Katy McKenna Raymond  
Personal blog of christian writer Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri


Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary

Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net

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Fine Print

So I’ve been getting some nice holiday sales circulars in the mail. Many of them have me pegged in the wrong demographic entirely, but I still like looking. Just so you know, among my fave catalogs, even if I don’t buy a blasted thing, are Travelsmith, Levenger’s, Coldwater Creek, and Victorian Papers. Those four companies alone give me so much pleasure in the browsing department, that I owe them big-time.

I’ve purchased from each of them, too. Probably not enough for them to justify the continued hope they display by sending me catalogs, but who knows?  ;)

I love getting ads from J.C. Penney’s Outlet store, which I frequent with a modicum of regularity. I rarely, however, go into the “real” Penney’s, since it went upscale sometime after my teenage years and started being pronounced with a French accent and all.

I don’t know how else to say this except to just say it: I’m cheap.

But I got this ad from Real Penney’s that looked pretty darned interesting, including in it several items I imagined giving as Christmas gifts. Then, yesterday, I received a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase, which I thought would complement my buying plan nicely.

Then I read the small print, and because I love you and wish to spare your eyesight should you receive a coupon from J.C. Penney, I am copying it here. Tell me what you think of this establishment’s gift to us weary consumers:

”$10 coupon is valid for one-time use on a purchase of $50 or more, excluding taxes and shipping charges, in our stores, jcp.com, or catalog from Sunday-Tuesday, November 11-20, 2007. Coupon must be surrendered at time of purchase. One coupon per customer. Discount does not apply to purchases of: Value Right, “2 or more” prices, Cosmetics and Fragrances, Cookware, Cutlery and Gadgets, Jewelry Bonus Buys, Floor Care, Furniture and Mattresses, Personal Care & Fitness products, Small Appliances, Clarks (I’m thinking this must mean “Clocks,” but who knows?), Columbia Sportswear Co., Easy Spirit, Hunter Douglas, Levi’s, Webkinz, Afterschool Promotional items, Outlet Stores, Services, Salon Services and Service Contracts, Gift Cards/e-Gift Cards, or prior purchases, and the following additional jcp.com/catalog merchandise purchases: JC Penney Custom Fit Clothing, Jodee Catalogs, Combo Prices, Housewares, Infant (Bedding/Furniture/Wheeled Goods/Accessories), Video Games, Grand Patrician, Oreck and Teleflora. Discounts cannot be combined with any other discount coupon/certificate or be applied to orders currently being processed. Unauthorized duplications, reproductions or facsimiles of this coupon cannot be accepted. Discount is applied to all qualifying items purchased on a prorated basis; any applicable refunds will be given in the prorated amount. No cash value.”

If that doesn’t crush your urge to shop, I don’t know what would. If anyone would like to use this coupon, I will spend 41 cents to send it to you, and then honor you here in the space for your bravery. First person to comment requesting this valuable piece of holiday cheer wins! Personally, I could have saved $10 worth of my time by NOT READING the freaking fine print.

But, hey, that’s just me.

Posted by Katy on 11/09/07 at 12:37 PM
Fallible Comments...
  1. Well, I didn't read the fine print, Katy. I just tried to place an order and use the (freakin') coupon. I put 4 items in my shopping cart (PJs if you're interested) and the coupon didn't apply to ANY of them. Not to mention the shipping was going to be $15!! I promptly removed said items from my cart and the new Penneys Cook's catalog that arrived today offering free shipping (yeah, right) went straight to the trash can! Grrrr!
    Posted by Deb Raney  on  11/09/07  at  01:58 PM
  2. UNbelievable, Deb!!! Thank you for sharing your experience. I don't see any "warning" that this coupon can't be spent on pajamas, do you??? And $15 shipping is enough to buy another gift!! I'm sticking with Kohl's if I want to shop at a department store. The discounts and coupons and sales can be stacked however I want, and I don't remember any "exclusions." And I think they OFTEN have free shipping offers on their website.
    Posted by Katy  on  11/09/07  at  02:11 PM
  3. I think Clark's is one of their clothing or product lines, like Easy Spirit... that's a lot more exclusions than most coupons ever have!

    I used to get coupons from Express (I'm not sure how or why, but I wish I still did!) that gave me a free $15 period, just go on in the store (and if you actually do spend money, the discount increased based on the amount). It applied to taxes and everything. So I would go in and get a tank and some socks or something every time I got one, and never spend more than $2 at that store that I can remember, but they still kept sending me those coupons!!
    Posted by PattyT  on  11/10/07  at  04:25 AM
  4. The shopping season is soooo long this year, what 32 days between Thanksgiving (as if stores even act like Thanksgiving exists anymore) and Christmas...Free shipping is going to be the norm on the net this season...consumers are going to demand it and suppliers are going to have to comply.

    Since we don't do our Christmas shopping until like...um...Christmas eve, we'll wait 'em out :)

    mm
    Posted by Michael Main  on  11/13/07  at  05:09 PM
  5. always love reading your post.
    Posted by fitness  on  06/11/08  at  01:54 PM
  6. Thanks loads for the coupons, I'm off to try them. Thanks again.
    Posted by Sean  on  07/22/08  at  07:44 AM
  7. JC Penny sends em out like email spammers send emails lol
    Posted by petition  on  07/28/08  at  05:59 PM
  8. Thank you for sharing, very nice information and coupons katy, love your site too.
    Posted by Teri  on  07/30/08  at  05:30 AM
  9. That is very interesting and funny :) You definitely made my day with this awesome post. I am always searching for informative stuff like this! I will check here often for more cool stuff.
    Posted by Promotional Products  on  09/15/08  at  08:36 AM
  10. all of those things were really really great. :) - <a href="http://pinoy-entrepreneur.ws/PromotionalItemsCorporateGiftsSrednarb/"><b>Promotional Items Corporate Gifts Srednarb</b></a>
    Posted by jayr  on  12/19/08  at  02:14 AM
  11. Always nice to get catalogs..even junkmail can be exciting :)
    Posted by mmo  on  01/03/09  at  02:21 AM
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