Monday, May 3, 2010

new freebies, my deal diva friend from Maine, fake coupons

Several good deals out there this week:

Now through September, Krispy Kreme is offering B1G1 Sundaes on Sunday. Sweet Southern deal!!


Here's a sweet deal on facebook for some freebies from Kraft foods: http://www.facebook.com/KraftFoods?v=app_10442206389
The link is slow to upload, so be patient.

And here's a deal to get free lipstick form Walgreens: http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/05/walgreens-free-lipstick-first-12000/ You have to share a goal, but it can be anything!

Just FYI, esp for those of you new to couponing :

Once again an email is circulating with a too-good-to-be-true attachment for free Doritos. The email invites you to print all you want and enjoy.  When will this end?
There is a simple rule when you receive one of these emails. The coupons are ALWAYS, 100% OF THE TIME, FAKE. Someone somewhere used photoshop software to make or modify a high value free item coupon, then sent it out to others. The coupons look real. Unsuspecting people, who are not coupon savvy, fall for it. We know better. No manufacturer is going to distribute free $5 coupons via an email. No manufacturer is going to issue a $5 free-item coupon with their blessing to print it as many times as you like. If you receive one of these emails, you can do two things. First, notify the sender that they can be in legal hot water for passing on this counterfeit, and tell them to send out another email explaining the fraud. Then forward the email with the attachment to www.cents-off.com We have to fight these fake coupons, because they spoil things for everyone. Stores get burned, then they don't want to take legitimate coupons. This is the official word from Frito-Lay:


"We have also been alerted to a fraudulent $5 coupon offer for Doritos chips that is circulating on the internet. This $5 coupon offer is not authorized by Frito-Lay. The invalid $5 coupon may not be accepted at retail outlets. We regret any inconvenience. We're working to find ways to prevent these types of counterfeit offers from misleading our consumers."


The free item coupons I've received lately in the mail are full of holograms, expensive printing techniques, unique code numbers, printed in vibrant color on high gloss paper with my name on the coupon. In other words, manufacturers are going to great lengths to make high value coupons counterfeit-proof. The weak link in that chain are the millions of shoppers who have no idea that an email with a free coupon attached is fake, and the many cashiers who unwittingly accept such coupons. There is much educating to do before this type of fraud ends.


And for those of you who wonder if I'm the only one out there who's nuts enough to do this, this is a copy of an email from a friend in Maine about her deals last week. As she mentions, she only has Rite-Aid. If she had Walgreens and CVS, I would hire her to shop for me!! You go girlfriend; you inspire me! Here's her info:


Here are this week's totals from rite aid.
coupons used $207.32 (not counting the savings from being on sale)
total spent $51.90
money coming back $63.29
if i'd shopped in a tax free state i'd have saved another $8.86.
anyone use benadyrl or biore? it's up for grabs.
i'm anxiously awaiting to send you the info when another $5 off $25 coupon comes available.
i send you these to inspire you to try coupons to save money. the money saved here frees up money for other things. i realize (and hope) that none of you will be as crazy as me doing this, but this shows that $ can be saved. i have only one store to shop from (which is probably a good thing). those of you with cvs and walgreens can go hog wild.

Finally, Mike and I attended the funeral of the first boy who died in the wreck. There were at least 900 people there. Hold on to those you love and make memories every day!!

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