Sharing my EBay experiences

It seems kinda crazy to pay a clipping fee for coupons, but from only doing it a few times...it's completely worth it! I am still amazed that our total bill is still less than 50% of what it was this time last year when I started researching the "coupon girls" and we have even added a little one during that time! I challenged myself this past month to try and see if collecting coupons from Ebay was worth the trouble, but I have quickly realized that it is a great way to get coupons for what you need. You do need to be aware of who your seller is when you do this! Only trade with a seller who pictures the exact coupon you are purchasing and specifically says they are charging a handling fee(buying the actual coupon is illegal). Also, KNOW your coupons...don't get printables, they could be copies or PDF files that are now considered fraudulant...the best example is $2 off Silk Soy. The Silk coupon was a promotional coupon that was originally realeased as a PDF file and quickly pulled from the site a couple days later when the manufacturer realized it could be saved...that was a couple of years ago and it is still being sold on Ebay. Silk has asked that stores do not accept this coupon, so don't buy it! Anyways, on to my experiences.

DIAPERS!

This is a HUGE expense for me! I'm trying to potty train one, but it's not going well and we still have a baby and I'm NOT buying off brands...I have tried 3 different off brands and they are not the same. So, I purchased 5 FREE Pampers coupons with no max. value..and found out that ToysRUs, Dillon's ect. will happily accept them for boxes of diapers. I used these during a promo. period and paid tax on the diapers and also recieved a $15 giftcard in return! These coupons cost a fee of $9.99ea which is how much the small packs cost on sale...so I thought even if I can't get large sizes, I'm not losing money.

Seafood

This is not a necessity, but my husband and I quite enjoy shrimp and salmon. It's packed full of good stuff and so, I want to find a way to pay for it. I purchased 6 FREE Seapak products for $4.50ea...Seapak shrimp goes on sale every 3-4 weeks for 50%off at Dillon's....there is a couple of friendly cashiers that will ring the coupon in for the presale price(they are coupon-ers too) and I end up getting free seafood +about $4-$5 off my other items...not a bad deal.

FREE WYB coupons

20 FREE pasta up to $1.50 WYB 1 Ragu...it cost $10 for these or $.50 ea. I have already used 6, but the rest will be used in combination with a Budweiser rebate I got off of Ebay too. Here's how I plan to use those and the math that goes with. Wait until whole grain pasta goes on sale for $1.50 or less....

Buy 14 Ragu pasta sauce $1.78ea(Walmart price, but Dillon's sometimes has it for less...) $24.92

14 whole grain pasta $1.50ea-7 FREE WYB pasta=FREE

+$3.50(cost of the coupons)

+$2.42(cost of rebates..I do one rebate to my house, and one to friends)

-2 $10 Bud rebates that inluded $10 off $10 or more...snacks, ice, CONDIMENTS(yes, Ragu counts!)

=$10.84 for 14 Ragu and $14 pasta sauce!

Our family can use an entire box and jar for anywhere from 2-3 meals. That's like $.25 per meal for the entire family if you don't add meat!

My point is that you have to use good judgement when using Ebay, but if you do the math...it can be pretty sweet! It's also pretty fun when someone behind you gets curious about what's taking so long and realizes that your total just went to virtually nothing! He he he:)