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Getting the Sunday Inserts: How to buy in bulk?
October 16, 2009 at
06:56 AM
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Well, I've just been on the phone with the local paper's circulation department, letting them know that this weekend I'm looking at purchasing 2 dozen papers and want to know if I can get an ongoing subscription discount if I have something like a dozen or so papers delivered every Sunday. After putting me on hold and talking with his manager, I was completely stonewalled - there are no discounts available, I'm SOL, and no they won't put me in touch with my local carrier to discuss one on one.
Annoying.
It seems to me that paying $1.50 per paper (PLUS TAX!!) is just silly when all I want is the inserts. It seems to me that the newspaper business is hurting enough that I should be able to get bulk discounts, but I've been smacked down.
For those of you who are buying 20, 30, 40 papers at a time, you're not really paying full price for these things, are you? I do realize that $1.50 is a small price to pay when you're using Qs worth hundreds, but still - paying full price for an in bulk item just seems silly.
Any tips for the newbs here on how to get a good price on these things? Where can I look for a source of either just the inserts (on Sunday - no mailing off for them), or for cheaper papers in bulk?
Annoying.
It seems to me that paying $1.50 per paper (PLUS TAX!!) is just silly when all I want is the inserts. It seems to me that the newspaper business is hurting enough that I should be able to get bulk discounts, but I've been smacked down.
For those of you who are buying 20, 30, 40 papers at a time, you're not really paying full price for these things, are you? I do realize that $1.50 is a small price to pay when you're using Qs worth hundreds, but still - paying full price for an in bulk item just seems silly.
Any tips for the newbs here on how to get a good price on these things? Where can I look for a source of either just the inserts (on Sunday - no mailing off for them), or for cheaper papers in bulk?
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Last Edited by AlanChiras
October 17, 2009
at
03:59 AM
The Miami Hearld has what is called the Early Sunday edition on Saturday for 50 cents with ALL the Sunday inserts!! It's great. Check to see if your paper does the same.
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If you talk to your local retailer about picking up the "guts" for a fraction of the cost; I would assume most of them will be willing to. As it is destined for the garbage anyway.
I have done many a times and still do it in the LIC area, especially when the P&G booklet comes out.
The Newsday and Dailynews are 1.25 each around here, usually carrying 2-3 inserts. I end paying 50 each just for the guts (whole newspaper minus the cover page)
Have fun...
this is great news - I find that I have to travel to Manhattan because the daily news inserts in the outerboroughs are horrible. thanks and repped!
(I am assuming that the above papers are the 4 papers you are refering to, bc I am also in the NY-LI area.)
As you mentioned, this shouldn't be done unless you are sure the store doesn't care or need the inserts since the vendors don't always get credit if the inserts aren't returned. Often times though, if you go to a gas station late on Sunday, they will gladly let you pick through the papers to get extra inserts, if you ask.
Also another idea for people that live in larger cities... There is usually one papers that has all the inserts every week (and is usually the highest priced) Although the smaller (and cheaper) papers only have one/two insert(s) you might be better off just getting the paper that contains only the inserts you want/need.
I.E. Newsday sells here for $2.00 and will have all the inserts (it had SS and RP yesterday) but this week I only really wanted extras of the SS. So, I just purchased the smaller paper that had SS only - the NY Post - for $1.25.
Another suggestion - ALWAYS check the paper before you buy it to make sure it has the inserts. Many people throughout the day take the inserts and stick them in their paper and just buy the one. Then you get stuck with none in yours. I learned this the hard way, so now I check each and every paper I buy to make sure they have the inserts.
Someone in my area has been taking the coupons out of the papers so I definitely check it before I buy it. At least I'm decent enough to do it on Sunday night to lessen the chance of gipping someone else.
Thecouponclippers.com claims that s/he gets her coupons thusly: I buy a lot of local Sunday newspapers. And yes, I buy the entire paper. I am not allowed to just purchase the coupon sections themselves. I also get everyone around me to save all of their supplements when they are done and they give them to me. I also find coupons everywhere and have been known to take trips simply to look for coupons.
Now, just to have randomly chosen one off of her site, s/he claims to have 2,993 copies of the Motrin coupon out of the 10/4 Val. Sorry but there is no way in the world that anyone bought 2,993 copies of the newspaper at full retail price, asked thousands of her friends to save inserts, or stumbled across hundreds/thousands of inserts while out on a coupon trip.
Not trying to pick on this site, I'm just agreeing that to have a succesful coupon clipping business, you need to have an "in" somewhere somehow.
I have not paid a penny since then. He's able to get me over 100 papers every Sunday.
Why don't ppl dumpster dive? Even if you buy 10 papers every week at the Dollar Tree, it will cost you $10/week, $40/month, or ~$500/year.
I have not paid a penny since then. He's able to get me over 100 papers every Sunday.
Why don't ppl dumpster dive? Even if you buy 10 papers every week at the Dollar Tree, it will cost you $10/week, $40/month, or ~$500/year.
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I had previously had been allowed to come before the paper man, at a different store in this chain, and weed out the coupons. I came at 4am, since he came shorty after.
So I ask the cashier and she says an employee already does this in their store. But someone in line overhear this, and worked for the same Conv. store. She remembered me from the other store I got coupons from. She offered to save them for me from her new store, as she worked midnight shift.
I gladly agreed. She didn't expect anything in return but I didn't want to take advantage, so I offered to share my freebies with her. We did this for a while, it did eventually fizzle out.
I had a friend delivering papers to camp grounds, in the paper machines. I got him to dump the left overs with me instead of at the dump. No extra trip for him, but I gave him freebies (not expected, again) also. This was a summer thing. I got 30-60 papers- but it wasn't a great variety of inserts.
My conclusion for myself is that it's not worth it to me to get all those papers regularly. The load becomes overwhelming. I'm not even convinced I want keep my sunday delivery- though I may not be up to speed on what coupons are available otherwise. I'd rather save my time and space and may a bucks to buy the coupons I want on ebay or trade on a coupon forum.
But for a really good week *like the new years inserts* it may be worth buying and shorting, and clipping multiple papers. It's just too much weekly, especially when I'm holding 60 copies of one insert I have yet to have use of from 5 weeks ago!
If I wanted to buy papers right now I would combine it with an order that is 'negative' to break even or use $2 Discover Q's to buy them, etc. Also, the local Thursday Phil. Daily News often has the Sunday coupons for 75 a paper.
I have an idea I haven't tried myself though:
There are a few owner opporated convenaicne stores around here. I would consider speaking with them about their papers: what papers do they carry? do they have a lot left over? would they be intersted in working out a trade? Perhaps some items they might sell in their store, and they pull the coupons for you....just a thought!
[quote]I would totally dumpster dive if I knew where to go for it, and when. I have no issues with Trash as long as it's dry[/quote]
But we notice the person who said her husband gets over 100 papers from the dumpster didn't share which dumpsters her husband gets his papers from. told ya, no person with a real solid place is going to give that away, they might come in to brag about the good find but most won't tell exactly where.
Every store has a dumpster, but that doesn't mean it will be filled with newspaper inserts so dumpster diving is hit or miss. So for me, it isn't worth going through every single dumpster to find newspapers.
Maybe she'll PM you to tell you which companies dumpsters you should dive in because 100 inserts is great. I'm thinking he might be raiding the local newspapers dumpsters, but I always thought they destroyed extra copies do deter dumpster divers.
I would love to call and ask someone at the dept if I could salvage the coupons....but I just don't have the guts LOL
I would love to call and ask someone at the dept if I could salvage the coupons....but I just don't have the guts LOL
[quote]I would totally dumpster dive if I knew where to go for it, and when. I have no issues with Trash as long as it's dry
Every store has a dumpster, but that doesn't mean it will be filled with newspaper inserts so dumpster diving is hit or miss. So for me, it isn't worth going through every single dumpster to find newspapers.
Maybe she'll PM you to tell you which companies dumpsters you should dive in because 100 inserts is great. I'm thinking he might be raiding the local newspapers dumpsters, but I always thought they destroyed extra copies do deter dumpster divers.[/QUOTE]
That was me and I didn't post about it to brag, I posted so ppl know that it's possible, if you find the right dumpster. Of coarse, I will not tell the whole world exactly which one I go to, because this is a public forum and I don't want to go there next time and see all my papers gone.
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I had a friend delivering papers to camp grounds, in the paper machines. I got him to dump the left overs with me instead of at the dump. No extra trip for him, but I gave him freebies (not expected, again) also. This was a summer thing. I got 30-60 papers- but it wasn't a great variety of inserts.
My conclusion for myself is that it's not worth it to me to get all those papers regularly. The load becomes overwhelming. I'm not even convinced I want keep my sunday delivery- though I may not be up to speed on what coupons are available otherwise. I'd rather save my time and space and may a bucks to buy the coupons I want on ebay or trade on a coupon forum.
...snip...
I can't recycle the expired ones fast enough and there isn't a bookcase I know of that can handle 30-50 SETS (SS, RP, P&G or GM) of inserts for 4 months at a time.
I'd love for someone to RAOK them on SD for me, but I don't have the time or energy to keep an active list of what I have to give away.