You May Be Paying More Than Others When Shopping Online!

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

Ask a Walmart Expert: Will Walmart Ad Match Drug Stores?

A few weeks ago, Walmart announced it would no longer automatically ad match local drug stores with its Savings Catcher app.  This has apparently led to some confusion and people are saying Walmart no longer ad matches drug stores at all.  This isn’t true.

The Policy is Still the Same

The Walmart Ad Matching policy still includes the line “We will match any local competitor’s advertised price.”  This means that if a drug store near you has something on sale for cheaper than the Walmart price, Walmart will ad match it.  (They will not match the price after a coupon, RR or ECB.)

You Will Have to Ad Match Manually

All this means is you will now have to ad match those items manually, at the register with the cashier.  You can’t just zap your receipt and trust Savings Catcher to handle it.  If you are not sure how to ad match, here is a quick explanation or you can take our FREE Online Couponing Class.

Looking for more FREEbies? Click Here!

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

UPDATE: Since this post was written, Walmart has changed the price match policy in Florida to make it the same as in the rest of the United States.  You can disregard the information concerning Florida as the top part of the post now applies to all 50 states.

Will Walmart Price Match BOGO Deals?

This question is a little tricky to answer because there is one state in the union where the rules are different.  Walmart has a completely different set of BOGO rules for the great state of Florida so let’s look at the other 49 states first.

Walmart BOGO Ad Match Rules for Most of the United States

The main thing you need to know is that as long as the Walmart cashier can figure out a FINAL PRICE on something, they will ad match it.  Here’s the wording in the Walmart Ad Match policy online.

We gladly match the price in the following types of ads:*

• Buy one, get one FREE ads with a specified price
  • Example: Buy one for $2.49, get one FREE (BOGO)

So as long as the price of the item you are buying is listed, they will gladly match it.

Here’s the type of BOGO they WON”T match

We do not match the price in the following types of competitor ads:

• Buy one, get one FREE (BOGO) ads with no actual price given

So if the ad just says BOGO and there are no prices given, you are out of luck.  Walmart needs to know what you would pay walking out the door at the other store for that item.

Here are 2 real world examples of BOGO deals

So this isn’t the best example because it’s B2G1 but the idea is the same.  Because a final price is listed, if Walmart carried any of these products, you could get 3 and pay $13.98.

Here’s an example of a BOGO deal you CANNOT ad match.  There is no final price listed so Walmart doesn’t know what to do with the price.  Even if you go to CVS and take a pic of this product on the shelf with the tag and try to show it to them, they won’t PM it because it has to be in the ad.

Remember that this principle holds true for any variation of the sale.  So if an ad is BOGO, B2G1, B3G1, Buy 2 and get a third for a penny, Buy 1 Get a 2nd half-off, whatever, as long as there is a final price printed in the ad, Walmart will ad match it.  No final price, no ad match, ever.

And just to be clear, when I say “final price” I mean the price BEFORE any coupons, RR’s, ECB’s or other discounts are removed.  Here is more info on that if you need it.

Walmart Ad Matching Policy in Florida

So Florida has it’s own set of rules concerning ad matching BOGOs.  In that state, Walmart is out to get Publix and Winn-Dixie so they will allow you to ad match BOGOs, even if no final price is listed and they will do it at Walmart’s prices.

So if Publix puts Bumble Bee Tuna on sale for BOGO, Walmart will allow you to get 2 cans for what ever the price of a single can is at Walmart.  The only catch is there is a limit of two PM’s (4 items) per deal.

If you would like to see how this store policy evolved over time, you can read my article here.

You can see more of the Resources I have for Couponers here.

I hope that clears up any confusion but if you have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Can You Use a BOGO Coupon and A Dollar Off Coupon at the Same Time at Walmart?

This is a question I get quite often.  The thinking goes like this: If you use a BOGO coupon on a product, you should be able to use a dollar or cents off coupon that will take money off the product you are buying at full price.

That sounds perfectly reasonable and logical and that is in fact how those coupons can be used at almost every other retailer on the Earth.  You walk into a Kroger or CVS with a BOGO and $ off and everything is copacetic.

Not at Walmart

For whatever reason, when you use a BOGO coupon at Walmart, the software at the register attaches the BOGO to BOTH items.  This makes it impossible to use an additional coupon on either product.

But There Was Hope!

We did have one glimmer of hope though.  Walmart updated their register software a few weeks ago that changed how it handled certain coupons.  For instance, now when you scan a coupon for a FREE product, instead of the cashier having to manually type in the price of the item, the software would find the product that coupon was far and automatically enter the amount off that would make it FREE.  Pretty awesome when you have a couple coupons like that as it really speeds things up.  (If you do that, be sure to remind the cashier that they still need to write the amount down on the actual coupon)

Reports started coming in that you could now use a BOGO and a $$ off coupon at the same time.  Anytime reports like this come in, I’m always a little skeptical.  I’m in enough FaceBook rooms to realize that there are a lot of couponers out there that have no idea what they are doing.  Anyway, here’s what happened.

So it looks like nothing has changed.  The registers still beep when you use both coupons together.  Oh well!

Does Walmart Price Match Tires?

Short Answer? Yes

This is pretty straight forward.  If someone is advertising in a printed ad a tire or set of tires that is EXACTLY the same as what Walmart sells for a lower price, you can price match it.  This means that when it’s time to replace your tires, start grabbing ads from Sears, Discount Tire, NTB and more and take a look.  You might save big!

One thing to keep an eye out for is sometimes Walmart will adjust the model number of a tire to keep it from being an exact match, usually by adding a “wm” on the end of the model number.  If that’s what your Walmart has, you will not be able to match anything because it will not be an exact match.

What if it’s an online, TV or radio ad that you want to price match?

Well, this is a little trickier.  Walmart is under no obligation to honor those prices but you can ask.  I have heard of cases where they did it as a customer service but this is definitely a case of “your mileage may vary”.

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

What Stores Will Walmart Price Match?

Sometimes I get asked a question so basic that I am a little surprised I haven’t actually covered it.  This post should have happened a long time ago.

Walmart will ad match any local competitor.

That’s pretty much it.  If there is a store around your Walmart that sells a product that Walmart carries and it’s in a written ad for less than what Walmart is selling it for, you can ad match it.  There is no set mile limit to what makes  “local” competitor but a good rule of thumb is within an hour’s drive.  (More about that here.)

Occasionally you guys write to me telling me about a store manager that refuses an ad match.  Sometimes they say that a certain store isn’t a “competitor”.  Like Walmart doesn’t consider CVS or Walgreen’s a competitor or something.  If that happens to you, call 800-WALMART and pitch a fit.

Sometimes they will say a store isn’t “local”.  This is a little harder to fight against because the rules are so vague but it still wouldn’t hurt to try to fight.

Hope that helps!  Don’t forget about the Walmart Savings Catcher program also if you are lucky enough to live in one of the Beta test areas.

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

How Can You Tell If a Deal is a Good Deal?

I had a reader ask me this question a few days ago and it really put me back on my heels. I mean I know when a deal is good because I have been couponing for years.  It’s just a skill you pick up over time.  I know to never pay for toiletries, to wait until pasta sauce is around $.50 a jar, to look for dang-near free tuna, etc.  But what about the newbies?  You are standing in a Walmart, coupons in hand, ready to price match, but you still aren’t sure.  If only there was some quick and dirty way to know if it was a good deal.

Compare it to the Store Brand item

Here’s what you do.  Look for the store brand item comparable to what you are looking to buy.  (At Walmart the store brand is usually “Great Value”)  Compare your post-coupon, post-price match price to the store brand price. 

Is the Store Brand less?  Bad deal.  Put your coupons away and wait for a better price match opportunity.  If you need it now, buy the store brand.

Is the Store Brand the same?  Don’t stock up but buy a few items to get you through until the next sale.

Is the Store Brand a little more?  Still not a real good deal.  Buy a few but don’t stock up.

Is the Store Brand a LOT more?  Now you’ve got yourself a deal.  Buy as many as you can and stock up.

Hope that helps!

Can You Use Coupons When You Pay With Cash for an Online Order?

Short Answer: No.

First you might need a little background.  Walmart has an option that will allow you to pay cash for online orders.  It’s an incredibly handy option if you don’t have a credit or debit card or just don’t want to charge a purchase.  This is nice if you are buying a gift for a significant other and don’t want them to see any charges on a shared bank statement.

Skip This Paragraph if You Don’t Like Stories

Several years ago I wanted one thing as a gift from my wife, a Kindle.  I was checking our accounts and noticed a charge to Amazon I didn’t recognize.  I checked her Amazon account and sure enough she had ordered me a Kindle.  I was excited but I played it cool.  My birthday is at the end of November and the Kindle was arriving just before that so I assumed it was for that.  As the day approached I got so excited but I had to make sure she suspected nothing.  Then my birthday came and went with no Kindle.  That’s when the awful truth dawned on me, she had bought it for Christmas.  I had to go another month KNOWING that what I wanted was somewhere in the house and had to act like I wasn’t dying from anticipation.  If Amazon had a Pay by Cash option, none of this would have happened and I wouldn’t have had to undergo what was essentially Chinese Water Torture but instead of water, it was the knowledge that my gift had arrived but I couldn’t use it for a month.

How to Pay by Cash

To use the feature, look for anything on Walmart.com that has Pay by Cash as one of the payment options.  Once you select it, it will email you something to print out with a barcode.  Take that to your local store, let them scan your barcode, pay the total and you are done!  At this point your order will be shipped like a normal order.

Can I Pay for it With Coupons?

Walmart has an entire page in their Answer Center devoted to what payment methods can be used and it specifically excludes coupons, WIC, and SNAP.  So unfortunately, your dreams of ordering 100 of that thing that was going to get you overage isn’t going to work.

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

What is the Difference Between Stockpiling and Hoarding?

Well it happened.  It’s happened before but it’s been a while so I may not of have handled it in the best way possible.  I went on a little shopping trip this weekend; picked up some FREEbies, added a bit to my stockpile and someone decided that was hoarding.

Before I get in to this post, let me just say that I was probably a little ruder to her than was called for.  I had stayed up until 5AM getting my Reverse Coupon Matchups done and that wrong-headed comment was what greeted me straight out of bed.  I hadn’t had my coffee yet and this poor woman bore the brunt of that but the fact remains, this was a dumb thing to say.  Maybe not dumb but definitely ignorant.

So what is the Difference?

One of the best answers I ever heard to this question was from a blogger friend of my wife’s.  She said simply “dust”.  It was funny but it brings us to the big difference.

You Use a Stockpile

This is key.  Couponers are not generally stockpiling things we aren’t using.  My little stockpile of Dawn is going to be used.  We dirty dishes every day and they frequently need to be scrubbed.  Now for the next few months I don’t have to worry about running to the store because I’m out of Dawn, I’ve got plenty.

You Give Away a Stockpile

This is another important point, hoarders have an emotional attachment to their horde that compels them keep their horde.  Stockpilers look to give out of their abundance.

I have 2 adult sons and an adult daughter with 3 kids of her own.  It’s not uncommon for them to come over and get toiletries like toothpaste, razors and deodorant from our pantry.  I LOVE when they do that!  If I can help them save money so they can spend it on other things, (like those adorable grandbabies ) I’m thrilled.

It’s also not uncommon for stockpilers to adopt a homeless shelter or similar ministry and donate what they have a lot of.  I bet Dian and I have donated thousands of razors alone to our local shelter.

I’m sure there are other differences but these 2 are the big ones.  Remember this if you ever see someone’s coupon shop and are tempted to suggest they are a hoarder.  You don’t know what they are or what they will be doing with what they have.  Give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are stockpiling and not hoarding until you learn differently.

Can I Price Match and Use a Coupon on the Same item at Walmart?

Short Answer? Yes.

This is one of the main reasons I love shopping at Walmart.  If anyone in my area has something on sale, Walmart will match that price and then allow me to use a coupon on top of it.  That means that you can really save a ton of money every week.

It doesn’t end there either.  You can use apps like Ibotta, Checkout 51 and Shopmium (use referral code GMKACYRC) to get rebates on a lot of the items Walmart sells.  You can also use Receipt Hog to work towards a $5 Amazon giftcard.

You can see a full list of all the different ways to save money at Walmart here.

Here’s a few other articles you might like.

Will Walmart Accept Other Store’s Coupons?

What to do when your coupon doesn’t print

From how many miles away will Walmart price match a store?

Can I Buy Coupons Online?

I get asked this question quite a bit and I’m never exactly sure how to answer it.  It’s not that I don’t know the answer, I’m just never sure what information they are actually asking for so let’s just try to cover all the bases.

Is It Possible to Buy Coupons Online?

This is the easiest one to answer.  Yes. There are several companies that will ship coupons directly to you.  The one I use most often is Klip2Save.  They are cheap, easy and fast.

Should I Buy Coupons Online?

Sometimes.  There are weeks when it makes financial sense to buy several newspapers and there are weeks when it’s better to just use a clipping service to buy the coupons you want.

2 weeks ago we had one lonely insert in our newspapers and there was only about 2 coupons I had any interest in having.  That was a week that I should have left the newspapers at the store and just used Klip2Save to buy the few coupons I wanted.  I would have saved about 7-9 dollars doing it that way.

This week there are 3 inserts and a bunch of good coupons, so I bought papers because it was cheaper.  Each week you can look at the Coupon Previews and decide how you want to get your coupons for the week.

Is It Legal to Buy Coupons Online?

Let me preface this buy saying I am neither a lawyer nor the son of a lawyer, nor do I play a lawyer on TV.  I know just enough about the law to know I don’t know anything about the law, especially when it comes to couponing.  So take this part with a grain of salt.

Here’s the issue.  Just about every coupon in the world has very small print that says something to the effect of “Void if sold, transferred or exchanged”.  So how are these clipping services staying in business?  Because no one cares.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are selling fake coupons, the feds are going to come down on you like a ton of bricks.  But for the run of the mill coupon user, it’s not a big deal.

Of course, you have to follow your conscience but buying coupons from online retailers is a long-standing tradition in the couponing world and at worst a victimless crime.

Here’s a few other articles that might interest you.

How Many Sunday Papers Should You Buy?

Can you copy a coupon and use it at Walmart?

What to do when Walmart Refuses your Coupon

Does Walmart Double Coupons?

Short Answer? Only in Utah County UT and only on Wednesdays

For most of us Walmart will not double our coupons, we are just stuck getting the face value.  However, Walmart launched a pilot program in Utah about a year ago that for what ever reason has neither been stopped nor allowed to spread.  When this story first came to light, it was assumed that this was a trial balloon and if it succeeded we would see it rolled out to the rest of the nation.  Needless to say, that hasn’t happened.

So if you are a Utah county resident, congratulations.  I envy you and your savings.  For the rest of us, we are just stuck getting to do all this.

On small note, when this program was first introduced, you could only double on Tuesdays.  It has since been moved to Wednesdays.

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

Will Walmart Take RR’s or ECB’s?

Short Answer? No.

If you don’t know what this question is referring to, Walgreen’s and CVS both have rewards programs where you can get money back on future purchases when you buy certain products.  Here’s an example.

That red arrow is pointing to the 3000 rewards points you would get if you bought this from Walgreens.  These are good at Walgreen’s only and cannot be used at Walmart.

Can you Price Match the RR or ECB Price?

This is usually the next question that comes up.  In the example above, you’ve got a final price listed of 3/$5 so it looks like you should be able to price match this cereal at Walmart to $1.66 a box.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  Here’s the wording from Walmart’s policy.

We do not match the price in the following types of competitor ads:

• Items that require a purchase to get a competitors’ gift card
  • example: "Buy [item A] to get a $B gift card

These RRs and ECBs are essentially giftcards meant to be used on your next transaction so Walmart will not allow you to price match that after-RR price.

DISCLAIMER: Every time I write something like this I am inundated with cries of “They do it at my Walmart!”  All I can tell you is what the policy says.  If you’ve got a store manager that allows it, awesome.  Enjoy your good fortune.  Just know that it it’s not policy and could stop anytime someone actually sits down and reads Walmart’s policies.

Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things.  I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up.  If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.

How to Send Your Expired Coupons to Overseas Military

I’ve talked a little about this in the past but I think it would be helpful to make tin info a little more accessible to all of us.  Every month you can send all your expired coupons to our overseas military where they can use coupons up to 6 months past their expiration dates.

Money gets stretched this when you are living off one income and are away from your extended families so it is incredibly important that our military families get these coupons so they can make their dollars go as far as they can.

How do I sort the coupons?

If you have the time, you can sort your coupons into food and non-food baggies.  However, in the past when I’ve said that, I’ve gotten some push-back from people who say they don’t have the time to sort.

The important thing here is that the coupons get sent.  If you clip all your coupons and it’s no big deal to throw them in 2 different piles. sort them.  If you keep your inserts whole except for what you clip, don’t sort them if you don’t have the time.  Just be sure to send them out.

The one advantage to clipping coupons instead of sending whole inserts is your postage will be cheaper.  Also keep in mind that you don’t need to send printable coupons, they already have access to those.

Can I Select Where My Coupons Go?

Actually yes!  This is a program I didn’t know about until recently when a reader forwarded me a link.  You can Adopt a Base by clicking here.

Where do I Send My Coupons?

Here is a list of addresses you can send them to.

How Do I Know What Coupon Inserts are Expired?

I have 2 handy tools that will help you with that.  You can see a running list of expired Coupon Inserts here.  You can also look up each insert and see when all the coupons in it expire.