During the ’80s, it seemed like our cupboards, pantry and
bathroom closet were mostly stocked with items that had been stripped of their
UPC codes. Jan at work!
Jan was Rebate Queen (coupons too). She kept on top of the
best rebates and dutifully collected UPC codes to mail in for the rewards. Plus she made the most of Wegmans back when they used to double coupons.
It was almost a community project, for the neighbors got
involved too. She tended to buy more than she needed (e.g., buy 3, get 1/whatever
quantity needed for the rebates) and ended up with the surplus she stowed in
one of the bedrooms. So, if any of the neighbors were running out of shampoo or
toiletries or whatever, it was off to the Jan Store to check stock and make purchases
at her discount prices, snagging those packages that had been de-UPC-ed by Jan’s
razor blade. Jan kept logs of her rebate activities, in notebook after carefully
organized notebook, to keep track of ones she sent in and those for which she
got the check.
Not only a hobby for her, I guess it was like a sport to
score those deals and get the bonuses in the mail. Plus extra visits from the
neighbors to shop her store!
I don’t think she quite made her fortune at it, but it was
quite the enterprise in her rebating heyday.
-- Evan
-- Evan
I love this story! It was many years before I could throw out any packaging. Nothing in the house ever had a UPC code. Mom was had extreme couponing figured out way before the TLC channel put it on as reality TV. She was a serious "double dipper!" AND yet another example of her fierce list making/data collecting.
ReplyDeleteHow old was Jan in this picture?
ReplyDeleteI think it was early '80s, so she would've been mid-40s.
ReplyDeleteI remember shopping at the Jan store. It was toothpaste, and it was during the first Bush administration.
ReplyDelete