What's happening with the Red Plum?

Pin It You might have heard by now that the Red Plum coupon inserts will no longer be included in the Sunday newspapers for the Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune. They say coupons will now be delivered in the mail on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead. They've been doing this in cities all over the U.S. in an effort to expand their readership and help their ailing company survive.

There have been extensive efforts taken to sign petitions and email/ call Valassis, the company that owns Red Plum and let them know how we feel about our coupons being taken out of the paper. Read more about that here. It looks like it might be in vain though as I just received this email:

New, Starting the Week of July 26th

If you’re in the habit of looking in the newspaper for your RedPlum Coupon Book and it’s not there next weekend, don’t fret. It may be coming in the mail on Tuesday or Wednesday instead. We’re actually trying to get coupons and offers in more hands than ever, and in some areas, that means delivery by mail instead of the newspaper.

The reason why I haven't posted about this until now is because I was simply unsure as to how I felt about it. The company is struggling- it seems like a logical step to make any effort to expand readership. In this economy, I applaud Valassis for making taking steps to stay alive!

Yes, I do receive multiple papers, and yes I am sad that I won't have access to the Red Plum inserts every Sunday morning. However, I am also a huge fan of not spending money to save money. The thought of getting coupons delivered to my mailbox each week for free is pretty appealing to me.

So go and make friends with your non-couponing neighbors and see if you can snag some extra copies of the new "junk mail" that will begin coming each week. Talk to your mail delivery person and see if he or she has any copies. Get creative!

You can go here to see if your Red Plum will be coming via Sunday newspaper or by mail each week. Some of us here in Utah will get this message when you enter in your address:

Unfortunately, the RedPlum Coupon Book is not currently available in your area.

If you get this message, there is hope! Email your name and address to:

imwadrequest@supervalu.com

You'll be placed on a VIP list and will get your coupons until your area is included in the weekly circular.

I did try calling Valassis to see how areas were added and the customer service rep had obviously been fielding calls from angry consumers all week. Needless to say, I didn't get far, but will continue to follow up on that.

As I said before, let's get creative in obtaining multiple copies of the coupons each week. Let me know if you have any ideas and I'll post them!