Mary Potter Kenyon - Coupon Crazy: The Science, the Savings, & the Stories Behind Americas Extreme Obsession

I would like to dedicate this book to the mother who was my artistic muse, Irma Potter, and the husband who became the wind beneath my wings, David Edward Kenyon. David, you always believed in me. This book was originally your idea, and I couldnt have done it without you, and yet, in the end, I had to. To my beautiful grandson, Jacob, who has bravely fought a childhood cancer during the two years Ive worked on this manuscript. And to my eight children who lived the sometimes crazy lifestyle of an avid couponer and refunder and supported me throughout this endeavor: Daniel, Elizabeth, Michael, Rachel, Matthew, Emily, Katherine, and Abigail. I love all of you.

Endorsements

Youll never understand couponing until youve read Coupon Crazy .

As Mary Kenyon points out, in spite of the current furor over social media darling, Groupon and its hundreds of imitators, the use of coupons by manufacturers and retailers has been around since the late nineteenth century.

Nielson categorizes people who use 104 coupons in a 26 week period as a Coupon Enthusiast, and as Mary confesses she uses at least that many in a week, so she is more than justified as describing herself as an Extreme Couponer.

When it comes to coupons, the companies and businesses that issue them, and the people who clip, save, scavenge, and use them, Mary certainly knows her stuff.

This is not just a book that is meticulously researched and full of information of value to any marketer who wishes to truly understand what a successful couponing program can achieve by stepping outside the dry nuts and bolts of data analysis, this is a book written by someone who isnt ashamed to talk about how she and her kids used to go dumpster diving for proof of purchase and redemption tags from discarded packages.

There are tens of thousands of Coupon Enthusiasts out there, it is critically important for marketers to understand what motivates them and how to incentivize them to progress from one-off opportunists to repeat customers.

Coupon Crazy shows you how to do this. Its also a fun read.

George Parker George Parker has spent more than 40 years on Madison Avenue. Hes won Lions, CLIOs, EFFIES, and the David Ogilvy Award. His blog is adscam.typepad.com, which he describes as, required reading for those looking for a piss & vinegar view of the worlds second oldest profession. His latest book, Confessions of a Mad Man , makes the TV show Mad Men look like Sesame Street .

The saving money phenomenon is one of the most powerful consumer trends we have ever seen. Coupon Crazy goes beyond the headlines and television shows to unearth what this trend is all about, who it affects and why and underscores why it is here to stay. Every marketer, retailer and consumer needs to read this book, it offers the lessons to succeed both professionally and personally.

Phil Lempert , Editor, Columnist & CEO, www.SupermarketGuru.com

Coupon Crazy is a must read for any retailer or marketer in todays compulsively frugal world. Mary Potter Kenyon knows her subject cold and her compelling book will not only help your business get coupon savvy, her tips will save you a bundle in your personal life. A coupon manifesto that comes with its own built in bonus!

Mary Lou Quinlan , Founder, Just Ask a Woman, author, What Shes Not Telling You

Foreword

BY JILL CATALDO

My passion for couponing began innocently enough. Like most people, I used coupons occasionally, clipping a few from the Sunday paper and trying to save a few dollars here and there. My transformation from casual coupon user to consumer coupon expert could quite possibly be traced to a single tube of toothpaste.

When I was pregnant with our third child, I became driven to save more money. I started paying closer attention to sales cycles at stores, and one week I noticed that toothpaste was on sale for a dollar. I happened to have a coupon for a dollar off the toothpaste, and the coupon made the toothpaste free.

All couponers have had their own light bulb momentthe first deal that begins a shift in the way you look at shopping and saving. Mary Potter Kenyons moment just came a little earlier than most. As you will read in Coupon Crazy , she was ten years old when she sat at the kitchen table reading the back of a cereal box and realized she wanted to be one of those people who got things free. For me, that single tube of toothpaste was my epiphany. And from that moment forward, I became a better, smarter, and more strategic shopper. Matching coupons to sales and taking products home at the lowest possible prices was funalmost addictingand I reveled in the money that I was saving. Soon, I was teaching others to save via live workshops, a blog, and a nationally-syndicated column.

Ive always enjoyed sharing my passion for couponing with anyone interested to learn, and in the current economy, interest in couponing remains high. People are looking to save money in every possible way, and when budgets are tight, coupons help families stretch their dollars in an easy, and often fun,way.

In the years Ive been a serious couponer, Ive seen many changes in the couponing world, changes that Mary discusses in Coupon Crazy . Paper coupons continue to top redemption rates among consumers each year, but print-at-home and electronic coupons continue to grow in popularity too. Additionally, online tools for couponers have exploded over the past decade. Grocery list matchup sites appeared online, tracking the lowest sale prices and matching coupons to sales. Then, between 2008 and 2010, coupon blogs exploded in popularity. Blogs offered localized deals and coupon instruction for beginners with step-by-step, easy-to-understand tips for chasing the sales and getting rock-bottom prices on everything from cereal to shampoo. To this day, thousands of bloggers around the country continue to share daily and weekly coupon deals with their readers.

In 2011, the TLC series Extreme Couponing thrust the concept of over-the-top coupon savings into the public eye on a weekly basis. Despite the shows often unrealistic portrayals of coupon usage, it piqued many peoples interest in couponing, inspiring shoppers around the country to pick up a pair of scissors for the first time. Unfortunately, the show also featured extremists showing various ways to beat and cheat the system with coupons. Not content with the already-admirable savings that legitimate coupon use provided, some shoppers featured on the show even resorted to using counterfeit coupons, sending their savings soaring into the impossible-to-duplicate realm, with cartloads of ill-gotten, free groceries in tow.

In 2012, an enormous counterfeit coupon ring out of Phoenix was busted by authorities. The counterfeiters had made millions of dollars selling phony free-product coupons onlinelikely to some of the Extreme Couponing shoppers, as well as shoppers attempting to recreate some of the savings levels depicted on TV.

In the post- Extreme-Couponing world, we saw manufacturers respond with additional restrictions on couponseverything from Limit 4 Like Coupons Per Transaction to Limit One Per Customer. What other changes will the future hold for couponing? Time will tell. But Ill be waitingscissors in hand.

Jill Cataldo

The register slowly spit out the receipt, a quarter inch at a time, calculating the tax and the coupon savings that fills the bottom half of the cash register tape. The cashier announces the final tally and I hear a gasp of surprise from the woman behind me, whod been rolling her eyes at the delay just a moment before.