhile if used for shaving (only 2 guys in the house), however, if used for a fabulous summer outdoor shaving cream fight then it would last 2 seconds. Free is good!!

 

[CherylA]

This kind of touches on why we haven't gotten into the CVS thing. We tried, really. We reviewed the weekly circular to check the offers and compared it with the weekly coupons to see what could be combined. And after a few weeks, we realized that rarely was there actually much that we needed to purchase. Even if it is free, what the heck do you need 10 cans of shaving cream for? A can lasts for months so you now have 5 or more years worth of shaving cream. Who needs that (or has space to store it)?

Toothbrushes keep getting mentioned. That's great. You can get a toothbrush really cheap or even free. But we go to the dentist regularly and he gives us one at each visit. We never buy toothbrushes.

Now I have read here and elsewhere that many people have started making a business out of buying and reselling their CVS purchases. I could see us doing that. If you can get stuff free or close to it, you could put together lots of items and ebay them, like maybe have an auction for 6 toothbrushes and 6 tubes of toothpaste. Put together $25 worth of merchandise per auction. If you only paid a couple of dollars for the stuff, you could make out pretty well.

I think for CVS to work for you, you probably need to have a larger family so that you go through more toiletry items faster and you need to be not brand loyal so that you are willing to use whichever brand happens to be on sale. For us, we simply don't buy that much stuff. The ECBs would expire before we got to use them.

Well see heres the thing. If you're REALLY good at CVSing it's not about the 600 toothbrushes you get for free. It's about the fact that I get my milk for free every week and my bread and my peanut butter and tomato sauce. How? Well when they have a tootbrush on sale for 2.99 that generates 2.99 in ECBs and I can buy a limit of 5 and get that deal. So I buy 5 toothbrushes at 2.99 for 14.95 and I buy a gallon of milk for 3.50 and a loaf of bread for 1.75 so now my total is 20.20 (I think, I don't have my calculator) I have 5 coupons for $1/1 toothbrush so I save $5. I have a CVS coupon to save $2 when I buy $10 of personal care items so now I've saved $7 total. I have a $4/20 purchase coupon so now I've saved $11 oh and my CVS will take more than one dollars off coupon so I have a $3 off $15 purchase and so I've saved $14. So whats my total right now for 5 toothbrushes I don't need and bread and milk? 6.20 and I have earned 14.95 in ECBs and of course I don't actually pay the 6.20 in cash because I did a similar deal last week and I have way more than 6.20 in ECB coupons sitting in my wallet so I use those and add the 14.95 ECB to my stash. When I have ECBs that are about to expire I just use them up on whatever household things I need. Juiceboxes for the kids lunches, ice cream paper towels cleaning supplies. You name it. If they sell it at CVS I can get it for close to free. So people who really know how to CVS don't care if they have to give their friends and neighbors bags of toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, glucose monitors, shaving cream and rasers every time they see them. My friends and neighbors kind of like it!

 

[maggiew]

This kind of touches on why we haven't gotten into the CVS thing. We tried, really. We reviewed the weekly circular to check the offers and compared it with the weekly coupons to see what could be combined. And after a few weeks, we realized that rarely was there actually much that we needed to purchase. Even if it is free, what the heck do you need 10 cans of shaving cream for? A can lasts for months so you now have 5 or more years worth of shaving cream. Who needs that (or has space to store it)?

Toothbrushes keep getting mentioned. That's great. You can get a toothbrush really cheap or even free. But we go to the dentist regularly and he gives us one at each visit. We never buy toothbrushes.

Now I have read here and elsewhere that many people have started making a business out of buying and reselling their CVS purchases. I could see us doing that. If you can get stuff free or close to it, you could put together lots of items and ebay them, like maybe have an auction for 6 toothbrushes and 6 tubes of toothpaste. Put together $25 worth of merchandise per auction. If you only paid a couple of dollars for the stuff, you could make out pretty well.

I think for CVS to work for you, you probably need to have a larger family so that you go through more toiletry items faster and you need to be not brand loyal so that you are willing to use whichever brand happens to be on sale. For us, we simply don't buy that much stuff. The ECBs would expire before we got to use them.

Well, I tend to do the ECB deals on things that I will use. But I am not brand specifc, so i'm willing to try different things out. I probably wouldn't do the wrinkle cream deal posted above unless I needed it or it was a money maker.

You only use the toothbrushes the dentist gives you??? You are supposed to replace toothbrushes every 3 months and I only visit the dentist every 6 months. Multiply that by the 6 people in my house and we need 12 more toothbrushes each year. This doesn't include the times I change toothbrushes when we get sick or when the kids drop one in the toilet!!

Ten cans of shaving cream! When you have a DH who shaves each day plus 2 teen girls, those 10 cans won't last long!!! (Although, I didn't stock up on shaving cream like the poster above! I wish I did!! I'm on our last can.)

This week I bought tea bags (my dad and I drink a couple cups of tea each day, so we go through it fairly quickly), peanut butter, RAgu and Tide HE detergent. All things we need.

Plus I purchased bath & body gift sets (body washes & scrubs) and perfume sets at 90% off that my girls have been using as gifts for their firends bday parties, etc.

Granted, I have more toothpaste and deoderant than I really need. But my mom has several friends who are having trouble making ends meet and she gives them bags of stuff every month or so.

I haven't spent more than $2 at CVS OOP buying all this stuff on any one trip in over a year.

Maggie

 

[christa112]

My friend is obsessed with CVSing. I don't even want to know about it, because I don't want to get sucked in. LOL

 

[MrMarv]

The point is, as others have stated in this thread, that I will eventually use 100% of those items; how long it takes me to use them doesn't really matter.

As long as you have room to store them in your garage, under the sink or wherever, who cares?

Most, if not all of the items previously mentioned are cheaper at CVS than they are at most major grocery stores, at least here in LA, primarily due to the substantially lower operating expenses for a typical CVS pharmacy as opposed to a typical grocery store.

The most powerful word in retail is free, and who doesn't like free merchandise?

 

[disneysteve]

If you're REALLY good at CVSing it's not about the 600 toothbrushes you get for free. It's about the fact that I get my milk for free every week and my bread and my peanut butter and tomato sauce.

Thanks for that breakdown. I can see where that could work and buying things you don't need and won't use could actually work to your advantage. It is kind of complicated, but I guess once you get the hang of it and figure out how to play the game, it gets easier.

 

[stacielee]

We've ended up with LOTS of toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors, medicines, deodorants, etc. Usually about once every month or 2, we put together bags of stuff to donate to a food kitchen. They get lots of food products, but not a lot of toiletries, which everyone also needs as much as the food.

 

[global_mom]

We've ended up with LOTS of toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors, medicines, deodorants, etc. Usually about once every month or 2, we put together bags of stuff to donate to a food kitchen. They get lots of food products, but not a lot of toiletries, which everyone also needs as much as the food.

This is an awesome idea. An organization that I work with has just started a new campaign called "Food 2 Kids". Each week we stuff backpacks full of food that a child can prepare and then the bags are sent home with kids from the local school district that might not get to eat over the weekend without this food supply. We are always short of toiletry items. If I can figure out the whole CVSing plan, and get another 20-30 members of our organization to figure out the plan, then we could have more than enough of the stuff that we need for the backpacks. And we would get it mostly for free!!

Thanks everyone! I am feeling really inspired to go to CVS!

 

[global_mom]

Just got back from CVS and saved $7 with coupons not including that the items I bought were already on special when using my card.

I did learn one very important lesson on this first CVSing attempt: It is not a good idea for me to take my 3 children with me to CVS!!!!!!!!!! As much as I love them, they distracted me on every aisle and we eneded up buying three items that were unplanned.

Thanks everyone for all the help , I think that I may have some of this figured out!

 

[npmommie]

Just got back from CVS and saved $7 with coupons not including that the items I bought were already on special when using my card.

I did learn one very important lesson on this first CVSing attempt: It is not a good idea for me to take my 3 children with me to CVS!!!!!!!!!! As much as I love them, they distracted me on every aisle and we eneded up buying three items that were unplanned.

Thanks everyone for all the help , I think that I may have some of this figured out!

LOL i never bring my kids along, it throws a kink in the best laid out plan LOL!!!