Just a reminder that today is the last day to send those gifts by Regular Parcel for Christmas delivery within Canada.

You can still send by Xpresspost and Priority mail for guaranteed deliver, but if you want a more economical postage costs, get to the post office today!

Click here for all mailing dates (pdf)

My local Zellers closes in just over a week, so we thought we would go by and see what deals they had left.

In the clothes section, people were arguing over a Jockey hoodie, one holding it by the hood, the other by an arm both saying they had seen it first – there were 6 more on the rack and it was not even the most amazing deal! In the electronics section, someone actually hit someone else with a Wii game.

But the mess amazed me, the picture above was taken beside a price checker, people were just looking at the price then throwing the item on the floor if too expensive.  None of the items we bought came up at the price it should have, one item that should have been $32.99 – 60% came up at $4.19 once the discount was taken and I price checked it at $32.99 so price checking was redundant anyway.  There were areas where everything had been knocked off the shelves and as quickly as staff were putting it back, people were throwing it back on the floor.

What is it about a liquidation sale that makes us lose all sense of how we should behave? 

There is no way we would go into a store on a regular day and just throw things we don’t want on the floor.  Return them to the wrong area maybe, but not just chuck it on the floor right in front of a staff member who has to clean it up.  I know it is partly that the staff don’t care as much with just a few days left and are likely not cleaning up as quickly but that alone cannot account for the disaster in these stores.

Well, you’ve got to hand it to them: Canadian retailers are not going down without a fight.  This year there are a record number of Black Friday sales and for the first time ever there are an increasing number of Black Friday Week sales.  Canadian retailers are rising up against their United States competition and sending a clear message: “Canadians will stay home this year on Black Friday”. 

However, we would not be very smart here at Smart Canucks if we didn’t alert you to the fact that not all of the Canadian Black Friday deals are all that great.  Please be aware that although the retailers will come at you with flashy signs and midnight madness, there are still better deals found south of the border.  I am certainly not encouraging people to ignore the sales found right here at home.  In fact, I highly suggest people search for deals in Canada first and then compare them to those found in the US.  If the better deal is in your own backyard, by all means shop to your hearts content and support the Canadian economy.  However, if the Black Friday deals in the USA can’t be beat, then go and save yourself a loonie.  Bottom line: be a smart and savvy shopper.  Do your research and stretch your dollar.  Oh, and remember to have fun!

Do you plan on shopping in Canada this Black Friday?  Or will you go where the better deal is (even if it means crossing the 49th parallel?)

This post is on Route 251 in Johnville, Quebec. It is a temporary placement while work is being performed to correct dangerous conditions on that section of highway.

It’s a good way to get rid of drunk drivers 😛

[Source: La Presse via Reddit]

Shoplifting is nothing new.  It has been around since humans started offering goods for some kind of compensation.  Although the “young kid pocketing a CD” is the stereotype of your typical shoplifter, this is far from the truth.  Shoplifters come in all shapes and sizes.  Sometimes they are even the people behind the counter.

Yes, it appears the latest trend in shoplifting is employees stealing from their own workplace.  In fact, it is such a problem that many retailers are scaling back their efforts to catch consumer shoplifters and instead have turned the security cameras towards their own staff.  According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Retail Council of Canada, employee theft grew to 33% of theft-related incidents from 19% in 2008 and consumer theft dropped to 43% of reported incidents from 65% in 2008.  Apparently the must-have items are alcohol, fragrances, women’s apparel and cosmetics.  Unfortunately, the reasons behind this increase are largely unfounded.  Perhaps employees have a dwindling loyalty to their workplace?  Or maybe times are tougher than in previous years?  Whatever the reason, there has been a change in the stereotype of your “typical shoplifter”.

Bottom line is: shoplifting hurts all of us.  The retailers take a hit and in turn raise their prices to compensate for the loss.  At the end of the day, it is the hard-working Joe Average who pays the price for another person’s crime.  It is almost maddening to think the prices and deals we eagerly seek each week could be even lower if people did not steal.

Do you report shoplifting?  Do you have any shoplifting stories you would like to share?  Let us know! 

Click here for more information on employee shoplifting.

[Source: Reddit.com]

My daughter’s school announced in their paper newsletter that they will no longer be offering, well, paper newsletters.  In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, the school has decided the newsletter will only be offered on their website.  My first reaction was “Whaaaat?” and then I quickly decided it was a good idea.  Why not?  It will save a few thousand trees and let’s face it, half the time I end up losing that newsletter and looking at it online, anyway.

This seems to be the trend with all “paper conveniences”.  Bills, flyers, bank statements and now, coupons.  In the last 5 years there has been a huge shift towards coupons you can show on your smart phone.  In fact, most Canadian retailers are expecting the number of mobile coupons to double in 2013.  Which means many new businesses will be offering this feature to “keep up with the times”.

Although I agree it is far more environmentally friendly to use mobile coupons and it will likely take less time to print or cut them out, sort through them, put them in my coupon binder etc., I will still miss them…a lot.  There is something about finding the coupons in a flyer or having them show up in the mail that taps into my primordial need to care for my family.  It’s almost a modern day “hunting and gathering” and somehow that seems to be lost when everything shows up on a phone.

Do you think paper coupons are a thing of the past?  Let us know!

SuperPoints have indefinitely suspended their program.  If you redeemed your points already, they are working on sending them out but if you were saving your points there is no way to redeem.  Please read the notice on their website for more information.

Will my pending redemption still be paid out?
Yes, we will do our best to fulfill all redemptions submitted to Superpoints.com prior to 3:00 pm CST on November 7, 2012.

Why are you making such drastic changes?
There are several changes happening in the management of the Superpoints website and the economic conditions around supporting a rewards site. Those changes have prompted the suspension of the Superpoints.com website.

Is the site going down permanently?
The current team will no longer be the managing operator of the Superpoints.com domain and therefore we don’t have information as to whether or not Superpoints.com will resume service at a future date.

One of our forum users, sydnurbin, contacted Target Canada to ask about their coupon policy and received a policy rather than the standard we are looking into the Canadian market response:

Dear Customer,

Thanks for asking us about using coupons at Target. Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping with us, and it’s easy to use them at our stores. Because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target.

To see the Target coupon policy, please visit www.target.com/coupons. Here’s some answers to commonly asked questions:

• We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued and manufacturer-issues.
• We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
• There’s a limit of 4 identical coupons per household, per day (unless otherwise noted on coupon).
• We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in this case, we’re able to adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
• Returns of items purchased using Manufacturer Coupons may receive coupon value returned in the form of a Target GiftCard.
• We can’t accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
• All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you’re checking out.
• We don’t accept expired coupons.

For questions about using a specific coupon, we encourage you to stop by the Guest Service Desk and ask to speak with the Guest Service Team Leader. They’ll do their best to help while you’re in the store. If you still have questions after speaking with them, please call our Guest Relations team at (800) 440-0680. Either way, we’re here to help!

We appreciate the opportunity to share this information with you.

So four of each item and no overage, I may still be shopping at Walmart for some things

A topic raised in our last Canadian Quick Question (regarding deal limits) was hoarding.  A few of our SC readers commented that people who clear the shelves are “hoarders”.  There is a fine line between stockpiling and hoarding and it appears that line is different for everyone.  Some feel people are hoarders when they take more than they need.  Others feel hoarding is when the stuff in your home begins to interfere in your daily living.  And finally, some feel hoarding is when your living space is both cluttered and unsanitary. 

When do you feel someone has become a hoarder?  Is someone a hoarder when they purchase more than they need or does their home need to be packed to the ceiling with junk?  Let us know!

Cadillac Fairview are going to open seven of their malls at 7am (6am at Toronto Eaton Centre) for Black Friday in an attempt to keep shoppers in Canada rather than across the border.

The Ontario malls opening at 7am are Fairview Mall, Sherway Gardens and Shops at Don Mills in Toronto. Also, Fairview Park in Kitchener, Limeridge in Hamilton, Markville in Markham, Masonville in London, and Promenade in Thornhill.

Visit our Black Friday forum to watch for sales.

My previous Canadian Quick Question addressed the rights retailers have to cancel exceptionally good deals before their expiration date.  In that article I mentioned that “There are a slew of reasons why a retailer cancels promotions before they are over.  They run out of stock, the deal was an error (printed incorrectly in a flyer or on a coupon) or consumers abuse the deal by purchasing an excess of a product and ultimately clear store shelves.”  This statement caught the attention of many of our readers who wondered if deals could be “abused” at all.  A number of you felt that a good deal should be taken advantage of and others felt that some people needed to focus on their needs rather than their wants.

What do you think is an acceptable deal limit?  Do you think people should be able to purchase as much as they want?  Do you think that people should only purchase what they need?  Do you think people can purchase more if they plan on donating it to charity?  Let us know!

Amongst the ho-hum of everyday average deals, there is always a few that stand out in the crowd.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  The promotions that blow up Twitter feeds, Facebook “Likes” and deals blogs.  The deals that make you read the fine print twice just make sure you’re not seeing things. 

A few legendary promotions come to mind: 1) Zellers 50% off any item in the store (including clearance) 2) Shoppers Drug Mart Cadbury chocolate bars 3) London Drugs stacking coupons  4) Save On Foods stacking coupons  5) Pharmasave Double Coupon Days  6) P&G $9 coupons….the list goes on.  All fantastic deals and all deals that were eventually “modified”.  Or just plain cancelled before their expiration date. 

There are a slew of reasons why a retailer cancels promotions before they are “over”.  They run out of stock, the deal was an error (printed incorrectly in a flyer or on a coupon) or consumers abuse the deal by purchasing an excess of a product and ultimately clear store shelves. 

A panicked retailer would shut down a promotion if any of the above reasons were occurring in their store.  However, a consumer may argue that they were promised a fantastic deal and the store is obligated to honor their original offer.

What do you think?  Should retailers be allowed to cancel promotions/deals?  Or should they be forced to honour their original offer?  Let us know!

Save On Foods have decided to no longer allow stacking according to an email from their Head Office.   They will still allow the stacking of one Overwaitea coupon with one manufacture coupon.  View the discussion about this change on our forums here.