HEB & coupons

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by cakmke

I am a very consistent consumer. I buy the same items/brands all the time; the same brand of bread, same brand of coffee, same brand of toilet paper...etc. you get the idea. Since I buy the same things all of the time, I can tell you the price of the item and can predict my bill w/ in a few cents. The other day I actually found some coupons in the Sunday paper for brands/products I buy and was happy b/c they were .75-1.50 off ONE item, not the usual .25 off three or more. Anyway, my point is when I went to HEB the prices of the things I buy went up "coincidentally" the price of the coupon. For example, one item I buy is always 1.25, when I wanted to use the .75 off coupon it was 2.00. No savings there. I'd just be paying the normal price but handing them a little piece of paper to scan saying I "saved". After that I noticed it more frequently w/ coupon items.

Is it just HEB that is doing this, or do other local stores do the same thing? Walmart?, Target? If so, do they do it in locations other than San Antonio? Maybe nationally?

If not, maybe you would be better off purchasing the coupon items at stores other than HEB.

[miche111e]

When I was better at couponing, I'd use my coupons in conjunction with a sale. Maybe the key is to wait a week or so after the coupon comes out before using it?

I miss living in an area with more grocery chain options than HEB. HEB is great, but I miss a little competition, double coupons, 10 for $10 deals, etc.

[sa_rushfan]

In working with the retail community, I can tell you that coupons that come out in the Sunday paper are not readily communicated by the manufacturer to the targeted retailers. Keep in mind that these coupons are national, which is the reason why some of the items on the coupons you can't find in the stores. So don't assume the two are working together...

Also remember we are in an inflationary time frame...I'm sure that manufacturers are increasing their costs that HEB is passing on to their prices. What I think the OP saw was purely coincidental...

[miche111e]

Well, I do know for sure, that if you look at a Walgreen's ad in that SAME Sunday paper, they will advertize a product and state to customers "additional coupon's in Sunday's paper", so at least that retailer knows which coupons are coming out.

[JuanValdez]

Originally Posted by sapphire

They do it with their own Combo Locos, for sure.

Oh man, that drives me nuts, too. One of the final nails in the coffin for HEB for me. Had to love the teenage employee they'd put out there trying to pump you up about what a great deal it was, too.