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Publix grocery weekly Mystery Coupon (AKA Mystery Penny Item) thread
This thread lists the Publix grocery store Mystery Coupon item, updated each week
Scroll down to see each week's item. The latest item will be in post #3 or the Wikipost (post #2), as well as in the latest posts at the end of this thread (towards bottom of last page).
What is the "Mystery Penny Item"?
Miscellaneous
Scroll down to see each week's item. The latest item will be in post #3 or the Wikipost (post #2), as well as in the latest posts at the end of this thread (towards bottom of last page).
What is the "Mystery Penny Item"?
One day each week, Publix offers one item for 1¢ when you spend $10 or more (before tax and other coupons).Where is it offered?
This is offered one day only each week, on either Wednesday or Thursday -- the same day your local stores' weekly sale cycle starts. For example, if your weekly sales normally start on Thursday, the penny item is only offered that Thursday.
When your stores will be closed that day for a holiday (e.g., Thanksgiving, Christmas), the Mystery Coupon is customarily offered the following day
Only at Publix grocery stores in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. It is currently not available in Florida (and a few south GA stores that are grouped with Publix FL regions).Is the coupon required?
Some stores do not require that you have the coupon -- the cashiers will give you the discount without it (you may need to remind them to key in the discount). Some other stores will give you a copy of the coupon if you ask at the Customer Service desk.Where is the coupon?
However, many stores have started requiring you present the coupon. If you forget to bring it, you can usually go ahead and buy the penny item at its normal price, and receive a refund on your next visit by bringing your receipt and the coupon to the CS desk.
Check with your store's CS desk to learn their policies.
Beginning January 2010, the Mystery Coupon moved to a tiny display ad in a regular section of your daily newspaper (either Wednesday or Thursday -- the same day your local stores' weekly sale cycle starts).Do all stores have the same item?
In Atlanta, it's been in Thursday's AJC, usually on page D-2 (Living section).
Example:Previous years
(click thumbnails for larger images)
Up until summer 2007 in Atlanta, the coupons appeared within a full- or two-page ad in the Metro section of the Sunday newspaper.
From then up to the end of 2009, the Mystery coupons had been on the front of a 4-page flyer spotlighting that week's BOGO deals (wrapped over the normal 12- or 16-page weekly store flyer, and inserted in the Sunday newspaper). Example:Ordinarily, the over-wrap flyers were not handed out in the stores (or when they were, they did not include the Mystery Coupon — there was a blank spot instead).
The Mystery Penny item is typically the same at all participating stores, but it's not uncommon for some stores to have a completely different item. Stores also sometimes switch to a different item over the course of the sale day — either a similar item from a different brand, or something entirely different. "Your mileage may vary"Fine Print:
If the store you visit does have something different, check your receipt — it will usually still show the credit as the intended item. For example, if most stores had salad dressing but yours had soda, the receipt will still list the coupon credit as "salad dressing" for an amount 1¢ less than the price of the soda.
On this receipt, the "designated item" was bleach, but the store substituted popcorn:
- Items which don't count towards your $10 total:
- alcohol products
- money orders
- postage stamps
- gift cards
- prescriptions
- Limit one deal per coupon per customer
Miscellaneous
You can view the current week's sale flyer online here: specials.publix.com [publix.com] (but no mention of the Mystery Coupon)
Also see the Official PUBLIX Deals thread
Publix store locator [publix.com]
Last edited by Gromit; 04-10-2013 at 12:53 PM..
I scour the Publix sale paper each week...I must be losing it. 
