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May 2005
The Smartest Ways to Save!
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 The
True Meaning of Mother's Day...
Did you know that when the woman who is credited with starting
Mother's Day in the United States realized it was becoming a
commercial holiday, she lobbied to have the commercialism
stopped. To no avail of course, but I find this
interesting. Back in 1905, a young women named Anna Jarvis
simply wanted the second Sunday in May to be a day of remembrance
and honor for all mothers.
How will you choose to honor your Mom and honor the true
meaning of this day? |
in
this issue...
· Anne Porter
-
The COUPONIZER of the Month
· TIP - How to Recognize
Coupon Fraud
· TOOL -
Allrecipes.com
· A Note From Amy... |
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TIP - How to Recognize Coupon Fraud |
"A steal of a
deal" usually refers to a good thing but sometimes NOT!
Coupon fraud is on the rise especially on the Internet and hurts
consumers and businesses alike. Below are some common
coupon opportunities that look good at first, but you'd be wise
to investigate further before participating:
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Opportunity |
What's the Deal? |
Why is it considered Fraud? |
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Coupons for Sale |
An
opportunity to select desired coupons and purchase large
quantities at low prices, sometimes multiples of the same
item. |
Coupons being sold on the
Internet or by other means may be stolen property or
counterfeit.
Click here to view a counterfeit coupon and read up on
this problem. |
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Coupon Certificate Booklets |
Bundling coupons in a booklet for sale. |
While many of these offerings are legitimate, do your
homework on the business that is offering the booklet.
Ask questions of the origin and legitimacy of the coupons as
well as any others fees or handling costs. |
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Selling unwanted Coupons over the Internet |
A chance to make extra money by selling your extra coupons
to a business.
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While your
coupons may be legitimate, the organization who is paying
you for them probably is not. Buying and selling
coupon is against the law. |
Coupon Fraud
Letter to E-Bay...
Last year, the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery
Manufacturers of America wrote a letter to e-Bay asking them to
stop selling and auctioning grocery coupons on their website.
Click here to view the letter (it is a .pdf file readable in
Adobe Acrobat).
A Recent Coupon Crime...
In March of 2003, federal law enforcement officials arrested 16
individuals who were involved in coupon clipping and redemption
fraud that generated more than $4 million. The
fraud was investigated for a year and a half before the arrest
was made. The way the suspects generated the cash was
through 370 retailers in 15 states and they would pose as
storeowners and in some cases use real storeowners to send the
coupons to a clearinghouse for the redemption. The
redemption usually equals face value plus a few cents more back
to the storeowner. The operation was sophisticated enough
to siphon the money over to Jordan and Israel's West bank.
What should I do if I suspect coupon
fraud?
Do NOT confront the
individuals involved in the scam. Keep all your records,
including the e-mails and envelopes of anything associated with
the scam that was mailed and/or given to you. Contact the
Coupon Information
Corporation for more information on how to report coupon
fraud.
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TOOL - Allrecipes.com
(the information below is an excerpt from
their website by permission) |
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The
Allrecipes Story
Allrecipes traces its roots back to 1997, when a group of
Web developers with lots of technical savvy and, more
importantly, a passion for cookies, realized what
tremendous potential the Internet had as a way to connect
home cooks around the world. Cookierecipe.com was born--a
delicious place where novice and experienced bakers alike
could exchange their favorite recipes. The concept caught
on like, well-cookies! The smashing success of this new
online cookie collection quickly led to the creation of
dozens more online recipe collections covering just about
everything you could ever want to cook, from Appetizers to
Desserts; Barbeque to Vegetarian.
Now, seven
years later, Allrecipes is among the Internet's longest
running and most heavily visited food sites, averaging
over 4 million visits each month. We are especially proud
of this given the fact that we've never advertised our
site. Instead our success is based solely on the positive
word-of-mouth of our fans. Allrecipes has become home to
over 25,000 of the world's best recipes--all created,
prepared, rated, and most importantly, enjoyed, by
millions and millions of home cooks and their families.
Allrecipes.com is a one-of-a-kind destination where cooks
of all levels and interests can quickly and easily find
whatever recipe they might be looking for, whether it's a
quick weeknight dinner, a chocolate cake just like the one
Grandma used to make, those incredible crab cakes you had
while on vacation, or the deep-fried turkey you saw
prepared on television.
What I like about this website is the home cooked aspect
of the recipes. The ingredients are simple and easy
to find and use coupons for! Our website will be
featuring these recipes regularly. |
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Amy Bergin
Wife, Mom and President,
The Couponizer Company
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A
Note From Amy...
We are proud to announce that this month we are
test marketing our product in select Publix grocery stores
in the Atlanta area.
If you would like a list of
the stores that are participating, please send us a
request by e-mail.
Check out their website to explore the weekly deals and
explore recipes from a program called Apron's.
 Publix created the Apron?s
program to help busy customers experience the fun and
togetherness that home cooking provides?even when time is
short.
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Go
confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you
have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau
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The
COUPONIZER
of the Month
Meet
Anne Porter
(pictured with her inventory of products purchased with coupons!)
Acworth, GA
I am a
newcomer to using coupons on a regular basis. I was forced to give up my
nursing career due to a disabling illness and found that I could save money by
using coupons.
I was clearly unsure on how to get started so I went to your website and ordered
a Couponizer. That was one month ago.
I am
happy to report not only has the Couponizer helped me get organized by using
coupons but your tips and starter coupons have helped tremendously. I never
leave home without my Couponizer and even if I have to run into the store for
just a few items I bring it along because you never know when you will run into
a great deal.
On average I have been saving 53% every week on my grocery bill and even have my
husband cutting coupons and going shopping with me. Both of us were amazed by
the savings especially when you use a coupon with a sale item and have a coupon
that doubles!! It is great. It has helped out our family budget tremendously.
I have bragged about my savings to my friends and have also given them the link
to your website so that they may order one for themselves.
I want to thank you for coming up with such a wonderful product that is so
helpful to so many people. It is wonderful being able to save so much money
when money is tight.
CHECK
OUT -
Paperless Internet coupons from Kroger
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Send us your
COUPONIZER Savings Story!
You
will receive
a $20 Gift Card to TARGET
and become
"The Couponizer of the Month" in a future issue of this
newsletter.
Inspire others by sharing your story of successful savings!
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