A refund (sometimes referred to as a rebate or premium offer) can be cash, a coupon for money savings, a gift, or a promotional item given by a manufacturer of a product that you have purchased. Simply put, it is a way for them to thank you for your business and encourage you to remain a customer.
There are many different types of refunds ranging in value depending on your purchase. By participating in refund programs you are offered the opportunity to maximize your savings.
How Does Refunding Save You Money?
The basic principle behind refunding is simple. Let's say you bought a package of frozen waffles, and inside the box you found a refund form stating you could receive two free boxes of waffles by completing the form and mailing it within a specific time. You then spend a small amount of money on the postage and mail the form, making sure you have completed the required information. In six to eight weeks (times vary per company), you receive the coupons for your free waffles as well as other "cents off" coupons for additional products manufactured by the company. Guess what happened! You just saved money!
To what level of refunding you decide to get involved in is totally up to you. Most people start slowly, building their refunding inventory gradually.
How to Find Refund/Premium Offers
Check your local newspaper.
Check throughout the store, down the aisles, in the grocery advertisements and on the bulletin boards.
Look on packages of products.
Look through family-type magazines.
Look for hang-tags around the necks of beverages.
Browse the Internet and sign-up for newsletters from favorite stores or on the manufacturer's homepages of your favorite products.
Once you begin looking, you will have no problem spotting the many thousands of product refunds, premium offers and rebates that are available.
How Refunding Lists and Clubs Work
Refunding saves shoppers money on everything from food, pet supplies, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, auto supplies and more. There are different levels of refunding which people can get involved in. Some enjoy a casual, less-demanding method of occasionally sending in a refund or rebate form for a free product or coupon for their favorite products. Others make it more of a full-time hobby and collect, organize and trade refund forms and proof-of-purchase qualifiers with groups of people.
Understanding how the refunding trading lists work can seem overwhelming at first to the refunding beginner. But by taking the process step-by-step, many find that the hardest part of refunding is breaking away from it to do other things. It can be fun, lucrative and addicting!
The following information is a snapshot to the basics of how refunding clubs and lists work. Every list is a little different, but the overall theory is the same.
Refunders Trading Clubs and Lists
Once you begin collecting refund forms you will soon discover they are everywhere in the stores. Finding the ones you need may prove to be more challenging. That is why refunding clubs, associations and lists are popular to refunders. The groups are formed by refunders who like to trade required packaging and proof-of-purchase items in order to qualify for a refund, premium offer or rebate.
For example, a person who does not have children, but who eats cereal, may collect the UPC codes off their cereal box which could qualify them for a free child's cereal bowl. What they would really prefer is a pitcher being offered by their favorite ice tea brand, but they haven't collected enough UPC codes to qualify for it.
If that person belongs to refunding list, they can post that they have x-amount of UPC codes for the child's cereal bowl and they will trade them for x-amount of ice tea UPC codes. The goal is to connect with someone who can fulfill the ice tea request and who wants the child's cereal bowl. If all works well, both people will get what they want.
Collecting Refunds, Rebates and Premium Offers Forms
When shopping, collect any rebate form that you think you might be using within the time allotted. Always collect forms without expirations dates. You never know who on a trading board may be looking for that exact form. Ask at the courtesy desk for a list of the rebate offers. Many stores such as Sam's Warehouse list several rebate offers each week. And finally, check Internet resources for up-to-date rebate listings. Often the online resources have more comprehensive lists that you can use at various retail and online stores.
Find Refunding Lists and Clubs
It is a good idea to check the bulletin boards at grocery stores. Also, ask people if they know of a refunding list. The more people you ask, the more lists you'll have to choose from. If there isn't a local group, consider starting your own. A group can start of small, but with word-of-mouth it can grow quickly.
Many refunding lists have several hundred posts and space is limited. To help cut down on the time it takes to type all the required information, a universal refunding language has been adopted with acronyms for the most common phrases. I always suggest people print the lists and keep them handy when typing on refunding forums. In time it will become like a second language.
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