Consumer

'Coupon Mom' Offers Retail Saving Tips

(KDKA) Using coupons and taking advantage of other savings secrets isn't just for trips to the grocery story anymore.

KDKA's Consumer Editor Yvonne Zanos recently talked with 'coupon mom' Stephanie Nelson on finding some of the best deals during retail shopping trips.

Nelson say when she's in search of a bargain she starts online. She says a few minutes on the website, ShopLocal.com, can save hours of searching for the retail store that has the lowest price for the item you want.

For example, Nelson wants to purchase a Pyrex 10-piece Bakeware set, which she finds at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $29.99, but that's more than she wants to pay.

So she says she then checks for coupons on the coupon website, CouponCabin.com, she says it is one of her favorites.

But Nelson says she knows Bed, Bath and Beyond also offers a 20 percent off coupon good for a single item in the store.

"Here's the key," Nelson says. "They let you use expired coupons, so you want to make sure that you save every single coupon you get. Ignore the expiration date."

The 20 percent off coupon brings the price down to $24, but Nelson say that is still a bit high for her.

So she says her next step is to move on to see if there are any rebates.

When the time comes to buy the Pyrex dishes, Nelson says the price is down to $13.99, which is a savings of $16, with just a few minutes spent online.

"I call that stacking," Nelson says. "We are going to take the sale price, we take the coupon, now we are getting the rebate and we buy it."

Nelson also says many stores have a policy that if you buy an item, and then in a certain number of days that item goes on sale, you can ask for and get that sale price, and that's where the website, PriceProtectr.com, comes in.

"What it does is tells you to enter an item that you purchased, enter the store where you bought it and then it will keep track of whether or not that item's price has dropped within a certain time period where you purchased it," said Nelson.

PriceProtectr.com lists the price policies for 82 retailers. Also, many stores have different price guarantees that will not only give consumers a refund if the price of the item drops at their store, but if the price of the item drops at one of their competitor's stores.

Nelson also added, "There are questions you want to ask your stores to understand what the policies are because so many of their savings programs are great, but they don't advertise them."

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