Should I buy coupons?

[mom0299]

I live in a small town without a superstore, just grocery stores, Dollar General, and a chain drug store. When I buy the Sunday paper I rarely get coupons that I can use. I've been looking at coupons on ebay and have been wondering if it is worth it. What are the pros and cons to buying coupons off ebay? I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

I have never bought coupons on eBay but I use this website all the time - www.thecouponclippers.com

 

[alyssa810]

What about joining one of the coupon trains here? I've gotten great coupons, and sometimes duds, but it adds to the mix I get from my paper.
Here's the link to the one I'm in:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1999990

and it doesn't cost anything other than the postage for the coupons you mail...I wouldn't BUY coupons, but that's just me.

 

[3boymthr]

I have bought coupons off e-bay in the past and while it wasn't a total waste of money I didn't save a ton extra either - I think I spent $1.75 and used $4 worth of coupons. I bought a lot of 100 "surprise" coupons. I found that most of the coupons I received were for items I wouldn 't purchase like metamucil type items or for brands that were sold regionally and weren't available in my area.

If you buy from someone who lives in your state then you might do okay, but for me while it wasn't a waste of money - it was a waste of time - all those coupons to sort thru, all that extra paper to throw away.

 

[DeeInMS]

I buy coupons (not from ebay) for things I know I use weekly like slik milk that my son drinks, pull ups, papertowels and high dollar coupons that will make items free with a sale.

 

[amylynne01]

I only buy coupons that are worth. Some sellers on ebay sell 20 $1 coupons for $1 shipped, which is a great deal if the coupons are for an item you use regularly.

What about trading coupons on sites like hotcouponworld?

 

[ssawka]

I've bought coupons off of Ebay, but all for one product. When dd was first diagnosed with Celiac, I was searching online for coupons for EnviroKidz cereal. Well, I came across a pack of 50 $1 off coupons for $4. Well, we used every one of them and "stocked up". Saved us $46!

 

[MEM]

Technically you are not buying the coupons but paying for the person's time to clip them. My experience with coupon trains was not a good one - the coupons I received were always for things like junk food, adult diapers and other products I didn't use. I now use a clipping service and order only what coupons I need/use and pay the service for clipping them and mailing them to me.

 

[bettymae1121]

Do your stores take coupons that you print from websites? If they do you can find a lot of good coupons online for free! These three sites are good ones to start with, you'll likely have to download their printing software, but that will only take a minute.

www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
www.smartsource.com

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I use reputable sellers on ebay often. My local stores are cracking down on the usage of printable coupons (my Kroger now only allows 2 per order). I only buy coupons for things I use quickly and/or things that have a longer shelf life (like toilet paper, hair dye, etc.).

I get the paper on Sunday and look through for the sales that week. If I see a really good deal on the hair dye I use, for example, I get on ebay the same day and buy coupons for $.50-$1 (usually this gets about 10 or 20 item specific coupons). Most sellers are very fast at shipping so I get them in 2 days and can use them before the item goes off sale and I go and stock up. I buy hair dye that's normally $8-10 a box for $2-3 a box.

I also do this for restaurant coupons if I know I'm going somewhere later that week to eat or for Home Depot/Sears/Lowe's if I'm buying a big item. Just be sure to read the fine print and when the coupon actually expires.

 

[SnowWtch]

I've wondered about this for awhile. If you are paying for the coupons in any way doesn't that negate the purpose? Are you really saving if you have to pay for it?

 

[MEM]

I've wondered about this for awhile. If you are paying for the coupons in any way doesn't that negate the purpose? Are you really saving if you have to pay for it?

In my case, I definitely save because two of the stores I shop at double coupons. The "handling fee" on the coupons averages about 8 cents each for coupons that could double to become $1-$1.50. For about 95 cents in postage I can get a big, fat envelope full of only the coupons I use.

Its cheaper than paying $3.50 for the Boston Globe only to get maybe one or two coupons I can use.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I've wondered about this for awhile. If you are paying for the coupons in any way doesn't that negate the purpose? Are you really saving if you have to pay for it?

I pay at the most $1.50 for my coupons with shipping. With my previous example of hair dye coupons I get usually 20 $3 off coupons for my $1.50. I use between 15-20 of the coupons (depending on how many boxes of my color they have in stock) so I save $45-60 by spending $1.50. Also, if you're buying something that costs a few hundred dollars from Home Depot or Lowe's you can buy percentage off coupons on ebay for $5-10 and save $25-$250 (most of the coupons have a max of $250 savings).

I wouldn't buy "lots" of coupons if I didn't know what they were for or didn't use all of the products, I only buy item specific coupons and save a lot of money doing this. More and more stores are not allowing printable coupons around where I live (or putting an extreme minimum on them) so I can't just go online and print dozens of coupons that I need, unfortunately.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I have bought off Ebay in the past, but I seem to do better with buying them from a clipping service. I like www.couponsthingsbydede.com You pay a handling fee per coupon, usually 5-15 cents, depending on the value and popularity of the coupon.

For the PP who was wondering about the value of buying them - I don't see much point to buying an unknown lot of coupons. I'd probably toss more of them than I'd use them. But for a product I know will be on sale, and for a coupon I'll use, it can really add up. For example, McCormick's Grill Mates seasonings are on sale next week for $1 each. I bought 10 coupons for $.50 off 1 packet at $.08 for each coupon. My grocery store will double that coupon. So, for the 80 cents I spent for the coupons, I will save $10 on those grill packets.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I've bought coupons from e-bay twice and both times it stunk. I really didn't get any good coupons. I don't think I used any from the last batch that I purchased.

 

[LisaInNc]

I never bought them on ebay but I used coupon services, I woud order the specific coupons that I wanted. I have not done it in a while so I do not have a specific source for you.

It makes sense, even if you get a coupon for an item you use you get ONE, I sometimes needed a dozen of something.

Lisa