Tuesday Tip | Use competitor coupons at craft stores
I used to be unaware of this, so maybe some of you are too:
You can use competitor coupons at most craft stores.
For instance, you can use A.C. Moore coupons at Michael's, Michael's coupons at J0-Ann Fabrics, and so on.
This is convenient when one craft store has a better current coupon than another...you can check them all and see which one gets you the better deal.
Also, if you have a smartphone, you can easily pull up coupons when you're in the store; no printing required.
Bonus points if you use the store's free wifi instead of your data.
I love pulling the coupons up on my phone because then I don't even have to think ahead! I just have to remember to search for one before I go to the checkout counter.
Plus, then there's no printer ink involved (which is so expensive), and no paper either.
And if you have multiple crafters in your house: see if your store will let you use one phone coupon for multiple purchases.
For instance, if Sonia and Zoe are both making separate purchases, I can just pull up the coupon once on my phone and the cashier scans it for both Sonia and Zoe's transactions.
P.S. In case you were wondering, the bunny in the photos IS going to have arms. Sonia was just mid-project when I took these photos.
What's your tip for cheap printer ink?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHX6tHdQGiQ
Ha, just watched this!
I'm not a wealth of information for that! I'm scared to try the off-brand inks because I've heard that they can mess up a printer. So, I just try to print in grayscale whenever possible and use the draft quality setting most of the time. And I try not to print things if I don't have to.
Yup, I had an issue with house-brand inks. I was able to fix my printer but I will never again buy bargain ink.
As a fellow knitter, I knew the bunny was mid-project. And how cute is that little sweater???
We switched to a laser printer years ago. The ink cartridge isn't "cheap" but it lasts for years! (For is anyhow)
Plus there's not all the waste of extra ink cartridges or the frustration of running out and having to get more.
Ours is only a black and white printer, but I'm sure you could find a colour laser printer (probably more expensive though)
Ditto on the laser printer. Also, we have a Brother printer. At some point in time it stops printing, having decided that the toner cartridge needs to be replaced. I put electrical tape over the "eye" and continue to print with the same cartridge, until I deem it to be used up.
Oh, I never knew that I could do this. Good to know. I always go to Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann's with a store coupon. This is even better!
I knew some of the stores did that, but not all of them. This is a good tip.
Great tip! I didn't know we could do that. My MIL usually gets her yarn from Walmart for a pretty low price. But maybe we can get a better deal with coupons hehe.
Another tip:
Michaels, at least, allows you to stack certain discounts - I saw someone use a store discount coupon and a military discount on the same item. Maybe Michels does that for other "status" discounts such as senior citizen or student.
Our Michaels (AZ) won’t do that. Our Joann’s does though.
Hello Kristen, you mentioned "frugal blogosphere" in your previous post and I'm curious to know which frugal blogs do you read/subscribe.
Thank you.
Oooh, thanks for the heads up! I didn't know that craft stores honored competitor coupons.
This is slightly related, but I learned over the weekend that you can retroactively apply coupons to Bed Bath and Beyond purchases, too.
I love when stores will take coupons off of your phone!!
Replacement ink (tri-color and black) for my printer costs only $5 less than the printer itself when I bought it. That just blows my mind!
I always get my phone out as I enter a craft store - best tip ever! I used to work at Michael's, and we definitely accepted other stores' coupons.
I absolutely LOVE the bunny's hoodie!
Yes... except for Hobby Lobby. They only take their own coupon. Also Jo-anns lets you use multiple coupons at the same visit. WHEEEEE!
Sadly we only have a locally owned craft store here (which is full of beautiful quality expensive items) or Wal-mart.
However, I'm don't usually need specific items for my random crafting and can usually find supplies I need at our local thrift store.
My store staffers are never as patient to wait for anything or help! Where do you guys live that they're so nice to test coupons?!
Oh, I don't bring in multiples for them to try. I just look at what's available and go up to the register with the best one.
I typically have my data turned off (I'm on a plan that refunds me for the data I don't use) so I will take a screen shot of my Hobby Lobby coupon from my email so I have it all week long and don't have to use data to pull it up at the store. I just pull up the picture. That does mean that I have to think of it before I go, but I almost never stop at Hobby Lobby on a whim.
I've done that with e-vouchers I got as a reward, it worked great.
Love the bunny's hoodie!
Good to know! I live a few blocks from a Michael's store, so we do shop there on occasion.