[peppa]

I’m a newbie so I am clueless! If a papers are the way to go how many will I need for a family of 5? What kind of prices should I expect to pay for q’s. Is it worth it to print online q’s? when you factor in the cost of ink?

[esquala]

A most excellent question. I'm sure a lot of people here would like to know, too (myself included).

[bpannell]

Yes, good question. I'm new too. I guess I never thought about the ink and paper aspect of printing coupons. But I only print the free IP's so I'm not doing it that often. I like to buy a few of each paper to make sure I get more.

[Mavourneen]

I think everyone's needs are different - but I buy a paper each week, get coupons from my MIL from her paper, and then purchase coupons from thecouponclippers.com.

Here's my reasoning.

Each Washington Post is $1.50 - you can sometimes get the "double inserts" addition for $2.00

When I purchase from online services, I get access to coupons published all over the country, not just here in Maryland where I am at. Coupons can vary by region. For example, Hellmann's mayo coupons are rarely distributed in the South. They are much more common up North. I spend $4-5 to save over $100 on products I specifically pick. It is not random like what you get in the inserts. Sounds good to me.

I really think trading and online services are the way to go. Get coupons locally ( buying newspapers, from friends )- but then trade and buy what you want.

[joshmamabear]

for me the most cost effective is just buying complete inserts when there are lots of hot coupons in it. since my source is local, I don't have to pay for postage and I can get my inserts as early as Sunday for WAG sale so I can use the coupons immediately.

in my experience, timing is everything if I want to get on a deal. once a hot deal hits all coupon boards, I just cut and clip my coupons and go to the store immediately especially if its a hidden/unadvertised/clearance MM. if I will just start looking for Qs by then, 99% of the time, when I get the Qs, the deal is dead

I don't print a lot of IPs especially when they're short dated. most often, when I find a sale to match them, they are expired. I rely mostly on inserts, tearpads, blinkies, peelies for my coupons.

[Lynda1811]

I personally buy 10 papers a week, and I print coupons at home, I have also 'bought' coupons from ebay.

I find that coupons on line are usually a higher amount off. What little bit of ink that is used is worth it to me.

Buying coupons from ebay, clippers are a great way to get multiples of coupons for an up coming sale. Also, some areas get higher value coupons, where in my area it was a lower amount.

You can even order whole inserts from some members here, it's cheaper than purchasing a whole paper.

So to me it's worth it. My paper and ink can last 6 months or longer. But, I don't do a whole lot of printing so mostly it is only coupons.

Lynda

[aimeejo]

For me I use to go to the Dollar Tree and get my Sunday papers for $1. I would buy 4.
I would also Dumpster dive and ask everyone for what they won't use.

However we just moved and I had to go to the gas station one night to get milk and I asked the guy what they do with the papers they don't sell on Sunday. He told me they throw them away but if I wanted them to come down Sunday evenings around 9:30ish and take what's left. I average 9 papers this way for free.

I also buy from ebay.

As for ink, I buy that too on ebay. I get about 4 sets for around $25 shipped. Beats paying $60 per set. When I way set we have 1 black and 3 colors so $15 each average.
I justify buying cheap ink cause with all the free photos offers out there I'm not printing photos off my printer.
We also have 2 computers and I print off alot of coupons.

[knw2860]

I have 5 people in my home. 2 adults and 3 children. I get two papers delivered and my parents give me their inserts. If there are hot coupons I will go to Walmart and buy the double stack for $1.25. I have found numerous coupons online to print that are much higher in value or for things I do not have other q's for.
I have only purchased coupons one time from couponclippers and it was well worth it. If there was a really good deal I would definately purchase them again. HTH

[bpannell]

But how much does it cost to buy them from other sites? And how secure are those sites? I don't like paying for things online. Which ones are reputable?

[Ralaka06]

How do you get the double insert Sunday Paper? I've never heard of that before.

[Ralaka06]

Becky .... Coupons by dede is done by a girl on here I think? I've used couponclippers.com before as well, and got my coupons in like 3 days. Its done by paypal so they dont have any info on your checking account at all, just your email addy.

[bpannell]

I don't even know ANYTHING about paypal. How does it work?

[Lynda1811]

Under the coupons tab at the top is : coupon clippers / coupon masters / coupons and things by Dede, and yes she is a member here.

Lynda

[Ralaka06]

PayPal is awesome, its this free and secure website that you sign up at. What it does is takes your bank acct info and attaches it to your email address. When you pay for things online you can use your paypal account, all you give them is your email addy and then paypal takes it from your account. Its all legit, secure and safe. no need to worry about it or anything. Its great to pay for things online this way instead of using your acct info and putting it all over the net.

[Ralaka06]

Thanks Lynda ... I THOUGHT she was but wasnt positive!

[Lynda1811]

I'm not familiar with any of the clipping services, but have ordered through ebay several times.

I like getting 20 coupons for only $1, that saves me $39. I don't do the auctions, I use the buy it now ones. Sometimes bids can get high and then the savings aren't the greatest.

Lynda

[Ralaka06]

Thats what I have noticed as well ... I've never done it thru Ebay before .. how are they?

[joshmamabear]

I can only buy meat winetag coupons from ebay. IME if there are a few traders in coupon boards trading them, they usually ask for your first-born or they put a high price tag on their WTs.

on ebay, when I find the sellers that get these winetags from their Spanish newspaper, they sell it in lots of 15 x $2 WTs for 9.95 shipped. that is a good price to me since I don't usually find meat winetags anywhere else.

I buy inserts coupons on sale if I know there is a hot deal coming in the next few weeks before the deals are posted all over the net. I can still get them at the lowest price like .99 shipped for a set of 20 $2/1 coupons. soon as the deals are posted all over the net, ebay sellers jack up their prices 5 to 7 times higher or even more if its for a moneymaker deal.

[charlie54933]

I buy 3 papers a week, one for each member of my family. That normally keeps us pretty well stocked up. I use IP's (coupons printed from the internet) but I don't rely on them because some stores don't take them. If there's a super good deal coming up I'll buy some coupons off ebay but honestly I've only done that like 3X. I'd say a good rule of thumb especially starting out is one paper per member of your family, then you can cut back as your stockpile starts growing.

[nikiz]

I buy 3 to 4 papers a week at the dollar store, and also print the online ones when they are ones I know I will use, or are "HOT"! I have bought them on Ebay as well, but only for something I know will be an awesome buy! I am constantly on the lookout at every store I shop at for tearpads, blinkies, peelies, samples w/coupons, etc!

[whoojaflikit]

I think the most cost effective ways are to buy papers (I can get them at a local drug store for 99 cents.) and to print them. I find that my paper and ink last about a month to 6 weeks and that is prety heavy printing useage. (Plus printing out envelopes.) I usually get all I need from those and trading/trains.

[rhemerick]

I purchase anywhere from 11-15 Sunday papers weekly. First I buy 1 on Sunday from a local store. I look through the coupons and if I like them I buy more on Monday directly from the newspaper office for a bulk discount. You should call your local paper and ask if they offer a bulk discount if you buy several papers on Monday. If I buy at least 11 at one time, my local paper sells them to me for .50 each. In other words, if I buy 11 of them on Monday I pay $5.50. If I were to buy them in the store on Sunday I would pay $1.50 per paper ($16.50 for 11 papers). So as you see, it is WELL worth it to call your paper and ask. We do have another paper sold here in town that does not offer any discounts, even if you buy it the day before the next weekly paper comes out. Not all papers offer bulk discounts the next day, but it's always good to check. I also print out the IP coupons, and I have purchased off of Ebay and thecouponclippers.com.

[jcsaxx]

I have a subscription that gives me an early edition of the coupons on Saturday, then I drive down a couple miles to the local convenience store and buy that same paper for 50 cents each. I don't buy the Sunday paper anymore usually, since it cost $1.25 and I only buy it for the coupons usually. My father-in-law also gives me his coupons. I might look into buying from eBay though and coupon clipping services, just to try doing something different (esp if I know certain deals are coming).

[spitfire1]

I have a subscription, which I receive early Saturday AM, to a "local" small town newspaper which always has the inserts (per the insert schedule). The 1st thing I do is open the paper & check out the inserts. If they are good, I hit the newspaper box (at local gas station) & buy 2 (.75 each). I then get the Sunday paper which also has a set & have asked a few friends/neighbors to save coupons for me. I wait until Mon/Tues to sit down & sort the inserts. I group the "same" page together, staple the couple in the middle (not on the barcode) & then clip the coupon I want.

Right now I have a sufficient # of coupons for my husband & myself....but would consider buying more if they had some really good coupons.

[kobbermannfarms]

I buy at least 2 sunday papers every week. I also get coupons from family and friends (we all have differnt needs and favorites). I regularily look at online ads on sundays to find out whats on sale before i recieve the actual flyers in the mail on Mondays. If i find any HOT DEALS, I immediately go to ebay and use buy it now for coupons for those products. Make sureyou check their shipping policies to see if they ship right away. I usually recieve these in a couple of days and save lots of money on great products my family uses.
An example of this was the steamfresh veggies on sale this week in my town for 99 cents each. I went online and bought 35 coupons for 35 cents off each bag. This saved me a ton. I bought what they had and got a raincheck, my family eats these at least 3 times a week so with the raincheck (which i have 30 days to use) i can get more coupons to use.
I agree definately do your research and check expiration dates when buying coupons off ebay. Most also offer free shipping.
I have also found that signing up for every major retail brand has been extreemly beneficial for receiving coupons in the mail. I revieve a mailing almost every day. YES I HATE junk mail, but i just look for the coupons and throw the rest in the recycling. This is also a great way to try out samples. Happy Shopping!!!!!!!