When done right, shopping at CVS (or CVS’ing as I call it) can score you some seriously cheap, and in many cases, FREE loot. A lot of people think drugstores are overpriced (which they are), but if you go in with a game plan & some coupons you’re bound to leave with at least a tube of toothpaste for free each week.
Question: I wanted to do the Nivea deal but my 5/2 RP didn’t have a coupon…is it normal for coupons to vary with location?
It is very typical for coupon values to vary across the country. The coupon this reader is referring to is a $4/1 Nivea Women’s body wash coupon which was distributed to most parts of the country. Unfortunately it looks like her neck of the woods was not included. Sometimes this just happens but there is a way around it. Coupons like these can usually be purchased through coupon clipping services such as The Coupon Clippers and even on Ebay.
You’ll have to weigh the options and decide if purchasing a coupon through a clipping service will work for you in time to do the deal. In regards to this coupon, since you can pick up the body wash regularly priced pretty much anywhere for less than $4, this is a great coupon to purchase with a low risk of missing a deal.
Question: If you have a $5 off the purchase of 20 or more coupon…can you use it if your subtotal is $20 before the manufacturing coupons and ECBs or does your subtotal have to be $20 after the coupons? Do y’all hand them that coupon first before others?
When you get coupons like these always, always, always make sure you hand them over to the cashier first! If you don’t, your subtotal might drop below the required amount on the coupon. What’s great about these types of coupons ($X off $XX) is that the minimum purchase amount required on the coupon is always before any other coupons are used! When you get coupons such as these you can really lower your out of pocket expense.
Question: Is there any way to check to make sure you will get ECBs back before you purchase the item? My cash register lady couldn’t tell me if any would print or not, and I couldn’t tell when I scanned the item at the kiosk.
One guaranteed way to verify if an item qualifies for an ECB promotion is to refer back to the weekly sales flyer. I can’t tell you how many times I go to my CVS on a Tuesday and nothing is indicated on the shelf that any sort of sale is going on.
It’s been my experience that some products do qualify for ECB promotions but they are never advertised in the ad nor are they marked on the shelf. Usually these items are found by trial and error and people post about them on the internet and the word spreads. I’ve heard you can also verify if an item will produce an ECB by scanning it at the price scanner machine, although, I’ve never had any success at that.
However, that being said, what I have noticed is that if you scan the item at the price scanner and it’s ringing up as the same sale price as other advertised products included in the promotion, there is a good chance that product is included as well. Not always, but it does happen.
If you feel like taking a risk on an item that you think might be participating in an ECB promotion but it is unadvertised and you aren’t totally sure, go ahead and purchase it and try it out! You can always do a refund and get your coupons back (if you do it right away) and just let the cashier know you thought you would be getting an ECB back and that was why you purchased the item. Not everyone likes to hassle with returns so if you don’t feel like living life on the edge, just buy what you know will work.
Question: Was anyone able to get ECBs from Listerine Whitening instead of the regular Listerine? I didn’t attempt it since I didn’t see it listed on the flyer.
This is an excellent example of the question above. According the sales flyer, it looks like the varieties priced at $3.99 are included in the ECB promotion. I haven’t double checked this at CVS yet, but according to their website I don’t see the Whitening Rinse available in that price range. So in this case it’s pretty likely that the Whitening Rinse is not a participating product after all. I’ll be heading to CVS today to verify the in-store pricing and report back!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I <3 CVS! I went Monday night for the Nivea deal and spend $1.76! I paid with the change on the bottom of my purse. I love the $3/$15 because they are for few enough dollars to make it worth it for me. If not for blogs (yours and a few others) I'd never score these deals! Thanks!
I've never received a $3/$15 coupon – I'm so jealous! Isn't CVS just the best? Thank goodness I have 4 of them in my town that I can rotate my trips around or else I'm sure the employees would think I was nuts
This was extremely helpful!!! Thank you soooo much. I love CVS'ing too although I'm obviously still a beginner! I just got a coupon from the kiosk for a $25 cvs gift card with a new prescription. It is going to be so fun to see how many weeks that will last me with my totals only being about a $1 or 2!