Frequently Asked Questions

Why Operation Homefront?

When choosing a charitable organization to partner with we looked at several factors including reach, ratings, need and cause. We felt that, for this contest, Operation Homefront met our requirements the best. By partnering with Operation Homefront, we can help an A-rated organization do what they do, which is provide the type of items that couponers typically acquire to people in need. They also have a large number of donation points so we can serve as many participants as possible.

Do I need to donate everything on my receipt?

The short answer is yes. In order for us to account properly and choose the correct winners, we need everything on the receipts you submit to be donated to Operation Homefront. If you are purchasing more, you will need to break them up into separate transactions.

Where can I donate?

The following cities have local Operation Homefront chapters: Phoenix, AZ Escondido, CA Rancho Cordova, CA San Diego, CA Colorado Sprints, CO Jacksonville, FL: Royal Palm Beach, FL Tampa, FL West Palm Beach, FL Marietta, GA Haleiwa, HI Boise, ID Chicago, IL Indianapolis, IN Fort Riley, KS Ft. Campbell, KY New Orleans, LA Windham, ME Grand Ledge, MI Fenton, MO Charlotte, NC Las Vegas, NV Kingston, NY Columbus, OH Lawton, OK Albany, OR Blue Bell, PA Columbia, SC Dell Rapids, SD San Antonio, TX Newport News, VA Sterline, VA Lakewood, WA Mountlake Terrace, WA Seattle WA Madison, WI. If you do not have an Operation Homefront chapter in your area, we will do our best to accomodate you. Please be aware, however, that if we cannot arrange a drop off point, you will not be able to participate in the main portion of the contest. You can still be eligible for a t-shirt by donating to your local food bank however.

How do you decide the contest winners?

There are two different contests, each with their own prizes and requirements. First, we will be judging on highest retail value donated to Operation Homefront. Second, we will be judging on largest amount of money saved. So, as an example: Alice donates $1,000 retail value worth of goods to Operation Homefront and paid $600 out of pocket. Bob donates $500 retail value worth of goods and pays $16. Alice would be eligible to win the highest retail value donated, because we look at the $1,000 retail price. Bob, however, saved more money ($484 vs Alice's $400) so he would be eligible to win the largest amount of money saved portion of the contest.

How do you calculate retail value when stores charge different prices for the same product?

For our own sanity, and to make the game a little more interesting, we will be calculating purely based on the shelf price of the item. If Alice shops at CVS and a bottle of soap is $1.99, and Bob shops at Rite Aid and the same bottle of soap is $1.89, we count a $1.99 donation from Alice and a $1.89 donation from Bob.

Do you count catalinas as you get them or spend them?

We are looking at the total dollar amount saved according to the grocery store receipt. We don't care what coupons you use. So if you have a few catalinas laying around, feel free to use them. That said, we will not subtract catalinas gained from the purchase as any kind of discount.

Isn't teaching people to coupon bad?

This is the age old debate of couponing. Here's our take on it: for better or worse, Extreme Couponing is out there and there have been dozens of articles and television show features on couponing in the past several months. More people than ever are interested in learning what this is all about. The major gripe about bringing new people in is usually that novices can make unwitting mistakes, or use bad practices that can hurt the deals. Rather than stick a roadblock in their way, we think they should be helped! By providing step-by-step guides for beginners, we can teach them coupon ethically and in a way that doesn't hurt the stores.

Does this contest encourage smash and grabs?

We encourage anyone who chooses to enter the charity drive to act ethically and to remember that if you do choose to clear the shelves, the deals you're used to may be more limited in the future. For our part, we will be addressing these issues in the beginner guides and describing methods to work with the stores in a way that doesn't hurt the deals.

What if I don't want anyone else to know about Slickdeals?

We have 861,000 reistered members, 25,000,000 post and millions upon millions of regular visitors. If Slickdeals is a secret, it's not a very well kept one! We are a small business, focused on our community and it's in everyone's best interest to see the site continue to grow. It's what allows us to hire new people to bring you even cool features, and feed our kids.