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 Do You Deal with a Poorly Trained Walmart Cashier?

Every week you readers contact me through FaceBook or email telling me your stories about poorly trained Walmart cashiers.  Some of the stories are funny, some are maddening.  Recently one of you told me about a cashier that refused to price match because Walmart doesn’t take competitors ads.  THAT”S WHAT PRICE MATCHING IS!  Ah…good times.

Anyway, we’ve all been there.  You know you are right, they think they are right and no one is budging.  So what do you do?  Here’s help.

Stay Calm, It’s Not You

The simple facts of the matter are that Walmart pays cashiers minimum wage and there is a lot of turn over.  Chances are that the cashier you are dealing with has been on the job for less than 6 months.  Typically it’s around the 6 month mark that good cashiers are given more responsibilities that take them away from the front line and bad cashiers are encouraged to find opportunities elsewhere.

The cashier you are having issues with probably isn’t out to get you or keep you from saving money, they just don’t know what a couponer or price matcher is and don’t know how to deal with you.

I would start by calmly explaining the Walmart policies and tell them that you do this all the time.  If this isn’t working, time to go to step 2.

Get the CSM Involved

The CSM is the floor manager over the cashiers and is usually a more experienced cashier.  In my experience, about 80% of all couponing issues are resolved right here.  Typically, the CSM has seen their fair share of coupons and price matches and know what to do.

Just keep in mind that the one thing that most CSMs are not allowed to do is take a coupon that won’t scan.  This was a change Walmart made to their couponing policies a little over a year ago.  If it doesn’t scan, Walmart won’t take it.  Be sure that if you are using printable coupons that they are clear and the bar code is in good shape.  Also, try not to fold your Qs across a barcode, sometimes that crease makes them more difficult to read.

Go Home and Contact Corporate

The fact of the matter is, if a cashier wouldn’t take your deal and a CSM wouldn’t take your deal, you aren’t getting that deal done.  At this point you need to start making sure you learn everyone’s name, get those products taken off your ticket and just finish up the rest of your shopping trip.

Walmart has a contact page here that you can use to let them know what happened.  They are usually very good about getting back in touch with you quickly and getting things resolved.  Or you can try 800-WALMART but expect to be on hold for a while.

Just as a side note, you can also contact me and tell me what happened.  Sometimes it helps to get a second opinion on exactly who was wrong in your particular scenario.

Make Sure You Follow Up With the Store Manager

This is crucial to stopping future problems.  If the Store Manager knows what happened, they can take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Here’s hoping for the day when all cashiers know all their policies and execute their duties flawlessly!

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 Are the Differences in Regional Coupon Inserts?

Perhaps a better title for this article is “Why didn’t I get the coupon that everyone else got in their paper?”

It happens all the time and it can be frustrating.  Everyone is talking about the great Little Debbie coupon they got that let them stock up on Oatmeal Crème Pies and Nutty Bars and you didn’t get it.  How did this happen?

It happened because there are some regional differences in coupon inserts as you move from market to market.  In fact, I live where I can get papers from 2 different markets (Dallas/Fort Worth) and there are often different coupons just in those papers.

Sometimes these differences are minor, like some areas will get a $.50/1 for a product and other areas will get $1.00/2.  Sometimes they are major, like several coupons missing or added or coupon amounts being for significantly larger or smaller discounts.

As a general rule, the best coupons will be in the biggest papers so you want to buy the paper that has the largest circulation or serves the largest area.

There is no real way to know ahead of time EXACTLY what coupons you will get in your area but the good news is that about 90% of the coupons are the same throughout the US.  If you are curious to see who got what, my Coupon Database will break down coupons by individual markets.

Also, don’t forget that if you want a coupon that didn’t come out in your area, you can always buy it from Klip2Save and have it sent directly to your door.

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 many Sunday Papers should you buy?

Short Answer? As many as you need.

This one is a little tricky because it varies from household to household.  There are 3 big limiting factors when deciding how many papers to buy each week; cost, need, and available deals.

How Much Do Your Papers Cost?

When I first started couponing I really didn’t know what I was doing so I just picked up my Sunday paper every week and paid full price which at that time was (I believe) $2.50 for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  Then I saw you could get a bundle of 2 for $4 and I thought I was doing good.
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Now I know I was WAYYYY overpaying.

You can find Sunday papers for $1 at most dollar stores on Sunday morning.  Some markets have started putting the Sunday coupons in the Saturday paper at no additional cost.

The point is if your papers are expensive, you may not want to buy very many.  In fact, what most people do on week where there aren’t very many good coupons is to just order the coupons you need from a clipping service like Klip2Save.  It’s a heckuva lot better to pay 8 cents each for 10 copies of the one coupon you need then to buy a bunch of papers at up to $2.50 a pop.

How Many Papers Do You Need?

Another factor to determine how many papers you should buy I to figure out how much you need to buy for your family.  When I had all 4 kids living at home and was trying to keep a family of 6 plus all their friends (It seemed) fed, I bought 20 or more papers a week.  Now that I’m down to last one still living with us, I buy 10 but could probably get away with 5 just fine.

You just need to gauge the size of your family and balance that against the cost of papers and come up with a number you can live with.

What Are the Deals This Week?

The final thing you need to look at is to see if there are any hot deals in this week’s paper.  Every week around Wednesday or so, I’ll put up a Coupon Preview list that will not only list all the coupons this week, I’ll also try to look through the coupons and point out any deals I think look especially exciting.

A good FREEbie or Money Maker can mean that you are losing money by not buying as many papers as you can get your hands on.

Take all these factors together, mash them around in your head and pick a number that works for you.  Then don’t be afraid to adjust it week to week depending on what’s available.

Did that help?  Leave a comment and let me know!

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 Price Match Store Brand Items?

Short Answer? No.

This is one of those enduring myths of price matching perpetuated by well-meaning bloggers who don’t understand Walmart’s price match policies.

Here’s how it is generally presented.  If Kroger (or any other store) has their store brand of 14oz corn on sale, then you can match that at Walmart and get Walmart’s store brand of 14oz corn for the same price.

This is just simply not the case.  Here is the policy.

We do not match the price in the following types of competitor ads:
Competitors’ private label price promotions

That’s about as clear as it gets.

At this point, the pushback I get from readers is the claim that their Walmart will do it.  All I can say to you is that if your store price matches store brands, enjoy it.

Every store manager has the ability to override the couponing or price matching policies at their discretion so it’s not inconceivable that there is someone out there doing this.  If you are unsure about your particular store’s policy just ask but don’t get too disappointed if they say no, they are actually following policy.

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.

Can you copy a Coupon and Use it at Walmart?

Short Answer – No

Actually, the long answer is no also.  Almost every coupon you will ever see will have language on it that forbids photocopying or duplicating coupons.  If you do it, you could end up in jail just like these idiots.  Only print coupons from reputable couponing sites or directly from the manufacturer.

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.

Couponing Lingo – What does ISO or UFT mean?

If you are ever in a forum or FaceBook room with other couponers, you will usually see the abbreviations UFT or ISO.

UFT means “Up For Trade”.  This means that the couponer has a coupon or coupons that they would like to trade, either for money, stamps, or other coupons.

ISO means “In Search Of”.  This means the couponer is looking for a specific coupon.  If you have it, reach out and see what they are willing to give for it.

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’s the policy on returns when you use coupons?

Well…there really isn’t one.  At least not a separate one for returning items you used a coupon on.  You can check out the Walmart Return policies here and here.

However, I can tell you from personal experience that they typically handle it like any other return regardless of any coupons used.  So if you bought something that was $6 and used a $3 coupon, you would get $6 back if you returned it.  Although it has never happened to me or anyone else I have ever heard from, if for some reason the Customer Service Rep tries to give you back the after-coupon amount, you would be within your rights to demand the original coupon back as well because that was part of the transaction.  Unless you just bought the product there is no way they are going to be able to find your coupon so I doubt it would actually happen.

It should be noted that Walmart tracks returns and if you have visions of buying things with coupons and returning them for cash, Walmart will know.  If you do it multiple times or for a high enough dollar amount, Walmart is well within their rights to call the cops and charge you with fraud.  That would be a stupid reason to go to jail.

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 Accept Coupons with Other Store’s Logos on Them?

Short answer? In some situations.

Last week I covered whether or not Walmart would accept Target coupons and that caused several more questions to come in asking if Walmart would accept other store’s coupons.  Specifically if Walmart would take coupons with the logos of other stores printed on them.  Let’s break it down.

If a Coupon says “Available at”

Above is an example of a coupon with an HEB logo.  It is a Manufacturer’s coupon so it can be accepted anywhere that sells this product.  If Walmart sells this product, they will accept this coupon for it.

If a Coupon Says “Only At”

Sometimes a coupon will be a Manufacturer’s coupon but say “Only at” a certain store.  This means that coupon can only be used at the store specified.  This is usually the case if a product is only sold at a particular store.  In this case, Walmart is the only store that carries Pepperidge Farm biscuits so the “Only at Walmart” line is there to help the consumer find this product.

If a Coupon is a “Store Coupon” for Dollars, Cents, or a Percentage off

Above is an example of a store coupon.  Notice at the top where it says “Store Coupon” and not “Manufacturer’s Coupon”.  Because this coupon gives a dollar amount off and does not list a final price (that is key), Walmart will not accept it.  This coupon can only be used at the store that issued it.

If a Coupon is a “Store Coupon” with a Final Price listed

These coupons are examples of store coupons that Walmart WILL accept.  The reason is because a final price is listed.  Walmart will just price match the products to the amount shown.  In fact, after you do this, you can then use ANOTHER coupon on top of the price matched price.  You can find more information about this here.

Did that help?  Do you have another question?  Leave it in the comments!

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 Many Coupons can be Used Per Item at Walmart?

This question come up because there are stores that allow you to “stack” coupons, or use multiple kinds of coupons on a single item.  Walmart doesn’t allow this and will only allow you to use one coupon per item but there are ways to get multiple discounts on a single item.

1. Price Match

The first discount you can get is to find that product on sale at a local retailer for cheaper than what Walmart sales it for.  Walmart will price match that item to the lower price.  Here are the price match lists I do every week to help with that and here is a link to Walmart’s coupon and price match policies that you need to be familiar with.

2. Use your Coupon

Once you have price matched an item, then you can use your coupon on top of the already reduced price.  Here is a list of printable coupons you can look through.

3. Ibotta

Ibotta is an app that will give a rebate back on certain items.  Download the app to your smartphone here and look through the offers.

4. Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is just like Ibotta but they have different offers.  Download the app to your smartphone here and look through the cashback offers.

5. Receipt Hog

This is yet another app you take upload photos of your receipts to in exchange for cash and other prizes.  This one has no specific offers and they will reward you for any receipt.  Download the app here.

6.  Mail in Rebate

Once you do all that, there is still a possibility that you can get a rebate back on what you bought.  Check this list of mail-in rebates to see if you bought something that qualifies.

That is a ton of different ways to save and the best part is that if you bought something that qualifies, you can do each and every one of these on the some product!  Of course it has to be a perfect storm to be able to do everything but a few times, we’ve come awful close.

Here’s what to do if your coupon doesn’t print or you would rather have coupons mailed to you.

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 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.

 Don’t you hate it when your coupon doesn’t print!  It drives me nuts but fortunately there are a few things you can do about it.

For Coupons.com Coupons

Coupons.com coupons allow for 2 prints, specifically in case the first one doesn’t print.  Figure out why the first one didn’t print (paper jam? out of ink?) and correct the issue.  Then push your back arrow and try again.  If after the second time you still couldn’t print, you will need to try again from a different computer.

For Bricks Coupons

Bricks coupons are coupons that start with the word “bricks” in the URL.

They are typically found on the webpages of business.  For instance, the one above is from the Old Orchard website.  If you are trying to print one of these and fail, you can click the “Help” link at the bottom of the page.

Just click the link and fill out the short form and you will receive a coupon in the mail in a few weeks.  You can fill out this form a maximum of 2 times to receive 2 coupons.

When you receive a bricks coupon in the mail it will be a professionally printed and sometimes foil-embossed coupon which is great if you have a store that does not accept printable coupons.

Here is a list of available bricks coupons for you to try it out on.

From how many miles away will Walmart Ad Match a store?

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, add “PastorAarn” on Skype or email me at groceryshopforfreeatthemart [at] gmail [dot] com.

Short Answer? Varies.

The only parameter that the Walmart policy gives us is that the store needs to be “local”.  A safe bet is any store that you could drive to in less than an hour so 50-60 miles is usually a safe range.  However, like most of these questions, it is ultimately up to the store manager.  If you are unsure about whether or not your store will price match someone, ask the CSM on duty or the store manager.

Click here to read more in our Ask a Walmart Expert series.

Will Walmart Ad Match Big Lots?

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, add “PastorAarn” on Skype or email me at groceryshopforfreeatthemart [at] gmail [dot] com.

Short answer? No.

Walmart’s policy states We do not match the price in the following types of competitor ads:Going out of business or closeout prices.  Big Lots is a closeout store so Walmart will not Ad Match them according to their policy.

However, anytime you talk about Walmart’s policies it needs to be pointed out that these policies are not written in stone.  Every store manager  has the ability to override virtually any store policy on a whim so if you see an awesome deal that you want to Ad Match, ask the CSM or store manager.  If you ask nice and haven’t done anything crazy to make them not like you, they will often say yes.  But if they say no, don’t get upset.  They are just following their written procedures.

Read more Ask A Walmart Expert posts here.