Store Flyers

All us deal hunters and freebie hounds have heard the stories: There are people out there who can walk into a grocery store and walk out with hundreds of dollars worth of food using nothing but coupons and their own penchant for organization. The rest of us are left to wallow in resentment, since we know deep down we don't have the discipline for those rewards. Then that resentment is followed by a certain brand of consummerist backlash. "These people are going too far. Do they really need two hundred deoderants?"

Shows like TLC's Extreme Couponing seem to do nothing but fan those flames among us average shoppers. Yet, when you see stay at home mom Joanie Demer of McKinleyville, CA buy $638.64 worth of groceries for $2.64, there's a skeptiscm that doesn't really believe that this 98% savings is possible. Still, we all want a piece of that don't we? We all would be extreme couponers if it didn't take such dedication.

Still, is it really possible to pull it off? The show only answers that question in the affirmative for the American audience, but you hardly ever hear of extreme couponers hauling wheelbarrels full of product out of a Safeway or a Loblaws. Walletpop wanted to find out why that was and what we discovered is that there are still tricks to saving with coupons in this country, but not to a degree that's going to allow the neighbours to shop out of your garage.

Is there a Metro near you? Do you love to barbecue? Then head over to Metro where you can get a free bottle of barbecue sauce! Yes, you read that right - Metro is offering a coupon for a free bottle of Irresistibles (their store line) barbecue sauce to their Facebook fans.

Like most Facebook pages, you have to like them in order to get the coupon. It's one per customer and valid until June 9th.

It's not feeling very summery out there, but Sears is already offering bargains off of summer clothing and footwear. There are also deals on furniture, electronics, camping gear and even cribs.

So if you need to refurnish your home (a lot of people move during the summer) then check out the Sears sale! It's only available until June 5th.

It seems every company has a points card, but the Air Miles card seems to be the granddaddy of them all. If there's a Rexall or Guardian or any other store in the Rexall family near you, you can earn an extra 100 bonus Air Miles when you spend $50 or more in the store (some exclusions apply). That's on top of their usual weekly discounts. Bonus!

All you have to do is enter your postal code to see the flyers of all the stores in the Rexall family.

All the coupon masters know that coupon stacking (the practice of using two or more coupons on the same item) is the real key to saving big bucks in America and the strategy that makes shows like TLC's Extreme Couponers possible.

In Canada, many couponers swear that London Drugs, with locations from the west coast to the Manitoba border, is the only place where coupon stacking is allowed.

The first part of our coupon stacking series showed that it is possible to coupon stack by combining manufacturer coupons with printable coupons from the Internet where these types of discounts are permitted. Some stores, like Zellers, have no official rule against coupon stacking for items at regular price. Sometimes all it takes is a charitable cashier on the right day.

Yes, our first foray into the real coupon policies of the largest grocery and drug stores across the country shed light on a great deal, but there were many stores that were missing from the list, so this piece is intended to cover those major players previously excluded.

The key to pulling off outlandish savings at the grocery store lies in a customer's ability to coupon stack.

For those of you that didn't read our post on Extreme Couponers, coupon stacking is when you take multiple coupons for the same product with different UPCs and use them all toward the purchase of one item in a single transaction. In Canada, the general consensus among the coupon mavens is that no store except London Drugs permits coupon stacking as a purchasing tactic.

However, delve deeper into the issue and you find that no one really knows for sure. Rumors and speculation permeate the discount shopper forums, with various customers claiming that they heard coupon stacking is allowed at this store, or that they actually were able to pull it off at another store.

Go deep enough into the coupon stacking issue and you soon realize that nobody knows what the real story is. As a result, we went to some of the largest grocery and drug store chains in Canada to ask them what their coupon policy really is and find out whether they truly allow coupon stacking in their stores.

If you see or hear the words "Whole House Special," run for the hills.

Recently, Dateline exposed a ductwork scam that has gained a prominent foothold across the U.S. It starts with a flyer, ad or coupon proclaiming a "Whole House Special" air duct cleaning for the bargain basement price of $49.95. Enticed by the deal, the unsuspecting customer books an appointment. At first, everything goes well, even with the customer confirming the price several times, but it doesn't take long for the offer to lose its lustre as soon as the service provider actually inspects the vents in the house.

The Scam Begins
It's then that he breaks the news to the customer that they have a bigger problem than the worker first thought.

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Most of us go to the grocery store because we discover, or are told by a loved one, that food is needed.

There is no planning, no thought put into the process. We discover that we need milk,eggs, rice, chicken and ketchup. And we go off to the store to get those things.

Attention Shoppers! Before heading out to make a big purchase, check the flyers to see where all the real deals are. Same goes for that weekly trip to the grocery store. To aid you in your quest to save money, we've compiled a list of flyers from Canada's largest stores and hope you'll make this your starting page.

Bookmark it, or find it on the Walletpop main page under Store Flyers. And let us know if we've missed any, so we can add it to the list.


Grocery Stores

• Country Grocer
• ExtraFoods
• Fairway
• Farmboy
• Foodbasics
• Foodland
• Fortinos
• Highland Farms
• IGA
• Loblaws
• Longos
• Metro
• NoFrills
• Overwaitea
• Peppers
• Price Chopper
• Safeway
• Save-on-Foods
• Sobey's
• Stong's
• Thrifty Foods
• Zehr's

Drugstores

• Guardian
• I.D.A.
• Lawton's
• London Drugs
• PharmaPlus
• Shopper's Drug Mart

Big Box Stores

• Best Buy
• Costco
• Future Shop
• Michael's
• Office Depot
• Real Canadian Superstore
• Staples
• The Brick
• Toys R Us
• WalMart

Department Stores

• Army & Navy
• Giant Tiger
• Sears Canada
• The Bay
• Zellers

Home Improvement & Hardware Stores

• Canadian Tire
  
• Home Depot
• Home Hardware
• Home Outfitters
• Lowe's
• Rona

Quebec

• Brunet
• Familiprix
• IGA
• Metro
• Provigo