coupon whores
You know who you are, you gathered up your little coupon book before you go to the grocery store, trying to get the best deal, saving that extra 50 cents on your hot pockets or what not. Buying into the food markets devious scheme of price manipulation which gets you the consumer paying more in the end. How’s that you say?
Let’s look at it logically. Say it’s one of those buy two get 50 cent off deals. Normally you’d have bought one. Now that you’re buying two, you’re buying more then you previously would have. While you’re saving 50 cents you’re giving them money they otherwise wouldn’t have made. So they lose 50 cents and gain the price of the second item. Not a bad move from the business perspective huh? Making money they wouldn’t have and tricking you into thinking you’re saving. Plus, when you’re buying so much of one thing, where’s the variety? I’m sure that’s got it’s own nutritional problems I don’t even know about…
Let’s look at the methods of savings proposed by a grocery store near you. How about a coupon for an amount off when you spend over a certain amount? Fine if you spend over that amount, but usually the amount is high enough that what you save is minor to begin with. Also if you’re spending that certain amount just to use the coupon you’re again, spending more then you would have normally. So that doesn’t work in favor of you the consumer either. The only case this works in your favor is if you spent enough to use the coupon, and didn’t consciously or subconsciously buy more than enough to satisfy it.
Then of course there’s the odd policies all these coupons have, such as buying an odd variety of the item, or even things you never even tried before, but have a coupon for, and decide to buy it because it’s similar to something that you do like. Again you’re the one at the loss, and the store makes money either way. What are you saving? Let’s say you grocery shop every other week and save an average of $15-20. That’s $390-520 annually, not much to begin with. Alright now factor in the amount of stuff you hadn’t planned on buying, bought more then you needed of, or bought because of a coupon and wasted as you didn’t like it. I’d seriously like an analysis of that. If I had to make a guess I’d guess your savings would even out or even be in the negatives. If positive, it’d be by a greatly reduced amount, in which the effort of coupon-hunting would have been better spent at your job bringing in a higher pay check.
Again it’s yet another example of the feeble minded and fat-stomached American buying into saving schemes which ignore the big picture. Most savings aren’t even as good as those listed above. If you spent $150 each time you went food shopping biweekly that’s $3900. The savings look pretty good at that estimate but then you must realize people are buying more then they need, and not really saving much in the end. And just watch as your average American gets fatter and fatter, and everyone sits around wondering why.
Let’s just say that every coupon whore I’ve ever met does an unsatisfactory job of shopping. Today was my first day of grocery shopping by myself, and I came home to be harassed by a coupon whore. My life rules don’t it?
And let’s look at the most logical thing of all, why would they do it if they were making less money from it? We’re talking about American companies here, who’d genetically modify your food so they can produce it faster and cheaper before giving you a better deal.
Insert all the old money-saving-analogies you want.