Photo by BigBreaks
SS, RP, P&G, WYB — say what?!? I often hear that one of the most confusing aspects of couponing is learning what all of those abbreviations that are used in the weekly deals mean.
Not sure what I’m referring to? Take a look at a deal that you might find posted in any given week:
Buy (4) Scrubbing Bubble Cleaners @ $2.49
Use (4) $1/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Product
Use (1) FREE $5 Target GC wyb Scrubbing Bubbles Products (SS 6/27/10)
Pay $6.96 OOP & get $5 Target GC
$0.49 ea. after coupons and GC!
Looks confusing, doesn’t it? But I promise you that it’s really very simple, once you learn the coupon lingo.
The list of coupon terms and abbreviations has been recently updated to include all of the abbreviations and lingo that I use in coupon matchups. But I have this niggling suspicion that I’m leaving something important off the list, so I’m hoping I can rely on you coupon pros to give it a quick once over and let me know if I’ve missed anything!
But back to those of you who are still wondering exactly how to read that deal, let’s take it line by line:
- Buy (4) Scrubbing Bubble Cleaners @ $2.49 — Buy 4 Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaners priced at $2.49.
- Use (4) $1/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Product — Use 4 of the $1/1 printable Scrubbing Bubbles coupons, available when you click on the underlined link.
- Use (1) FREE $5 Target GC wyb Scrubbing Bubbles Products (SS 6/27/10) — Also use the FREE Target gift card coupon from the Sunday SmartSource insert on 6/2/10. This is known as “stacking” coupons.
- Pay $6.96 OOP & get $5 Target GC — You’ll pay $6.96 out of pocket and receive a $5 Target gift card.
- $0.49 ea. after coupons and GC! — Your final price is $0.49 each after coupons and factoring in the gift card received.
This can get a little more complicated when you start factoring in ECBs and RRs, but we’ll cover reading the deals in more depth as we go on.
Homework assignment: Review and familiarize yourself with the list of coupon terms and abbreviations. If you think I’ve left off an important term or abbreviation, please let me know!
Terri
So Tara, is this Scrubbing Bubbles deal current? Do you know if the GC is good for all Target stores in all areas? The Target in Grand Junction, CO typically has less available product, higher prices, hardly anything on sale, and I’ve never known anyone to get a GC when buying there. So just checking…
Tara Kuczykowski
Yes, Terri, it is good in all areas, but you have to have the coupon from the Sunday paper in order to get the gift card.
Cindy
I love all the coupon lingo and thank you and everyone so very much for sharing all of these deals, links, knowledge, match-ups with all of us. I can’t tell you how many times I have passed over so many name-brand coupons for items that always make me think, “they’re still too expensive compared to the off-brand”. Boy am I wrong…especially when using them with a sale, stacking Q’s, and/or rewards. It is simply amazing to me!!! Shopping today at Dillons, I ran into an issue with some Q’s from a link on DSM. They are legit; the coupon link was through the company’s FB page and then printed through Smartsource. I’m wondering if there is an easy, argument-free way of being able to let these stores know that a certain Q is NOT fraudulent. Any thoughts??? Thanks!!!
Tara Kuczykowski
I think the best thing to do in that case, Cindy, is to contact the manufacturer so that they can get in touch with the stores. I know the printable coupons are great, but so many stores don’t accept them. Perhaps it will encourage companies to mail coupons or work more closely with the stores to ensure that the promotions they offer are accepted at the store level.