Iola Public Library was packed this weekend with folks looking to get into the bargain-hunting game. About 120 opportunists piled into the new meeting room at the library Saturday to get the scoop on how to get the most bang for their buck at the grocery store.
“Everybody is trying to save a dime here or a dollar there,” said Lesa Cole, public services librarian at the library. “I had no idea how many people were going to show up. But, oh my gosh, it wasn’t a week after we scheduled the class that we had exceeded the occupancy for the room.”
On hand were Stacy Wright, a Humboldt woman who’s made couponing and bargain hunting a full-time job, and Walmart Manager Jeff Livingston, providing insight from both the customer and store’s point of view.
Wright said aside from using the Internet and newspapers to find coupons and timely bargains, cost savvy shoppers should network with like-minded friends and acquaintances to share information, coupons and tips.
Couponing and bargain hunting, Wright said, not only can save shoppers money, it can put additional money in their pockets. The key, she said, is coupling coupons with stores’ ad match policies.
For example, if an item Walmart sells for $10 is advertised at another store for $4 and a customer has a coupon for 50 percent off, they would be entitled to the item for free plus a $1 back from Walmart.
Wright said she once got $300 worth of groceries for nothing and received $48 cash back to boot.
Livingston gave the bargain hunters a rundown of what Walmart expects from customers taking advantage of coupons and the retail giant’s ad match policy.
Iola’s Walmart will redeem coupons from “anywhere someone could conceivably travel in a day,” Livingston said, referring to Wichita, Kansas City, Joplin and Pittsburg.
“We don’t really have any local competitors so we opened it up to the surrounding area,” he said.
Coupons must have expiration dates printed on them and redeemed before the date, only one coupon may be used for each item, and each coupon must have a specific price, according to Walmart’s coupon policy.
Walmart also will match prices from their competitors within that two-hour radius, Livingston said.
Customers aren’t required to have the competitor’s ad with them unless it’s for more than 50 percent off Walmart’s sticker price.
“We’ve got to cover our end, too,” he said.
Livingston warned couponing shouldn’t be taken lightly. With about $500,000 in coupons redeemed annually at the Iola Walmart alone, the company has a division dedicated solely to validating coupons and making sure people are saving money through honest means.
