Walgreens - A Shopping Bust!

I received a Walgreens coupon via email the other day. It was good for $5 off $25, Monday 12/1 and Tuesday 12/2. I sat down with the Walgreens flier and planned my shopping. I was going to buy (1) Bald Guys conditioning lotion, (2) Glade Wisp candles, (2) Scotch Magic Tapes, (3) Soft Soaps, and (1) Gillette Shave Cream. Subtotal before coupons - $25.32. Subtotal after coupons - $7.44.

So armed with shopping list and coupons I made my way through the drugstore aisles. At the air fresheners section I was thrilled to find a sign that said that there was a $2 rebate on the Glade Wisp's. I did a quick calculation and determined that after coupons and rebates, my shopping subtotal would be (-)$1.51. Fantastic!

The cashier rang up all my purchases, and before deducting any of my coupons, informed me that I would not be able to use the $5 off $25.

What? My purchases came to over $25!!!

It seems that the small print on the coupon read "Purchase amount of $25 or more must be before taxes and after all manufacturer and Walgreens coupons and discounts."

I was quite surprised because I've never seen that on a coupon before. Well, I wasn't prepared to buy more stuff so I told the cashier to void everything but the Glade Wisp candles - we're talking $3.99 each, $2.00 rebates each, and $3.00 off coupons each. I left with considerably less than what I had originally intended, but the $2.02 profit I was going to make on the candles almost made up for it.

That was until I got home and looked at the Easy Saver catalog...

Despite what the sign in the store said, the Glade Wisp candles were NOT included on the December list of rebates! So, my trip to Walgreens was a complete bust. (I know, .99¢ for a Glade Wisp candle is a good price, but I would not have made a trip to any store just for that.)

Now I'm not telling you all of this to bash Walgreens, although in the past couple of months they have gone from being one of my favorite stores to being my absolute least favorite store. No, I'm telling you this to remind you how important it is to read the terms of the coupons, and to double-check store promotions with the corporate fliers. Otherwise you could end up at the register with coupons you can't use, or buying things that don't qualify for rebates.

It's all in the small print!