With some HOT Catalina offers at Food Lion and Walgreens this week I’ve gotten several emails and questions about what to do if a Catalina doesn’t print. Here are my top tips to a successful Catalina Deal!
BEFORE you purchase your catalina deal:
1. Check Couponnetwork.com and print out the catalina offer. Not all offers are listed here but many are.
2. Make sure you meet each and every requirement of the offer (double check dates and stores!)
3. If you see a catalina deal posted online, either by MSM or someone else or anywhere online- be aware- you only have the details put out by that person- NOT the catalina deal. We can’t hold them liable for deals posted by others. So try to get to the source of the deal. If I post it I will either (a) link to the couponnetwork.com directly or (b) list it as a “reported” deal where trying it may or may not work.
4. Once at the register- check your catalina machine before checking out. Is the light green- you should be good to go. Many times I ask the cashier “Has your catalina machine been printing today?” Sometimes their systems go “off line”
5. Wait a few seconds after checking out and ask the cashier- did the catalina print? Sometimes the machines are slow.
Ok, so you checked all that and it still did not give you your promised catalina. Here are some things you can do:
1. Try to deal with it in the store. My Harris Teeter usually offers me cash back for the catalina, or as in the case the other day, they offered me a raincheck for the value of the catalina. Ask nicely what can be done about the situation. It is very helpful if you have the printout from couponnetwork.com to prove the deal. The stores do not handle these promotions so they may be unaware of them.
2.If the store won’t make good on the catalina deal, you have the option to simply return the items. You may lose any coupons that you used on the items though.
3. You can contact the Catalina company directly. I did this today and they said it will take 6-7 weeks to send me my coupon! WOW. You can reach the Catalina company at 1-888-8COUPON or via email at coupon@catalinamarketing.com. Have your receipt and they will need your shopping card # as well. You can also complete the form HERE, which is their preferred method of contact.
I don’t see the Sunlight catalina listed on this site. Am I just missing it?
It is not listed but I did it 3 times yesterday
Gonna give it a try today at Food Lion. I got one several weeks ago at Lowes Foods, but it doesn’t start until today.
I have only done it one time (in January) for a $2 catalina I did not receive at Lowes Grocery, but I recommend using the catalina companies online form which you provide the link to above. It was easy to complete, did not require talking on the phone and waiting in a phone queue, and at the end stated that if I scanned and uploaded a copy of the receipt, it would expedite the process, which I did.
I received a confirmation email that my information was accepted in a couple of days, and received the $2 catalina coupon in the mail in less than two weeks. My guess is the 6-7 weeks is a worse case scenario, and if you use the online method with uploading your receipt, I think you will receive it much faster. At least I did.
I just had to tell everybody what happened at Food Lion today! I went earlier and got four bottles of Sunlight. I told the cashier I would be doing two seperate orders (so i could get the catalina) and his response was “that’s alot of trouble for me”. Wow, yet he’s the one being paid to be there, not me. Yesterday while at Bi-Lo I picked up 10 packs of the free Bic razors and that cashier says “did you get ALL of them”. I just wondered how many of you guys have to put up with snarky comments and dirty looks just for trying to save money. Soooo frustrating.
But the catalina for $3 OYNO printed just fine.
Wow, I would report those cashiers to their managers and let them know that you don’t appreciate the attitude and disrespect. And your exactly right, they are getting paid to work there so why in the world would it be a lot of trouble! I haven’t yet gotten any comments or looks yet and I have been couponing regularly for a couple of years now. I wonder if it has something to do with the store/location/management, etc. (They’re probably talking about me once I leave the store 😉 )
I did 2 transactions today with the sunlght and received a $3 catalina each time. My plan was to roll it several times but my gift card $5 catalina did not print so I left. Waiting to hear back on that, anyone else have problems?
Did you buy one of the participating ones? if so Food Lion has it advertised so they should have fixed it right there at the store.
Yep, I would complain. I’ve only had problems using coupons at one grocery store that’s in another town. I only stopped there because it was convenient, but I promptly told the cashier she could keep it and left the store. I’ve shopped there a few times and every time the cashiers are snooty. So, I will not EVER shop there again. On the the flip side, I CONSTANTLY praise the cashiers at my local Lowes Foods. I never had a problem coupling catalinas with manufacturers coupons and the are as excited as I am to watch the total bill go down. Because of the fantastic customer service at my local store, I’m a loyal customer there and they know it.
By the way, I was extreme couponing for a family in my homeschool group who are going through a hard time. I was bought several boxes of Kellogg’s cereal for $1.00 a box (kids love cereal). I noticed a coupon on a box of Frosted Flakes for $3.00 off a gallon of milk when you buy 3 boxes of Kellogg’s cereal. I got a gallon of milk for .69. Very proud of that one!
My Sunlight catalina printed just fine at Food Lion, so I’m able to add free dishwashing detergent to my 6 big bags of groceries I bought for this sweet family.