The Shop Cop - Jennifer Litwin

SAVING MONEY ON EVERYTHING WE BUY

Comparison shopping is hard in this economy, as retailers beef up their efforts to hide true savings.  You need to be smarter, take charge and respond quickly to the rapidly changing retail environment.

IMMEDIATE SAVINGS ON THE EVERYDAY THINGS WE LOVE

Don’t feel like you have to give up “getting” the things you love to get, especially for kids.

CLOTHES, BOOKS, VIDEO GAMES:

We will always want to keep our wardrobes fresh and our kids occupied with the things they love. And you can’t get everything at the libraries. Some favorite sites:

1. Swaptree.com: simply borrow books, over 8,000 videos, music, video games (400+), and offer your own inventory to borrow. Only cost is shipping and something to swap. Great site for kids.
2. Swapstyle.com: over 30,000 members and 7,000 clothing items is easy when you trade clothes for free! Only cost is shipping. Keep your wardrobe fresh, but don’t count on getting exactly what you are looking for—hit or miss.

EATING OUT:

Even though the economy is not good we still want and need to eat out.  Socialization and saving time is a big part of our lives, and an important way to relax and unwind.

1. Restaurant.com:  On this site, you buy a coupon for say, $10 and then save $25 in the restaurant. This is an incentive for you to actually go to the restaurant within a short period of time. There are about 50 restaurants in the Minneapolis area, for example. Promotions all the time for $0 coupons for say, $25 off at your favorite restaurants. Wide range of restaurant prices.  Site has saved restaurant-goers $75 million.
2. Momsview.com: Coupons for chain and fast food restaurants that you can print right off computer. Many say chains are more expensive than local eateries, but with this site you can really save a bundle. Coupons expire quickly, so check frequently.  Hundreds of choices in all major cities.

EATING IN–COUPONS ON GROCERIES:

1. Frugalliving.about.com: For moms who are feeling the money crunch but still want to feed their kids healthy food, and even baby food–I like this site because this is where all of the organic food companies either have links to their coupon pages or you can sign up for alerts to special sales.
2. Thecouponmom.com: The savings are real. $5 off Huggies, $1.50 off any Dove body wash, etc. Must register and print coupons, but easy to use and updated all the time.

Beware of buying in bulk: At Bulkfoods.com, the savings, when divided by the pound, isn’t great. Same with wholesale clubs and membership fees. Not worth it to give these companies your money, when you need to hold onto every nickel right now. Studies have proven that more than 15% of the food we buy goes to WASTE. Not worth it. Local grocery stores offer better discounts, in general, than chain stores with “discount” cards, which serve more as a marketing tool for those stores.

BEWARE OF ONLINE “SAVINGS”

Don’t Entirely Trust Web Quotes: Now, more than ever, watch out for websites which sell your personal information, sell your monthly subscriptions or other things, and harass you with constant emails.

Sites to be wary of—Not my favorites: Gamefly.com (like Netflix: once they charge you, they always charge you, cheapflights.com (flights are at the worst time of day and you invariably have a layover), Kidsmealdeals.com, where there are very few restaurants posted with discounts for kids.  Site not well set up yet.  Progressive car insurance (wants to sell you progressive, or sell you payment plans which are more expensive).

FREEBIES: WORTH THE TROUBLE AND EFFORT?

Companies are spending more than $75,000 on projects to test consumer reactions to a variety of products.  We make an impact on our favorite kinds of products.  And our feedback matters in the success of their products.  Companies know we will spread the word if we like their products.  10,000 volunteers to test products generates 600,000 people learning about those products, according to Bzz Agent.

What you get as a volunteer: Typically, 5-6 items that you will be testing.  Could add up to around $20 in freebies.

BZZ AGENT

Products typically tested: food and cosmetics.  Saving you money on your favorite parties, word of mouth marketers hope you and your friends, and their friends, etc., will buy products.

How it works: Bzzagent sends you products (like Max Factor, Cetaphyl, Sonic Care, Glad Press-N-Seal, etc., usually not big ticket items) whenever there is a need to address a group of people like yourself, young moms, recent grads, people living in large urban areas, etc.  Companies know we influence buying decisions and they want our feedback.  500,000 people have volunteered to try products and give their feedback.  In return, they get to keep a few of those products.  Campaigns typically 8-10 weeks.

Rules to know when word-of-mouth marketing:

1. You won’t get paid for your opinion
2. Everyone testing the product is informed about the test
3. Disclose the good and bad feedback

SHE SPEAKS

This is an organization that sends you products, like food or cosmetics so that you will share them in a party-like setting.  This is also an excellent word-of-mouth campaign. Not as effective results or as large a volunteer base as Bzz Agent.

WORD-OF-MOUTH ETHICS:

Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) will guide you about engaging in one of these campaigns.  Complaints should go to the Attorney General of your state if you feel you were misled in any way.