Using a Coupon Clipping Service

So, maybe you don’t have time to clip coupons, or maybe you think that the one coupon you get in the inserts inside your Sunday newspaper is not enough. After all, when you do find a good deal and want to couple it with a coupon to make it even better, it’s probably a good idea to stock up on the item.

Ways to start your own stash of coupons go from buying extra copies of newspapers, to collecting inserts from friends and family, to trading coupons with friends, trading coupons online or buying coupons online. When you procure coupons online you are not buying the coupon (that’s illegal), the cost charged per coupon is to pay for the service these people provide in collecting, clipping and mailing those coupons for you.

Here’s a list of coupon clipping services I have found:

• The coupon clippers: $0.50 per order admin fee (Paypal, CCs), service fee varies depending value of coupon, $3 minimum order. Some coupons are limited to Ten.
• Clip and Ship: No information about order minimum. Ordered $20 worth of savings, charged shipping fee of $0.5 plus service fee of $0.25. For a total of $1.95 total charges not bad if end up saving $20
• Taylortown: Coupons for less than $1/1 are .05 each unless otherwise noted on the coupon list. Coupons for $1/1 are .10 each. Coupons for more than $1/1 are 10% of the face value of the coupon. Postage is added to all coupon requests. Handling fees can be paid by cash (no coins), money order (no personal checks), stamps, free coupons I can use or Paypal transfers (no credit cards or eChecks). Unless you are using Paypal, a credit balance is required. Coupons will be held until payment is received.
• CentsOff: $7.5 one time membership fee plus $7.5 service fee per order of 50 coupons or less.
• Coupons and Forms: Minimum Order is $5. You do not have to order $5 from each page but the total order before postage must be $5. You must order a minimum of 5 of any coupon.

But to me when would it make sense to use of such service?

1. To have coupons to stock on items I use a lot: right now I can think of things like wipes and diapers. I have bought coupons and held on to them until a sale came around to save a good deal of money.
2. To take advantage of double coupon promotions or cyclical sales I have identified at my grocery store. The grocery stores around me frequently have sales that say 10 items for $10, or Buy One Get One sales, also 50% off sales. I have identified a few items that frequently show up on these types of sales and you can often find manufacturer coupons for them.

I would love to hear from other people who use or have used coupon clipping services and the situations where it has made sense for them to use these services.

This post was originally published November of 07.