Is it Worth it to Buy Coupons Online

People often look at me a little funny when I tell them I purchased a certain coupon online(usually ebay, but I often using the coupon clipping services too). Just yesterday there were 2 coupons in particular that I was interested in buying. One was worth it to buy and the other wasn't. Here's why:

Coupon #1 Gatorade $.50 off 1



We got $.50 off 2 coupons for Gatorade a couple weeks ago in our inserts, but I was unaware that other regions received $.50 off 1. This would make for free Gatorade at my grocery stores that double coupons when the price of Gatorade is $1.00 like they are this week at King Soopers(Kroger). From buying my local paper I already have 4 coupons for $.50 off 2 which means I could get 8 Gatorades for $.50 each since the coupon would double to $1.00. When I checked ebay the cost per coupon averaged out to be about $.50. So even though I could get the Gatorade free at the store with the coupon the coupon itself would cost me the same as if I had just used my $.50 off 2 coupon. The only reason to buy the $.50 off 1 coupon would be if I wanted more than 8 Gatorades. I decided not to buy any coupons. If I would have realized sooner I could have purchased these for much less from a coupon clipping site like Coupons & Things by Dede, but they are sold out already.

Coupon #2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $.55 of 1


While previewing the Safeway ad I saw they had an in ad coupon to get Quaker Chewy Granola Bars for $.99 with a limit of 3. I already have several $1.00 off 2 coupons that would make a box cost $.49 with the Safeway sale. Since there is a limit of 3 and the coupon is off of 2 I would only by 2 at a time. I generally only like to make 2 trips to the same store each week meaning I would only buy 4 boxes this week for a total cost of $1.96. I checked ebay for the $.55 off 1 coupons and found that I could do a "buy it now" for 20 coupons for $1.48 with free shipping. Since this coupon will double up to the $.99 sale price that would make each box I buy free. Also, since these coupons are off of 1 box instead of 2 I can buy the limit of 3 at each visit. So with 2 trips to the store I can get 6 boxes free, but will have paid $1.48 for the coupons. So overall it was worth it for me to purchase the coupons. I'll spend about $.50 less and get 2 more boxes.

When purchasing coupons online make sure to check the expiration dates and also the reputation of the seller if buying off ebay.