Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Diaper buyers BEWARE!

So maybe the big ad in the coupon section of the paper this weekend caught your eye. You know, the one for BabiesRUs where if you buy 2 value boxes of Pampers diapers, you get a $20 gift card. (Good Saturday, March 20th ONLY). Sounds like a good deal right? Well, some simple research and math can tell you whether this is truly a great deal or not.

Value boxes of Pampers are $40.99 - so if you buy 2 you are starting at $81.98

Well, they are giving you a $20 gift card, so to make yourself feel better, I'll subtract that from our total. You are now looking at $61.98.

Ok, and if you get the newspaper or know someone that does, hopefully you can scrounge up 2 $2 off Pampers cruisers coupons - that brings us to $57.98

Well, you can also go over here and print off 2 coupons for $5 off any Pampers value box (I'm not sure if they will take 2 of these or any of these at all because of the gift card promo, but let's just say best case scenario they will): that brings us to $47.98 for 2 value boxes!


Now, let's break that down:
Cruisers size 3 (160 per box) = $0.15 per diaper
Cruisers size 4 (140 per box) = $0.17 per diaper
Cruisers size 5 (124 per box) = $0.19 per diaper

(Now, if they don't take the 2 $5 coupons - your cost will look like this instead:
size 3 = $0.18 per diaper
size 4 = $0.21 per diaper
size 5 = $0.23 per diaper


*Ok, so now the truth comes out - first time I did the math I messed up so this looked like a horrible deal, but now it isn't looking so bad. Here's my general rule of diapers: (from the who cares dept.):
- I will not spend more than $0.20 per diaper (unless we are stranded somewhere diaperless or some other desperate situation)
- I generally get diapers for around $0.15 per diaper (this is buying the smallest packs - or Jumbo as they call them) - your $2 coupon goes a lot further on a $8.99 pkg of diapers than a $20 pkg!
- Sometimes I can find deals where I get diapers for less than $0.10 per diaper - this is when I stock up like a mad woman!!

Another thing: Next week CVS is going to have a deal on Pampers diapers where if you buy a jumbo pack for $8.97 you will get $3 in Extra Care Bucks (to use towards a future CVS purchase - maybe more diapers?) - and if you add in your $2 coupon from the paper - it is like you are getting them for $3.97 - that equals out to around $0.13 per diaper (more/less depending on size)

So here's my take on the BabiesRUs diaper deal:
If you are going to be out and about - might as well stop by. I have a feeling that it is going to be mad chaos like black Friday shopping - so if you are like me, you may not think it's worth fighting for. The prices seem to be pretty good for Pampers, so if you are a "brand snob" (heard the term somewhere else and thought it was funny) - but if you are a Pampers only fan - it might be a good deal for you. I get whatever is cheap, so the crowds aren't really worth it for me - plus, I like to space out my spending on diapers to a $4-5 trip every few weeks rather than drop $50 at one store - that's just me and my budgeting though. Also, if you are needing to desperately stock up - might be worth it since you have to be willing to shop around for diaper deals. Anyways, just putting it all out there for you to make your decision!

2 comments:

  1. I found your blog through your video on youtube for hip2saves contest.
    Very cute blog! I am now a follower :)

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  2. Aww, thanks so much! I'm still really new to blogging, so I have a ways to go, but I'll get there eventually =)

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