Are register rewards worth it?

Photo by Evelynishere

Or do you just end up spending more?


Staples, Walgreens, and now even grocery stores are using "savings" programs that are mainly designed to make you a repeat customer. Even if it's somewhat forcibly.


The stores offer savings in the form of credit against future purchases. So while you think you're saving in the present, you're really saving in the future. Or, looked at another way, you're simply enjoying the benefits in the future from money you already spent in the past -- all while thinking you're getting a good deal. It's a tad dizzying, really.


Let me give an example: Walgreen's recently advertised Kashi cereal as 3 boxes for $7. You bought 3 boxes, paid $10 and got a $3 Register Reward slip. You can use that slip on your next purchase at the store.


So, in fact, you're not saving money on the cereal. You're saving money on future purchases. There's a pretty big distinction.


One of the main problems here is that Register Rewards (and programs like them) expire. So, like rebates, there's a good chance that people won't use them. The company gets product sold, makes about the normal profit and customers come away feeling like they got a great deal. How could companies not love this process?!


Second, there's the old double-accounting trick. At least, that's what I call it. I'm very susceptible to it. I attribute that to the following: My brain is continuously distracted by random thoughts, lists of errands and any nearby shiny objects. Once you add the fog that rolls in with my readily accessible fatigue, you've got a former calculus student working up a sweat trying to do basic math some days.


So, when I use these programs, it's pretty common for the ole' gray matter to account twice for savings that occur only once. Such as: "Golly, it's so cool that I just got 3 boxes of Kashi for $7" -- even though I just paid $10 -- and then later, "Hey, while we're here, I'm going to get this candy because it's practically free. I have a $3 off coupon!"


See what just happened there? (If so, you're often one step ahead of me.) The discount got used in two different ways. So, in my mind, I saved $6. In fact, the "discount" only works if I buy something I'd buy anyway.


And, as I said before, you could question whether I would save any money at all, really. I'd pay $10 for 3 boxes of Kashi. Then, I would come back to Walgreen's and spend my $3 in Register Rewards. Since your item has to at least be equal to the RR slip, I'd end up paying 27 cents in sales tax.


So, I shelled out a minimum of $10.27, got a $3 certificate, and am being told I got it for $7. Anyone else see a logistical problem here?


If you plan ahead, you can avoid some of the confusion inherent in such complex transactions. For example, I bought three boxes, received my RR slip and gave it to Tim. While his three boxes were being rung up, I went back and got the last three left on the shelf. When I came back, he handed me his RR slip.


So, we paid $10, $7 and $7. In all, we got 9 boxes for $24. That's $2.67 a box -- or 34 cents more than advertised. Oh, and now we have a leftover RR to use for our next drug store need. Definitely not the worst deal in the world. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than the usual $4+ grocery store price and even cheaper than the large boxes at Sam's Club. Even if we let the RR lapse.


Since all of my prescriptions are at Walgreen's, this isn't a big deal. But if you're not a regular shopper there, the store just guaranteed that you'll make a return visit. (If you don't, it doesn't have to give you the discount, so it's win-win.)


And most people don't just get the one item at the drug store. There are a few hard-core shoppers who can manage it. But for most, these Register Rewards act like loss-leaders. They lure you into the store for one cheap item; then you come out, dazed, with an arm full of stuff and a significantly lighter wallet.


It's insidious.


***


Albertsons has been doing something similar around once a month. If you buy $25 worth of certain products, you get $5 off. You have to look closely (or, at least, I did) to notice that it's in the form of a $5 credit toward your purchase the next week. Good only for that week.


Tim and I had to work carefully to be sure that we a) used it before it expired and b) bought only essentials with it, lest we fall prey to the notion that it was "free" money. These days, I only participate in those deals if I actually need $25 worth of the products. I rarely do.


***


For a long time, Staples/Office Depot/Office Max let you return empty printer cartridges. Each cartridge netted you a $3 discount on a purchase. Maximum of three a day.


This was a great way to get a discount on ink. Or get shipping supplies if you ran a small business. My mom actually collected cartridges at the University of Washington, where they were simply being thrown away, and would use the discounts to buy and donate school supplies: backpacks, binders, pens, pencils, and more for families who couldn't afford those items.


Then the stores wised up. Now, you can turn in as many as 25 a day (at least, at Office Depot) but the discount comes later. Once a quarter, to be exact. And the credit is valid only for a couple of weeks. If you miss that window, too bad.


This means that people will be rushed and panicked, especially if they wait until the last minute. They won't want to "lose" the credit, so they'll buy things they probably didn't really need. This easily leads to excessive spending, which means a profit for the company.


Really, though, the company wins in two ways:

1. People think small with small amounts. But as the amount grows, so does their imagination. So, if they get a $3 -- or even a $9 -- discount, they'll probably spend it carefully. But, over the course of three months, those discounts accumulate. When they get up above $10 or so, people start to think bigger. If they get it up over the $20 or $30 mark, they're likely to see it as a way to get a discount on a big ticket item. So what they once would have used to get things free, now becomes a means to afford expensive purchases. Nice little deal for the company.
   
2. People have to come back in. In order to use the credit, which most of us begin to think of as our due, we have to go back. Or on to the website. Either way, the store gets us back in -- and in a mood to consume, no less!
   

Of course, the stores lose out on people like my mom, who simply stocks up on paper and ink and rarely goes over her credit amount. Perhaps soon enough they'll change it to something that necessitates purchase? As in, "Get $40 off (a purchase of $75 or more)."


I certainly hope not. But I think it's important for all consumers to remember that companies create rewards programs to get customers in the door. In other words, no rewards program is completely selfless -- all have ulterior motives. These programs are created to get you in the store, spending. It's a careful balance for the companies: Good enough rewards to keep customers happy, without losing too many profits.


In other words, remember that companies create (and tweak) these programs to always be in their best interest. So long as you remember that, you stand a better chance of actually getting a deal.


Good questions to ask are:

• Would I normally buy/use these products?
• Will I actually use the products (or reward)?
  
• Is it in my financial interest to use the reward?

If the answer to any of the above is "no," taking advantage of the offer will more than likely lead to you, wandering aisles of a store, trying to find things to buy. Things you don't need. All so you can take full advantage of a deal that isn't really that great a deal.
If you simply remember that even the best rewards programs are part of a capitalist business, you will have, I think, a better chance of getting real value from these programs.

Beyond compare

Okay, so yesterday we covered getting something for nothing. But if you're reading this, I have to assume that those tips didn't work. (Unless, of course, you just love me so much that you can't get enough!)


My optimism notwithstanding, we're now down to the brass tacks: You're going to have to fork over at least some money.


Depending on your time line (and desired item), you may want to consider thrift and consignment stores. But if that yields no results, you need to head to my favorite resource: the Internet.



Timing is key


Just because you're paying for an item, don't assume you're stuck with retail prices.


One of the best ways to find deals is to know your seasons.


You probably already do this to some degree, usually via end-of-the-season sales. Like when you get a winter coat marked down 70% because it's May and 80 degrees out. Or when you find clearance prices on volleyball equipment in October.


Basically, like most of my tips, this is just a matter of taking your current know-how one step further.


Most merchandise has a season when it's easiest to find sales. You wouldn't expect to get a great deal on coolers in January, would you? Well, it's the same with bigger items, too.

• Entertaining

When Tim and I were looking for a folding table for our games nights, we found only high prices. But about a month before Thanksgiving, we saw everything associated with entertaining guests go on sale. The obvious reason behind this is that you invite friends and family over -- usually far more than you're used to having.
So, starting in early November, you should always be able to find good deals on folding tables, folding chairs, tables with leaves and/or inserts -- anything that helps you cram lots of people around the food and/or TV.

(As a footnote, by the time folding tables were on sale, I had found one purely by accident at a thrift store for $5.)

• Looking for slightly more grown-up furniture?

Keep an eye out around Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and (sometimes) Fourth of July. (Please don't ask me the rationale behind this. I'm still baffled.)

At any rate, for whatever reason, furniture stores and warehouses tend to have blowouts on these weekends -- particularly couches, although dining and bedroom sets tend to be perennial favorites, too.

I got my beloved microsuede couch for under $400 during the Memorial Day weekend. Why so cheap? The store wanted to lure customers in, betting that they would end up buying more than just the couch. (Retail stores do this frequently: "Loss leaders" of five cent paper will get parents to Staples to shop for school supplies, for example.) It probably worked for others, but with me it meant that the store broke even and I got a very comfortable couch for not a lot of money.

• Electronics

I think most people know that the best seasons to shop for electronics are from Black Friday until Christmas and then again around Father's Day. Just like (much to my chagrin) Mother's Day means sales on vacuum cleaners and cookware.


I have already politely informed Tim that if I ever get something like that for Mother's Day (unless I have explicitly requested it), there will be trouble. To me, those gifts say, "Gee, thanks for doing all that cooking and cleaning and child-rearing. Take a whole one day off and then you can get back to work -- but more efficiently!"

• Wedding stuff
  

Wedding stuff is available on Craigslist all year-round, but summer & fall are the high seasons. Spring brides sell in the summer; summer brides sell in the fall. Also flooding the CL listings are household items -- unwanted wedding gifts that the couple can't return.

• Gym?
  

Thinking about joining a gym or weight loss center? You'll want to look in the first two months of the year. That's when companies offer all sorts of deals, trying to cash in on the optimism of New Year's resolutions . This is also a good time of year to find sales on organizational and storage items (resolutions again).



Here and now


But maybe you can't wait for seasons to change. Well, you can still skirt around the edges of retail. And thanks to the Internet, you can do it at any hour of the day!

The first step is to use other people's work. Sites like Shopzilla and Yahoo! Shopping will take the lowest prices from around the Net and present them to you in tidy, list form.(A note of caution, not all the information will be up to date, so be sure to click through to the actual retailer and double-check all the information: same make, model and price.)


This provides you with a good baseline comparison. You can evaluate whether it's a better deal to buy in person or online. (Don't forget to take factors into account like sales tax and shipping when determining the end cost.)


Once you've seen if there are any obvious deals, you can start your own search. Open up a search engine. (You can use any. I prefer Yahoo or Google, but Blingo does give you a chance to win with every search.)


Now it's just a matter of teaming your product name with useful words like "cheap," "sale," "discount," or "deal." Try different combinations of the product name & words.


The key to searches is perserverance. Don't get discouraged if the first couple searches don't yield new info. I look up random things all the time on the web, so I've learned that you have to change your angle of attack. If "sale" or "discount" isn't working, try "affordable" or "savings." Heck, try "too expensive." Someone might rant about it and be given advice by other people in a forum somewhere.


I have done hundreds of web searches in the past couple of years. Tim's eczema requires a lot of attention -- and really good lotions. The lotions tend to be $8-10 (on the cheap end). So it's important to find any and all deals possible.


When the lotion was Sarna ($12-14 a bottle), I bought in bulk from an online drugstore, bringing costs down to $8-9. The bulk meant cheaper prices, but also free shipping; the online part meant we saved on sales tax.


These days, he's head-over-heels about Aveeno Eczema Care. (And can I just shill for a minute? It's fabulous stuff! If you have any trouble with eczema, you have to try it.) That stuff is around $10 a bottle. The last time we stocked up, I got a good deal through drugstore.com. There was a first-time customer coupon taking $10 off and offering free shipping.


When we realized that part of the problem with Tim's skin was sweat- and heat-induced, we wanted to invest in moisture-wicking clothing. But most of the gear you can find is heinously expensive. New Balance and Nike have great gear, but it hovers around $55-70.


With web searches, I found Sierra Trading Post, which has tons of great deals on this stuff. We got 8-10 shirts for just over $100 (including shipping). Tim wears them all the time, especially in the heat of summer. Between that and Target sales on Champion moisture-wicking gear, Tim is far more comfortable these days.


So this proves once again, that you can find just about anything -- even things that seem far out of your price range.


And remember that, any time you join any kind of online club or sign up as a user on a website, you can often get a special offer -- 10% off, free shipping, something like that. If no special deals are offered, do yet another search for the site and see if you can't find a coupon.



What if you can't find a deal?


Sometimes, no matter how skilled a search-engine user you are, there are no deals forthcoming. It's rare, but it does happen.


At that point, you need to do the next best thing: Find places that will keep track of the deals for you.


These days, everything has a blog. The proof? I found a blog specifically about sales on bras, underwear and lingerie.


So chances are that someone is out there, keeping track of good deals for exactly the product you're looking for! Sign up for the RSS feed and keep your eyes peeled.


Whew, well just *talking* about all this shopping has tired me out. (Or maybe it's the lack of sugar. Today was day 8 of no sweets. I miss candy sooooo much!) So I'm going to go ahead and wrap it up.


If anyone has any additional suggestions (or questions) please comment! I'm starting to get some good page-hit numbers, but you're all so quiet!


What would you get if you could only find it cheaper or discounted?