Rebates

I used to pass up rebates because I thought the savings wasn't worth the time and effort to mail the information to the company and because the rebate wasn't large enough to make the item worth buying.  Lately I've learned how to use rebates to score some very good deals.

Rebates when used alone save some money but generally not enough to  entice me to buy an item.  When you combine coupons and even a sale to the same item, suddenly you have a great deal that you have to stock up on.  Right now Olay has a rebate out which is $10 off a purchase of $30 worth of selected products (http://www.olay.com/PublishingImages/offers/rebate/june302010/crossbrand/10_Olay.com.pdf).   While this will help to get a better deal on Olay, it is not the "rock bottom deal" I am looking for.  When combined with a coupon for $4 off 1 Olay body wash, suddenly it becomes a fantastic deal.  At Target, we can purchase a bottle of Olay Total Effects body wash for $5.79 (not on sale) and after the coupon it is only $1.79.  To prepare for this deal, I purchased 5 Olay coupons from a seller on eBay for $1.50.  (Coupons can be bought on eBay as long as the seller is only asking for money to cover shipping and handling costs.)  I went to Target and purchased 5 of the body wash and then decided to buy 1 bottle of Pantene shampoo to make up the $30 worth of products.  After coupons, my order came to $13.34.   My total for this order is $13.34 + $1.50 (coupons) - $10 (rebate) = $4.84 total!  Great savings!  To score an even better deal:  purchase 5 coupons for Ivory soap.  They read, "buy one Olay Total Effects body wash and get one free Ivory body wash, bar soap or hand soap".  With this coupon you should have 10 bottles of body wash and a Pantene shampoo for $4.84!

The most important tip for rebates is send your rebate form out right away!  If you wait too long, you may miss the deadline!