When Is A Deal REALLY A Great Deal?!
Now through July 23rd, head on over to your local ToysRUs where they are offering up Buy 1 Get 1 Free on back to school essentials, Disney Descendants items, adult coloring and more – valid IN STORE only!
* ALL Crayola crayons, colored pencils & markers
* ALL Crayola Color Wonder
* ALL character-themed stationery
* ALL character-themed activity trays
* ALL Crayola adult coloring
* ALL Disney Descendants arts & crafts
BUT, is a Sale Always a Great Deal?
My BFF Amanda headed over to our local ToysRUs here in Boise, ID and found $2.99 Crayola Classic Markers 10-count and $1.49 Crayola Crayons 24-count. Even after the Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sale, these do NOT make for fantastic deals when taking into account the other deals and my pricepoint sheet.
However, one deal to note (or if you’re looking to keep the kiddos entertained in the car), were Crayola Color Wonder sets priced at $8.99-$9.99, so as low as $4.50 each after the Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sale! These same sets are selling for $7-$8 each on Amazon, so this seems like a decent discount.
The crayola sets are at a better price at joann’s with their 50% off coupons.
I just quickly glanced online. Is the Color Wonder deal in store only? Thanks!
That happens to me more than I would care to admit :/ It doesn’t feel good when you realize it! π
For me, if I can get it for 70% off or more, then it’s a great time to buy.
Thanks for sharing! π
I get sucked in a lot because I have trouble remembering/gauging what the real price normally is. So if it tells me it’s normally $30 or whatever, I tend to believe it.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience Natalie!
I usually do price comparisons on my phone before I buy something if I’m not sure about a deal. But if I’ve already bought it, and it wasn’t that great of a deal, I’ll return it.
I felt like i was always getting suckered in at cvs. Deals never panned out the way i thought or id spend more than i wanted to try reach their thresold for ecb. Now I only get what I need and not just cause its a deal.
I feel the same way about couponing in general. When I first started couponing I’d snatch up a deal even if it was something I didn’t need/use. I ended up spending more just because it was a deal. I only buy things we use now and try not to keep more than we’d use in a 6 month period.
Same here!! Too many things tend to go wrong so at least if I’m getting things i would have needed anyways it doesn’t make me feel as bad if it doesn’t turn out great!
I always have a hard time with paper products like paper towels, especially online. I might think I’m getting a great deal, then come to find out the rolls aren’t so giant (like the Scott sale at Staples π)
I’m so intimidated by paper products because the companies purposely make it impossible to compare prices haha. I try to do price per sq ft instead of per roll, since every roll is completely different. Still, it’s a pain.
Yes!! I’m just giving up and buying from Costco from now on to avoid the headache.
Has anyone “done the math”? Is Costco always cheapest? The paper products ARE hard to compare.
I don’t think Costco is the cheapest but it’s so hard to compare, it’s almost worth it for me if I’m going there anyway.
We buy in bulk from Amazon which tends to be cheapest and easiest for name brand paper goods at .014/sqft for TP and .021/sqft for paper towels. I have been able to get that or better in store with coupons when there are deals too. I haven’t done the Costco math..yet.
I’ve done the math for Costco and I think compared to the size of rolls and thickness and all the other things that change with TP that Costco ends up being the best deal per square ft. And I like the quality π
Yes! I only do Costco now. I haven’t once had their prices really beat yet anyway.
I only have one brand of TP and Paper towels that I will use. Therefore I just watch for these certain brands to go on sale. Since I only buy those particular items, it’s easy to spot if it’s a deal or not.
Me too! Easy to compare prices!
I agree that paper products are almost impossible to compare with all the 8 rolls # 12 rolls nonsense.
I’ve been using the staples ink rewards to get my paper products completely free. Free is always a great deal!
Do the sell small adult coloring books, easy to carry in purse?
Didn’t both Kohls and Amazon get in trouble for fake deals recently? Like they were showing the list price as much higher than it should be and “discounting” it to the regular retail price.
I keep a Google Sheets document with my stock up prices for items that I buy frequently so I can reference it anytime. Otherwise, I general look for at least 50% off and check multiple stores.
That’s awesome Sara! Thanks for the feedback!
Kohls ALWAYS does that. There is a class actionaction lawsuit against kohls for that, but its only if youre a resident of California. Don’t know about amazon.
Since someone mentioned paper products. Id like to make a request to this site, PLEASE can you post in square feet for toilet paper and paper towels? Just because cottonelle says its 4 rolls in 1 does not mean it actually is. Using the price per roll is not an accurate way to measure costs/discounts.
Also toys on clearance are especially hard. I try to wait for 70% off because sales and coupons rarely make it that low, but then the good stuff is usually gone.
I aim for .014/sqft for tp and .021 for paper towels or better because that is what i can get at Amazon without going anywhere π
Just a note for toys… Carson’s and stage often offer $10 off $10 I use these to get Melissa and doug items and stock up the giftcloset.
Yes, it used to happen to me all the time! But thanks to you I am more conscious of price points and actual sales! Thanks a bunch!!!!!ππ
Glad to hear that! π You’re welcome!
Is there a binder stock up price?
Pretty sure that’s on the spreadsheet too
I’m pretty sure I did not get great deals during the store closing Sports Authority sale currently going on. I bought Teva flip flops and Under Armor women’s shirts at 20% off. They had been advertising up to 60% off at the time. But the colors were so cute and in the sizes I needed, I went ahead and paid for items I normally wouldn’t have considered and all sales are final. Ugh.
LOVE π JoAnn’s craft store 60% off one regular price item store coupons they have ever so often. Subscribe to their text messages to have an extra coupon messaged to you to use in store.
no offense but I often wonder if a lot of the deals posted here are great deals. sure a lot of it is but saving, but 1-2 dollars on an order that I have to jump through hoops to do isn’t always worth it. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this.
For me, Walgreens is never worth it because in my area they are horrible about accepting coupons so it’s always a waste of my time and printer ink. On the other hand, Amazon deals are almost always worth it. It’s so easy to clip a digital coupon and have items arrive at my door.
Thank you for all your hard work Collin!!
Yes I always prepare to spend a half hour at the Walgreens checkout. Either the sale price doesn’t ring up or my coupons aren’t accepted. such a pain, but the deals are just too good to pass ups sometimes
I’ve become a lot more conscious of things I buy. It may be a good deal but if I don’t need it or didn’t intend to ever buy it, then it’s not a deal for me.
A couple years ago when I started couponing I jumped on every deal. (It also helped that I had no kids at the time too lol) some stuff I bought for pennies or even free I haven’t used but it’s nice to give those things to charity. I’ve also done deals on freebies just to get the ECB’s to spend on other things. I wasn’t very mindful of quantities and now things I bought are expiring. A bunch of Downy fabric softener is getting so thick and gloopy, I can hardly use it. I’m not sure if it’s from age or storing…medication has expired before we can use it all. The whole point is to SAVE money. And now it’s going right out the door. As far as spending too much for items, sure, we’ve all done it. Sometimes our price points on what we consider “good deals” vary. There are items I’m happy saving 25% on and other items I wouldn’t use if given to me. The 50% you save on Febreze is just dandy for you but I know I can wait for a better deal to save 75%. Sometimes I have the luxury of being able to wait. Sometimes I don’t. And price points change over time. I know I’ll never see some of the freebies I saw a couple years ago ever again with the tighter couponing rules and regulations. There will always be deals to be had. That’s just the way marketing works. Companies want us to use their products so they will continue to work with retailers on promotions to push their stuff. Things always cycle around. That’s something I didn’t understand or have the patience for when I first started. Now I know better. I buy what we need for 3 to 6 months. Rather than 3 to 6 ywars…as my laundry stockpile could attest to lol
I try to be conscientious when I see a deal. My first question is: ” Do I actually NEED this?” That helps to curtail a lot of the needless saving/spending. I then think about price points and considering if it’s worth stocking up on. For instance, my Kroger puts refried beans on sale for .50/can about three or four times a year. So I buy like 10-15. Whereas I’ve learned that I can always, ALWAYS find a deal for, say, body soap or deodorant, so there’s no need to jump the gun on every personal care deal.
I also cast my lot in with the warehouse store toilet paper club. $20 every couple of months to keep my family dry and clean in the bathroom? Worth it.
I love Hip2Save and appreciate all of the above comments. I too used to try to get all the deals only to find the shelf cleared or look at my receipt when I got home to find it didn’t quite work out the way it should have, for whatever reason. I’m also finding that great deal from long ago getting thrown out because it’s now expired. I’ve come to the conclusion, as it seems many of you have, that we go through phases? a learning curve? before we find our way in the deals/couponing arena. Our lives change and we realize sometimes the deal is worth it, sometimes not. It’s an individual thing each of us has to figure out through trial and error, reading the posts from Collin and her team and checking out the comments from the awesome H2S community.