How To Negotiate Newspaper Home Delivery Prices
When it comes to coupon shopping some times you have to spend money to save money. Things like ink, paper and smart phone plans are all tools you can use to significantly reduce your grocery bills through coupon savings. Another invaluable tool is the newspaper.
As a couponer the newspaper is a pivotal tool in my arsenal of savings. And since (atleast in my town) you receive better coupons when you get a subscription to the paper than you do when you buy it a drug store or gas station getting the paper delivered is necessary.
While in some large cities people may have more than one paper to chose from most of you are only going to have one option for the paper. It is important to get the best deal possible and that is going to be done through negotiations.
Here are my steps for grabbing a rock bottom price on newspaper home delivery:
Step 1. Figure out what it would cost to buy the paper every week if you purchased it at the store. In my area you can grab the local paper at the Dollar Tree. So I can get 6 months of the paper with little trouble from the store for $26. If I want to get two papers each week it would be $52 and so on. That sets my base price for negotiating.
Step 2. Check sites like Groupon and Living Social and see if they have a special. We will usually see them in my area a few times a year for new subscribers. Even if you are a current subscriber you can often call and use these deals as a negotiating tool.
From here you have two options- you can either call or track down a representative in a store:
Step 3 (Phone) : Call the paper and get their starting price. Let’s say it’s $60 for 6 months. Then ask if there are any sales or discounts (Senior, Military, Organizational). Most of the time they say no or give very minimal ones.
Step 3 (Store): I actually prefer to do this in store because bargaining power is better in person. Plus they have sales quotas and if it’s late in the day they might be getting desperate. So ask for their starting price. Then ask if there are any sales or discounts (Senior, Military, Organizational). Most of the time they say no or give very minimal ones.
Step 4: Then ask if there are any gift card deals- often they will give free months or gift cards to local grocery stores or restaurants. My goal is to get down to that $26.
Step 5: If the price has not gotten any lower let them know that you can buy it at the store for $26 so you will not be paying any more than that.
Step 6: If they still will not lower the price tell them to call you when the paper hits $26 and give them your phone number. Everytime I have done that they have called within 48 hours with a lower price.
My rule of thumb with the newspaper is that you should receive one paper per person in the house who is eating. So for a family of 4 you need 4 papers. All the major papers will deliver multiple copies to your house at a discounted rate. So once you get your base rate ask what the cost is per additional paper delivered.
Newspapers realize that couponers are an important part of keeping them in business- they need us!
So make sure to get the best deal possible- this is an additional way of saving some money!
[email protected] says
i have tried this w/ my paper, the news and observer, not a great paper anyway. owned by mcclatchy. every expensive, more than the washington post, which is a much better paper. the cust service is terrible. i tried the discount route but they refused to accept it, said it was not a valid offer, they will not negotiate, and now they started charging the daily cust. an additional fee of 32/yr on top of the 175.00 for online access and any freebies. i heard from one of the independent vendors it was going to go up to 425 or so per yr. no more daily paper for me, i will watch the news or read the washington post online,
Kat says
I got an awesome deal from the LA Times last year (Sunday only for $0.50, which is list $1.50) and I was not looking forward to renewal and having to re-negotiate, but since I set up my online account and did auto renew, I locked in my rate, as long as I keep auto-renew! We only get one copy, as we’re cutting out processed foods, so it’s more for the household products, and some cheese/yogurt coupons, and there’s only 2 of us!
Tonya says
Ask for credit card payment discounts. My paper gave me a locked in forever rate for doing this I now pay way less than my other family members.
Amy G says
Are you just getting the Sunday paper?