Why are coupon inserts limited to certain locations? Buying coupon online?

[mrseace711]

Im still new to couponing and learning. I normally check a few blogs and watch youtube videos on weekly sales to help match up coupons. I do not have access to a printer which may change in the future Im missing alot of printable coupons. Now COUPON INSERTS I understand some coupons amounts can be different depending on the region however my region NW Indiana is missing out on entire inserts like certain Redplums & Smartsources. Heres 2 examples cereal coupons I have not had one cereal coupon since November sometime NOT ONE? Other example Red Plum 1/8/12 with L'oreal coupons, Nivea, Starkist we never rev'd those in our area. Jan 15th 2012 there were no inserts in our Sunday Paper. My Sunday Paper on the front corner page lists the coupon value in the paper so its not that they were missing(we have 1 delivered and also buy extra) they are simply not included and available here. There are some REALLY great deals Ive missed with a family of 6 we are able to keep toiletries in stock which before couponing at times was a struggle. Anyhow buying inserts on E-bay?? Im not sure about clipping services seems a better value to buy 4 inserts online.I share coupons with coworkers. Sorry for the rambling

 

[williamson_ja]

I wish I had an answer for you. I just wanted to say that we are in the same situation here. It's a bit of a small town and we just don't get stuff sometimes. It's really frustrating. I really hope someone responds with some good ideas with how to better utilize coupons with our situation.

 

[merbobear]

The reason may be that you are getting the Sunday paper. Newspapers prioritize who gets the coupons.
First priority is subscribers.
Second priority is Saturday.
Third priority is Sunday.

So, if they run out of inserts before Sunday, then some Sunday papers go without (either without one, or without any). Pick up the Saturday edition and you are much more likely to get all of the inserts (also the price is usually lower on Saturdays).
Hope that helped!

 

[merbobear]

Should have added - when you are able to, pick up a cheap black and white printer. The money you spend on it will be "earned" back in savings really quickly. I have gotten hundreds of dollars in free merchandise from online coupons! In some cases, I have even made cash back (walmart will give you cash back if your coupon amount is higher than your merchandise total). Good luck!

 

[North of Mouse]

I think it's mostly the area you live in. We live in a fairly large metropolitan area and always (holiday exceptions) have inserts in our Sunday papers. We can see online what to expect each Sunday (never on Sat.) We also have two bloggers that keep us up to date online - one works for our paper, the other local TV station. We have lots of competition of stores, great sales, double coupons up to .99 daily, and sometimes triples. It's a great way/area to save money on groceries, toiletries, paper products, etc. We have coupon swaps where we get together and exchange/swap and online postings when someone runs across a special deal, etc. On the other hand my sister lives in an area where there is one small grocery and a small Walmart - no competition - no need for good sales. Competition runs the market

 

[michelle06]

The reason may be that you are getting the Sunday paper. Newspapers prioritize who gets the coupons.
First priority is subscribers.
Second priority is Saturday.
Third priority is Sunday.

So, if they run out of inserts before Sunday, then some Sunday papers go without (either without one, or without any). Pick up the Saturday edition and you are much more likely to get all of the inserts (also the price is usually lower on Saturdays).
Hope that helped!

What if you are a Sunday subscriber?

I've noticed this too. Less coupons in the paper. Then we started getting one of them, Smartsource I think, in our Tuesday junk mail. So, it was coming with our mail and not our newspaper. Also, our subscription is actually a Sunday/Thursday subscription. Not sure why they do it that way, but anyway, sometimes the Thursday paper has a set of coupons. Not frequently, but occasionally.

I do know from trying to advertise my garage sales and also trying to put a leaflet in a local paper once, that it is SUPER expensive to put those coupons in the paper. This is why you find more and more ads and coupons online. It just isn't as cost effective as it used to be.

Also, on a side note, I find that many of the store brands really are just as good as the name brand and usually cheaper than a name brand WITH a coupon. Sometimes, the coupons just aren't worth it. Now, after trial and error, there are a few brands I'm loyal to, but time and time again, I find store brands are effective (products) and tasty (food). So, most of my coupons end up in the recycling even though I clip them and do my best to use them.

 

[Skye23]

There's also coupon clipping services of course. You have to be careful and not overbuy the coupons and keep track of the expiration dates but they can be very useful. I sell stuff from time to time on ebay and use the money I get plus a little extra from our household budget to buy coupons. I always save a lot more then I spend.

 

[momof1princess]

i know how you feel, OP. my 1/15/12 paper was supposed to have 1 insert, according to a coupon blogger in the area, but my paper had none, and i'm a weekly subscriber; i don't just buy sunday's paper. we miss out on TONS of coupons, because they're just not in there, even though they should be, and it burns me up. i've called the newspaper dozens of times to complain about missing circulars and coupon inserts, and it doesn't do any good; i live in a small city with only one newspaper, so switching to the competition isn't an option.

 

[momof1princess]

i know how you feel, OP. my 1/15/12 paper was supposed to have 1 insert, according to a coupon blogger in the area, but my paper had none, and i'm a weekly subscriber; i don't just buy sunday's paper. we miss out on TONS of coupons, because they're just not in there, even though they should be, and it burns me up. i've called the newspaper dozens of times to complain about missing circulars and coupon inserts, and it doesn't do any good. i live in a small city with only one newspaper, so switching to the competition isn't an option.

 

[mrodgers]

Should have added - when you are able to, pick up a cheap black and white printer. The money you spend on it will be "earned" back in savings really quickly. I have gotten hundreds of dollars in free merchandise from online coupons! In some cases, I have even made cash back (walmart will give you cash back if your coupon amount is higher than your merchandise total). Good luck!

Wish I could figure out where you get all the coupons online as I hardly ever see coupon inserts. I scoured all the sites everyone suggests and never find anything that is worthwhile that I would buy. I can only buy so much Pillsbury bread dough and biscuits. Also cheaper to buy the big box of cereal rather than the tiny 4 for $10 boxes with a measly $1 off 2 coupon.

 

[DisCookie]

Aside from the priority with coupons in regards to subscriber or retail purchase. Sometimes the companies just don't want to advertise in that many papers, it costs them more money.

I have found the out of state paper is actually cheaper and often has much better coupons than our local paper, so maybe you can find an alternate paper that is better for coupons?

I only found out by accident as someone once left a copy of the out of state paper mangled by the news stand. I noticed a bunch of coupons in it, lol.

 

[mrseace711]

Aside from the priority with coupons in regards to subscriber or retail purchase. Sometimes the companies just don't want to advertise in that many papers, it costs them more money.

I have found the out of state paper is actually cheaper and often has much better coupons than our local paper, so maybe you can find an alternate paper that is better for coupons?

I only found out by accident as someone once left a copy of the out of state paper mangled by the news stand. I noticed a bunch of coupons in it, lol.

OHHH that would be a really great option!! Im really considering buying the inserts on E-bay once a month $1 an insert not bad they would pay for themselves.