Rite Aid Trip 4/9

I got a text from a friend who happens to be the newest employee of our friendly(ish) local Rite Aid.  She told me there was some clearance on Maybelline, so I decided to check it out.  I loooooooove me some nail polish so I was excited to find some priced 50% off, and it was $2.07 after the discount!  I had some $1/1 ANY Maybelline New York Product coupons, and unfortunately for me, this did not mean an easy deal on some nail pretties.


I grabbed 7 different shades.  Can't beat $1.07 a bottle!  Well, actually I could beat it.  There's a month-long +Up Reward on Maybelline (Buy $15, get $5 +Up), and I already had $2.00 going toward it.  So, another $14.49 in nail polish put me over the top.  So, I got 4 bottles for $2.49 (before tax) after +Up.  =) HOWEVER...  NONE of the bottles rang up the right price, and I got the "Did you check the tag and look at the specific color that was on clearance???" attitude.  Ya, I checked.  I have fallen victim to a misplaced item in a sea of cosmetics with clearance tags.  You have to check and make sure the number/color/variety matches because sometimes the wrong one gets put in the clearance spot and you think it's a great deal, but they point out that technicality and no amount of "it's not my fault you guys tagged the wrong item" will get them to mark it down for you.  They will tell you to look at the tag or you don't get the price.  (I've found MONTHS old sale flags at that store so beware when you're finding spontaneous deals that they are valid!!!)

So, she had a manager go check after I told her that there was only one price tag on the display and the clearance flag said "Maybelline display items only" (to indicate not ALL nail polish was on sale.)  She still acted like it was my fault the register wasn't ringing in the right price, or that I somehow voodooed the clearance flag or manager who read it exactly as I did.  But, on with the story...

I had coupons for each of the items, and was going to split the order into two so I could do 4 coupons on one, 3 on the other (since I was told they only allow 4 like coupons per transaction).  However, the coupon wouldn't scan.  Again, this must have been my fault because the cashier first pointed out that it was only on Maybelline NEW YORK products.  But guess what...all Maybelline is NEW YORK, because that's their full brand name (and to be sure, I pointed it out on the bottles "Maybelline" with "New York" under it in small letters.  Then, she said it's probably only on makeup, so I pointed to the stack of coupons, on the display just feet away from the register, next to the nail polish, and told her I got them from the display.  She continued to scrutinize and then said "Yup, it must be because it's only for makeup." So, I kindly pointed out that it said ANY product, not just makeup, and she (however quietly) snapped "I KNOW I CAN READ IT."  Wowwwwwwwwwww... 

So, at last, after wasting both her time and mine (and this was about 15 minutes into the transaction after price checking and scanning other items), she manually entered the 4 coupons, then told me that she'd just try all 7 bottles and coupons in one transaction, likely in an effort to speed things along and get me OUT of there!

So, finally, I got my nail polish, other items, and +Up Rewards...  Here's a list of what I got... It was worth the effort, I'd say.

2 Glad 13 Gallon kitchen trash bags - $4.49 each
1 Lysol No-Touch kitchen starter system (with bonus refill) $6.99
8 pkgs Up2U Gum $.99 each
4 pkgs Mentos gum 15 pk $.99 each
7 Maybelline Express Finish nail polish $2.07 each
1 Duracell AA 8 pk $6.99
2 Glad Plug In Warmers $1.00 each

Used
(1) $2.00/2 Glad 13 Gallon trash bags printable
(1) $3.00/1 Lysol No-Touch Kitchen System Starter Kit
(4) $1/2 Up2U gum packs
(4) $.55/1 Mentos gum 15+ pack
(7) $1/1 Any Maybelline New York Product
(1) $1/1 Duracell Coppertop batteries
(2) $1/1 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer
 $6 +Up Reward from previous transactions

Paid $26.70

Got back $2 +Up for Duracell
               $5 +Up for Maybelline

Will get $3.00 Lysol No-Touch rebate

Final cost was $16.70. Not bad for what I got (although the gum drove up my final OOP because I spent about $6 on that by itself, but we chew a lot of gum and less than $.50 a pack is better than paying $1.29 regular price otherwise!)  But to break it down by item:

Glad Bags - $3.49 each after coupon (they also count toward a $5 Single Check Rebate gift card in April.
Lysol No-Touch - $.99 after coupon and rebate
Up2U gum - $.49 each
Mentos gum - $.44 each
Maybelline Nail Polish - $.36 after clearance, coupons, and +Up Reward
Duracell 8 pk - $3.99 after coupon and +Up Reward
Glade Scented Oil Warmers - Free after coupon

After all that, I think that cashier is going to seriously either kill me or quit her job if I grace her register again... She was politely laughing and smiling as I apologized profusely for the trouble (though none of it was my fault, aside from finding a deal and using coupons) but that was probably more out of relief that I was leaving.

Rite Aid clearance

I've decided to put my coupon binder back together! I was browsing through Rite Aid today and I found a BUNCH of clearanced items!  If only I'd had my coupons organized in Binder style, I would have brought home a whole lot of stuff for really cheap!  Well, I did bring home a whole lot of stuff for cheap, just nothing I would have had coupons for.

I found a lot of clearanced items, some of which were cleared off the shelves already.  I always check the makeup sections because I've gotten about 20 bottles of nail polish and lip gloss in the past month and probably have paid no more than $5 for most of it.  There are a LOT of clearance tags for 75% off items that are $4 and under.  Today, I found Rimmel nail polish for .99 each (regular price 3.99), BOD men's body spray for .24 each (good stocking stuffers!), and nail growth formula for $1.61 (a bit more expensive than the other items, but my nails keep breaking and it was better than paying nearly $7 for this somewhere else!)

Things I noticed around the store were feminine products (Always and Carefree pads, which were already cleared out, and OB Tampons) 75% off, Garnier dandruff shampoo 50% off, select Rimmel nail polish, lip gloss/sticks, and lip liners.  There were also a variety of nail polish brands with markdowns, but most of the REALLY cheap ones were cleaned out.  However, $2 for an $8 bottle of nail polish might be worth it! There were some Sally Hansen nail polishes clearanced as well, and some Sally Hansen skincare products.

So, it's time to start carrying EVERY coupon I have with me everywhere I go! Maybe you should consider investing in a coupon binder system as well!  As soon as I get the stuff to put mine together, I will post a blog so you can see how mine is made, and how I have it organized.