ShareThisBy SUE STOCK
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
For me, coupons are a way of life. I clip them, file them and use them to save. I swap extras with friends, print coupons online and look forward to the Sunday paper all week long.
On a really good week, I can save as much as 70 percent on my grocery bill.
And I'm always looking for ways to save more. So when I heard about Tom Locke, I was inspired.
Locke is an average Joe who wrote to 100 companies and asked them for stuff. His cost: $39 in stamps. His result: $273 worth of freebies.
But because I wasn't sure what I would do with the stuff he got, including cans of compressed air or a BMW key chain, I decided to ask for coupons.
Over the summer, I contacted 100 companies, asking for coupons for their products. I gave them a month to respond.
Frugal to the core, I didn't want to spend $39 on stamps, so I wrote the companies online through their corporate Web sites. It was faster and cheaper, anyway.
All but seven accepted electronic feedback, so my experiment cost $2.73 in stamps.
In the end, almost half the companies answered my pleas, sending a flood of mail and $242.57 worth of coupons and goodies. While my experiment might seem like a game, it's an exercise in frugality that shows the value of pinching pennies.
The average shopper spends $91 on groceries a week, according to the Food Marketing Institute, and the Coupon Council reports that coupon users have average savings of 11.5 percent.
So if you are an average consumer, you can save $10.47 a week or $544.18 a year by using coupons.
If you're good, it can be a lot more. So far this year, I've saved more than twice that on groceries. Local food stores make it easy now, with many doubling the face value of some coupons.
"The amount of time you spend is directly correlated to the amount of money you save," said Faye Prosser, a Garner resident who teaches local seminars on saving and is the author of "The Smart Spending Guide" ($12.99, Magnolia Way Publishing).
"With one to two hours extra a week _ time spent finding coupons, cutting coupons, going through the fliers and shopping _ people can easily save 50 percent or more on their grocery bill," Prosser said.
Even with that kind of potential, The Coupon Council says that Americans saved $3 billion last year using coupons, but manufacturers offered $300 billion in total coupon savings.
That makes me sad, especially since I am now confident that the coupons are out there for the taking. All you have to do is ask.
But before you accuse me of taking advantage, I'd like to point out that offering coupons is also good for the companies.
In reality, companies that offer coupons are giving up a tiny bit of profit, hoping for increased sales. And in the end, each coupon that is redeemed means that a customer has purchased their product.
The payoff can be huge in other ways, too.
With household budgets shrinking and competition growing, sending a coupon or two is an easy way for a company to extend some good will, and good will is becoming more important, said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York City company that studies brand and customer loyalty.
"These days, the reason engagement is so very, very important is there's just not a whole lot of difference between one laundry detergent and another," he said. "It's seven to 10 times more expensive to get a new customer than to keep an old customer."
It turns out, though, that whether or not a company sent a coupon was only part of the picture. After my initial euphoria over getting the freebies, it was the responses from the companies that really stuck with me.
Some sent coupons willingly, but I was disappointed because I didn't feel their response was personal or _ in some cases _ appropriate.
With other companies, I didn't get a single coupon in return for my efforts. But the sincere, personal nature of their correspondence still left me thinking happy thoughts.
Still, I have to say that I was pretty pleased with my results.
I'm already working on my next list of 100 companies to write.
WANT TO TRY IT?
If you're thinking about contacting your favorite companies to ask for stuff, here are a few pointers, based on my experience.
Try online first. Most companies have a "contact us" section on their Web sites. It's faster and cheaper to make requests this way.
Keep it brief. A paragraph or two is usually sufficient to submit your request.
Make sure to compliment their products. Tell them if there's a particular item or flavor that you prefer.
Be specific. Make sure you are asking specifically for what you want.
Include your contact information. E-mail and mailing addresses are the most important pieces of information you can include. They will speed the response time.
Be patient. Although some companies responded within days, some took more than a month to respond.
Expect some failures. No matter how nice your letter is, some companies might refuse to send coupons or freebies, no matter what.
Sue Stock can be reached at sstock(at)newsobserver.com.
