Sharing Opinions With Manufacturers - Free Coupons and Product

This article was originally published in the Standard Journal on February 24, 2015.

Here is an unconventional tip that many of you probably haven’t thought of before.  I definitely wouldn't have come up with it on my own. 

While browsing Pinterest one day I found an idea from a website called couponingtodisney.com.  It is a blog dedicated to helping you find ways to pay for family trips and vacations that may seem impossible.   

I learned on this site that one way to get coupons for products you use and love is to write to the company directly.  Companies value feedback on their products and so if you write and share your opinions (good or bad) about one of their products then they may reward you with a coupon, or even free product. 

Your letter to the company might include specific reasons why you love the product, when and how you discovered it, what your kids think of it, any problems you have had while using it, or suggestions for improvement.  The author of this website swears that 9 times out of 10 she receives a coupon in the mail after writing to a company.  She also discourages directly asking for coupons. 

These days, contacting companies is very simple.  Just google the company to find a customer service email address, or even search it on Facebook or Twitter.  At the aforementioned website you can download a free PDF or Excel spreadsheet that has hundreds of companies listed and their contact links. 

After reading about this money-saving tip I decided to try it.  I looked in my pantry for ideas of which companies to write.  I figured if I had the product on hand then that meant I could come up with something good to say to the manufacturer.  I decided on Barilla and Doritos. 

I wrote to both companies and then waited.  The reply to my Barilla letter was a “thank you,” which was kind of boring, but oh well.  Then I got a reply from Doritos and they not only asked some follow up questions to my comments, but also asked for my address so they could send me some coupons.  A few days later I received four coupons for free Doritos!  That was an exciting treat!

So far, those are the only two companies I have written, but with a 50 percent success rate I would definitely be willing to try it again.