Los Angeles Times
An astonishing example of individual enterprise in the American economic system occurred recently at the Safeway supermarket at Vermont Ave. and 3rd St. in Los Angeles, A woman from Yonkers. N.Y., went shopping for a wide assortment of groceries ranging from pork spareribs to paper towels. When she reached the check-out counter after an hour of careful shopping, her bill came close to $70, a rather routine weekly expenditure for food for a family of four. Instead of reaching for a checkbook or a wad of cash, she began presenting coupons to the checker. After 15 minutes, when nearly all of the coupons were redeemed, Susan Samtur owed Safeway only 53 cents. But she still had one coupon remaining for 71 cents off a laundry detergent she had selected. The checker took off the last 53 cents and the former teacher, now professional couponeer received $67.49 worth of groceries from Safeway... for nothing. Completely Legal In fact, if Safeway had a policy of returning money when the amount of the coupons exceeded the food bill, the store would have owed Mrs. Samtur 18 cents. Mrs. Samtur's use of coupons is completely legal. However, she has stretched the weekly newspaper coupon into a small industry complete with a trade magazine that she edits. Her system is somewhat complex and the cut-out coupon is only the beginning of a process that saved Mrs. Samtur more than 50% of her annual food bill of $4,000. The bedrock of this process is called refunding. Mrs. Samtur defines refunding as simply taking advantage of the many corporate offers that entice consumers to send in labels to get either cash or coupons for significant refunds on future purchases. "My major savings are from sending a product's label to a company and not from the coupon in the newspapers." she said. "In return, I get free refunds in cash, coupons or free merchandise. By shopping with Mrs. Samtur, it is easy to see that opportunities abound in the supermarket to take advantage of the many grocery items that offer refunds. There are not only offers of cash or coupon refunds but also for a wide assortment of gifts ranging from stationery to hamburger cookers. "For some reason, refunding has been kept quiet. People aren't aware that refunds are available," she said "I get $100 a month from cash refunds alone." The cash refunds, however, did not play a part in Mrs. Samtur's recent Los Angeles shopping trip. It takes some time to acquire the enormous savings Mrs. Samtur generates by refunds. She says that the process begins by clipping coupons from the newspaper. Before going to the supermarket, she always checks the advertisements to see where the products she has coupons for are on sale. Then she locates the supermarkets that are doubling the value of coupons. Saves Packaging as she begins to accumulate coupons, she also saves the packaging from all the national brand-name products. The packaging, in the form of a label or proof of purchase seal, is essential in refunding. Then she waits, for instance, for a paper towel company to offer coupons for free paper towels if a customer sends in several labels from past purchases. When it comes time to begin shopping, a certain level of perceptivity must be maintained. If a shopper is faced with a choice between a product from a company that regularly offers refunds and one that doesn't, then it pays to go with the company that refunds, Mrs. Samtur said. The corporations that offer refunds don't always offer coupons for just their products. "Sara Lee has offered coupons for discounts on eggs, and Lysol has even offered coupons on turkey," she said. In the six years that Mrs. Samtur has been taking complete and total advantage of coupons and refunds, she has discovered that some companies will send you coupons for free products without even sending in labels. "This all sounds so silly, but when you save 50% on your food bill it isn't silly any more." she said. In her pursuit of the refund, Mrs. Samtur does not feel she buys unnecessary or unneeded products. She points out that only the top national brands offer refunds and they are usually superior companies offering quality items that anyone could use. Buying useless products isn't the only criticism of Mrs. Samtur's refunding scheme. There is also the matter of the cost of postage and the time spent refunding. "It is definitely worth the time I put into it. On the average I work about five hours a week on this. 1 get $100 a month in cash and then about $200 a month in savings on coupons and that is in addition to the free gifts." she said. A quick look at Mrs. Samtur's savings would show that they could easily take care of the $15 she spends each month on postage. Roughly estimating that she saves $2,000 annually on her food bill, that would mean that each hour she spends on couponing and refunding is worth nearly $10. "I really don't figure it in terms of an hourly wage. It is more satisfying to me to go into a store and save half the money on my food bill. Mrs. Samtur's husband Steve, who is also a teacher, is accompanying her on a national tour promoting their "Refundle Bundle" a monthly magazine which lists hundreds of offers throughout the country for refunds and coupons. The coarse paper booklet now has a circulation of more than 20,000, which may indicate more than a growing interest in refunding. ("Refundle Bundle" is available by writing P.O. Box 141, Centuck Station, Yonkers, N.Y. 10710. A one-year subscription is $9.) Samtur shares his wife's enthusiasm for refunding. "It is a vicarious form of stealing because you get so much for nothing, it is like going 10 a store and as you go in they say, "Here is $15." Mrs. Samtur's success with refunding has been stunning in some areas. "I haven't paid for toilet paper or spaghetti sauce for two years . . . Pillsbury (Co.) has tons of refunds and you won't have to pay for biscuits for the next 10 years. If you are a smart shopper, you will never have to pay for paper towels again." The food-industry reaction to the refunding activities of Mrs. Samtur has come, coincidentally from Pillsbury. Dean Thomas, a vice president for Pillsbury, was critical of the wide publicity Mrs. Samtur received under the impression that she was misredeeming coupons or not purchasing the items that were designated on the coupon. "I'm critical of publicizing of her activity. She works very hard to get that significant reduction in her grocery bill." says Thomas. "The casual observer cannot perform at this level. You have to send in and send in." Mrs. Samtur says that this is not quite accurate. For one thing, she says corporate refunding is increasing "like crazy", providing innumerable opportunities for people to exploit. Additionally, to facilitate her checkout at the supermarket, she always writes down the price of an item she has a free coupon for after she has selected it. This minimizes any chance of coupon misredemption. It also works to lessen the resentment of any other shopper waiting to checkout behind her. The reaction she gets from people stuck in line behind her varies. "They always say something like, 'Oh no, I got one of these in front of me again.' But then they find out what we are saving and they're always impressed." One of the people especially impressed by Mrs. Samtur's recent Los Angeles shopping tour was the Safeway checker who processed the dozens of coupons she was redeeming. "This is great. I don't mind ringing all this up. She is a smart woman and can come through my line any time," said Erma Lindsey. "Now all they have to do is win at bingo." After loading their four boxes of food and grocery items into their car, the Samturs checked to see if, indeed, they had won at bingo. It apparently was not their lucky day because their bingo cards came up blank.
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