THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501250060
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
CARRIE BLOOMQUIST admits she's hopelessly hooked.
A few years back she tried to break the habit. She made a firm resolve to pitch the two dozen boxes of labels, universal product codes, boxtops and offers for freebies.
She tried.
But she couldn't do it.
In 17 years of serious couponing and refunding, the only thing Bloomquist has ever been able to throw away is a coupon that's expired.
``Yes, I am addicted,'' said the 37-year-old Virginia Beach homemaker, ``but I've got things under more control than I used to.''
What she used to do when she was single and living in her home state of Pennsylvania was get out of bed in the middle of the night and clip-and-sort until 7 or 8 in the morning.
``By then I'd have 30 or 40 refund forms ready to mail in.''
She smiled at the memory, then a bold look of determination crossed her face: ``This could take over my life if I let it, so I've had to set limits.''
While there aren't many like Bloomquist, she is not alone.
Bloomquist and the other bargain-hunting buddies she has met through the American Coupon Club in Virginia Beach are an elite group devoted to the philosophy that paying full price for a grocery item is like suffering defeat in battle.
An aisle in a supermarket becomes a trench in a combat zone to these scrappy shoppers. You can spot them by the weapons they carry - a large box of flaw lessly filed coupons, a list as organized and detailed as a battle plan.
On one shopping trip last November, Bloomquist paid just $17.77 for $221.90 worth of groceries.
Most Americans use coupons, according to NCH Promotional Services, an Illinois-based service that processes coupons and collects data about them. NCH reports that 71 percent of us use coupons at least some of the time, and 30 percent use them all the time.
Manufacturers issued 310 billion coupons in 1994 - each with an average value of about 60 cents. About 2 percent were redeemed, according to the service.
That statistic makes Bloomquist wince. Singlehandedly, she has done more than her share to try to raise that percentage.
Bloomquist clips every coupon she finds. At club meetings, members share their bags and boxes of extras. Many also send coupons to out-of-town friends or relatives they know will use them.
Bloomquist's commitment to couponing goes even further.
``If I see somebody in a store buying something I know I have an extra coupon for, I'll check her out to see if she's carrying her own coupons,'' Bloomquist said. ``If not, I'll give her mine. I've chased people up and down the aisles just to give them a coupon.''
She would like everyone to know the thrill of working ``at full coupon power.''
The hobby came to her naturally.
``I was one of 10 children, so the family was always thrifty,'' said Bloomquist, who bakes her own bread. She also preserves the fruits and vegetables that grow in the backyard garden of the Virginia Beach home she shares with husband Gregg, who works in hospital administration.
``And I've always been organized. My mother tells me that when I was little, I was always up in my room arranging things in piles. You can't really succeed at coupons unless you're organized.''
Having a buddy also helps. Bloomquist's coupon comrade is Sherry Campbell, wholives five minutes away. They met at an American Coupon Club meeting about a year ago. They talk on the phone daily about the hobby that has become almost a full-time job for them.
Bloomfield's buddy accompanied her last November on what she calls her ``free spree,'' when she used all the manufacturers coupons for freebies she'd been hoarding for months. Campbell helped her find the products that matched more than 150 coupons, cheered with her at the register, and took her picture with the receipt that has become as cherished as a trophy.
In December, when Campbell was armed and ready to do her own free spree (she paid $10.03 for $149 worth of groceries), Bloomquist was at her side.
Using coupons has become a piece of cake to these veterans. The more time-consuming art of refunding - getting money back from the manufacturer for using a product - is the frosting on that cake.
Refunding requires saving a part of the product - usually the universal product code - developing a system to organize those pieces, and taking time to track down, fill in and mail back refund offers.
Bloomquist works at refunding two or three hours every day in her coupon-and-craft room over the garage. Campbell, a Navy wife who claims she became ``serious about all this'' when her son was born four years ago, says she devotes two or three hours twice a week to refunding.
The friends also send away for free and nearly free prizes offered by manufacturers. The toys, T-shirts, jackets, utensils, CDs, books, videocassettes and other items that arrive frequently in their mail are often used as gifts.
When asked to convert her three money-saving techniques into dollars-and-cents, Bloomquist estimated she ``earns'' about $2,400 a year for her efforts. She gets about $100 a month in cash refunds, saves about $64 a month in coupons and receives about $30 worth of free products a month.
Campbell estimated in an average month she saves about $100 through coupons, makes $100 in cash refunds and gets about $20 worth of freebies. If this were her job, her yearly salary would be about $2,640.
Like other couponing experts, Bloomquist and Campbell are happiest when they can execute what syndicated coupon columnist Martin Sloane calls a ``triple play'': using three money-saving opportunities on the same product.
Here's an example of a recent triple play for Bloomquist and Campbell: Bloomquist noticed that a local discount store had White Rain shampoo on sale for 79 cents. She recalled that 20-cent coupons for White Rain had been in circulation a few weeks before. That dropped the price to 59 cents a bottle. At the same time, the discount store offered refund forms - send in proofs from six bottles of White Rain and the manufacturer would send back $3. The duo did, and each paid less than 60 cents for six bottles of shampoo.
Although they've been doing this for years, the two still hear bells and see stars after a triple play.
Once you get the fever, says Bloomquist, it's with you forever. MEMO: The American Coupon Club meets most Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 4604 Westgrove
Court, Building 3, Virginia Beach. All couponers and refunders are
welcome. There are no dues. For more information, call 460-7743.
ILLUSTRATION: Color Staff photo by Motoya Nakamura.
Carrie Bloomquist, left, and Sherry Campbell share a passion for
clipping coupons and seeking refunds.
[Sidebar]
Some tips for coupon clippers
[For complete text, see microfilm.]
by CNB