RS Silver Foxes ... let us know

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"RS Silver Foxes ... let us know"

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"RS Silver Foxes ... let us know"
Posted by BUCKINCRAZEE on Apr-01-21 at 03:40 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-01-21 at 03:40 PM (Eastern) by 72.89.46.91
Lots of RS traders have been here on this forum for 10 plus years and many of them are now well into their Golden Years.
I remember so many seasoned traders reminiscing about how things were in days past, and the stories they had were really
interesting, informative, and fun. I started my rebate journey when I was 18, but I didn't join any activity online until about 1996.
I went straight to MC (.M.Y.Coupons.com) and I enjoyed many years couponing there. My first trade ever was by snail mail
because I didn't have an email account setup yet. I remember my first time getting "multiples" and I remember my first time
getting CD's (Complete Deals). Lots of fun. Later on, I started searching for other websites and eventually
joined RS, HCW, CF, etc.
If any members here have any stories they care to share it would be much appreciated. This is why I started this thread.
Many newer traders would be surprised to learn of what trading was all about years ago. Tell us about trade shows, RMC
magazines, S & H greenstamps, postage rates, trade slips, Bad Trader lists, etc etc etc. There's so much to learn and
so much to tell. And please, don't forget to tell us how you all traded before computers and the internet became
part of our everyday lives. Those stories are some of the most interesting yet. TIA.

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Table of Contents

Conventions, Joaniebott, 09:30 AM, Apr-03-21

aaaahhh the good old days, patsyann, 05:24 PM, Apr-03-21
we got paid actual cash in the mail., ppe1952, 08:50 PM, Apr-03-21

Remember, kawanti, 10:13 AM, Apr-03-21
oldies, ppe1952, 12:38 PM, Apr-03-21
I remember...,,,,, suzhappy, 06:38 PM, Apr-03-21
hi, mcox, 06:57 PM, Apr-03-21

I started in March of 1981...and not many after w..., JOYHAPPYONE, 07:56 PM, Apr-03-21

back in the 60s, deleKeno, 05:36 PM, Apr-04-21
I miss the Hershey t-shirts, ladywcats, 10:21 AM, Apr-05-21

Almost ANYTHING free and fun in the mail.....M&..., Chicagoclipper, 01:08 AM, Apr-10-21

Messages in this discussion

1 . "Conventions"
Posted by Joaniebott on Apr-03-21 at 09:30 AM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 09:30 AM (Eastern) by 98.211.185.103
I started coupons as a child, started refunding in 1981 when I was stuck home after surgery. Used to run ads in Refunding Makes Cents, had subscriptions to Moneytalk and Refund Express. I used to take care of the boards in 2 stores....order the rebate forms, remove the mess and expired forms. My friend Phyllis and I went form hunting every Monday
I really enjoyed going to conventions. We went to one in what was basically West NJ and East PA. I would meet all the people who's names I new from the magazines. Everybody brought what they had. I never had qualifiers but I always had forms. You would sit one-to-one with another person and trade. You could buy qualifiers for your forms too. Rebates DID NOT require a cash register tape so you just took the Tylenol box and mailed it in!! There would be drawings of big poster boards taped up with forms and/or qualifiers. And we had local meetings each month, anywhere from 4-10 people trading stuff.
The cash register tape requirement came into use because of the massive amount of "cheating" but that did not stop all. My girlfriend used 13 addresses and owned 3 cash registers.
And I remember all the cigarette offers - you could never take a walk without staring at the ground looking for cigarette packs. Marlboro had "miles" that you could collect - people actually got furniture and pool tables with the miles!!!
The magazines would be a hard copy that came to your door. You kept a list of what refund forms looked good. The ad would say something like "10 forms for your Tylenol box" so you'd mail them the Tylenol box and your list and hope they sent you back something you actually could use. Took maybe 10 days back and forth
Joanie

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4 . "aaaahhh the good old days"
Posted by patsyann on Apr-03-21 at 05:24 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 05:24 PM (Eastern) by 99.102.47.186
great fun!!!

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8 . "we got paid actual cash in the mail."
Posted by ppe1952 on Apr-03-21 at 08:50 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 08:50 PM (Eastern) by 67.247.236.2
widmer wine sent $2 bills actual cash ot we got those little red or green bearer checks no name just said bearer. i handed out complete deals to the guys i was working with to get free all-in-one tools from castrol. i still have a coucple. they were absolutely great. conventions gave me a reason to travel. NY, PA Ok, NV WV. notebooks filled with ziplock bags full of upc's, notebooks full of baseball card pages filled with forms.east coast trading was very different than west coast trading. packed boxes of hand made items to trade for deals. traded lots of quilts, afghans, potholders. some of my friends worked in convenience stores and got the bonus merchandise from cigarette packages. and traded that stuff. it made a good christmas even beter. post cereals had a great offer to get toys r us gift certificates. send in box tops and they sent you n gift certificates- they also paid on box bottoms and side panels. free jackets from atari, free gift certs from harry and david's. got my self a nice spiral ham and a cheesecake plus some real fancy dishes. still have some of those.
DO NOT meddle in the affairs of dragons for YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND GOOD WITH KETCHUP!

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2 . "Remember"
Posted by kawanti on Apr-03-21 at 10:13 AM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 10:13 AM (Eastern) by 50.104.22.205
Dishes and misc. With green stamps
Misc.. coupons u could get for free at the library
And piggy wiggly and iga grocery stores

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3 . "oldies"
Posted by ppe1952 on Apr-03-21 at 12:38 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 12:38 PM (Eastern) by 67.247.236.2
i started refunding in about 1980- ofr me it came as an outgrowth of green stamps. you could combine your green stamps with certain coupons that came on cigarette packs so that started it. cigarette merchandise was great. lots of it and real high quality. marlboro, newpoer, virginia slims, winston/salem. Great stuff. ooil companies gave great stuff also. tools, t shirts, hats. we would go conventions and trade all that stuff. i have always been able to have real good forms.- still do for that matter- but people loved to trade. go to a convention and find 100-150 of you new best friend. i miss that. the person to person trading and the kind of information you can't talk about ( or shouldn't) on the internet. i had bickets of qualifiers and people used to save m their garbage. now it is all code and tape with very little food or HBA. oh well . i had great fund. i have been over a good mart of this nation doing this hobby and have wonderful people.
DO NOT meddle in the affairs of dragons for YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND GOOD WITH KETCHUP!

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5 . "I remember...,,,,"
Posted by suzhappy on Apr-03-21 at 06:38 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 06:38 PM (Eastern) by 174.203.104.244
Being a young military wife 40 years ago and we moved from duty station to duty station, country to country every 3 years and the military packers would come in and they would give me the strangest looks when they got to my boxes and boxes of UPCs and complete wrappers and refund forms and what looked like garbage to them I�m sure but was worth gold to me!! LOL Those were the days! My kids were always the most popular kids on base because nobody else had an actual Crestmobile and so many cool cardboard club houses on the back porch!! I don�t refund much anymore but I send for samples and freebies now and have boxes and boxes of those. Fun but not as fun as getting those refund checks in the mail used to be!
Please leave me feedback if we have
had a favorable trade and I will do
the same for you!
http://www.refundsweepers.com/dcforum/fee
dback/28.html

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6 . "hi"
Posted by mcox on Apr-03-21 at 06:57 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 06:57 PM (Eastern) by 69.123.232.88
i loved the conventions planned my vacations around them. went to the ones in NY,CT,NJ,Vegas , and reno back in the day. what nice folks i meant. first one i showed up with a small photo book with a few forms and a lady went pass me with a file cabinet on wheels. i said oh no almost turned around and went home. but i stayed and was taught a lot. what fun. miss it. melody

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7 . "I started in March of 1981...and not many after went online with my Commodore computer...no images but"
Posted by JOYHAPPYONE on Apr-03-21 at 07:56 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-03-21 at 07:56 PM (Eastern) by 45.19.209.10
all text...the refund site I had found was Refunders Refuge..was something totally new after doing all my trading through the mags..had about 10 regular traders and we actually wrote a letter to each other with each trade...kind of raised our kids together. my first offer that i received , was coupons for Mazzola, a dollar on the oil...and 2 50 cent coupons on the margeine and something else, It was amazing because a one dollar coupon on anything back then was a windfall
PILATES ?
HELL NO, I thought you said
PIE and LATTES !!!!

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9 . "back in the 60s"
Posted by deleKeno on Apr-04-21 at 05:36 PM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-04-21 at 05:36 PM (Eastern) by 70.92.226.53
I had a list of the refunds sent for on my refrigerator---yes 60s...I still have the list. In the 80s I was part of a group of 5 who put on a convention monthly that attracted around 100. We had yearly "birthday cakes" with refund related motifs. I have a picture of a Kellogg cake. I am still using Lipton beach towels (among others),a Brakebush cutting board, Nabisco cookie jar, Miracle Whip plastic cutting mat, and loads of other items. Of the five I am the only one still trading and doing refunds.

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10 . "I miss the Hershey t-shirts"
Posted by ladywcats on Apr-05-21 at 10:21 AM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-05-21 at 10:21 AM (Eastern) by 69.61.174.93

I used to save the Hershey upc to send in for free Hershey stuff, there were others send in the upc and get something free. Now there is very little food deals out. The cigarettes company sent out so many nice things. I still have the m&m christmas light from M & M candy wrappers. Some of the stuff that the companies sent out was good stuff. I bet today some of it would be worth money.

Have a great day Gloria

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11 . "Almost ANYTHING free and fun in the mail.....M&M T-shirts, Beach towels, the Wishbone promo....with the peelies ;p Barely any refunds at all anymore (MIR) Catalinas were huge for a while and a GREAT way to get free or money making deals to combine with our paper coupons....almost any store was amazing pre TLC EC show @@ <3"
Posted by Chicagoclipper on Apr-10-21 at 01:08 AM (Eastern)

Posted on Apr-10-21 at 01:08 AM (Eastern) by 99.22.27.65
Sunny skies once again

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"RS Silver Foxes ... let us know" Posted by BUCKINCRAZEE on Apr-01-21 at 03:40 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-01-21 at 03:40 PM (Eastern) by 72.89.46.91 Lots of RS traders have been here on this forum for 10 plus years and many of them are now well into their Golden Years. I remember so many seasoned traders reminiscing about how things were in days past, and the stories they had were really interesting, informative, and fun. I started my rebate journey when I was 18, but I didn't join any activity online until about 1996. I went straight to MC (.M.Y.Coupons.com) and I enjoyed many years couponing there. My first trade ever was by snail mail because I didn't have an email account setup yet. I remember my first time getting "multiples" and I remember my first time getting CD's (Complete Deals). Lots of fun. Later on, I started searching for other websites and eventually joined RS, HCW, CF, etc. If any members here have any stories they care to share it would be much appreciated. This is why I started this thread. Many newer traders would be surprised to learn of what trading was all about years ago. Tell us about trade shows, RMC magazines, S & H greenstamps, postage rates, trade slips, Bad Trader lists, etc etc etc. There's so much to learn and so much to tell. And please, don't forget to tell us how you all traded before computers and the internet became part of our everyday lives. Those stories are some of the *most* interesting yet. TIA.
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1 . "Conventions" Posted by Joaniebott on Apr-03-21 at 09:30 AM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 09:30 AM (Eastern) by 98.211.185.103 I started coupons as a child, started refunding in 1981 when I was stuck home after surgery. Used to run ads in Refunding Makes Cents, had subscriptions to Moneytalk and Refund Express. I used to take care of the boards in 2 stores....order the rebate forms, remove the mess and expired forms. My friend Phyllis and I went form hunting every Monday I really enjoyed going to conventions. We went to one in what was basically West NJ and East PA. I would meet all the people who's names I new from the magazines. Everybody brought what they had. I never had qualifiers but I always had forms. You would sit one-to-one with another person and trade. You could buy qualifiers for your forms too. Rebates DID NOT require a cash register tape so you just took the Tylenol box and mailed it in!! There would be drawings of big poster boards taped up with forms and/or qualifiers. And we had local meetings each month, anywhere from 4-10 people trading stuff. The cash register tape requirement came into use because of the massive amount of "cheating" but that did not stop all. My girlfriend used 13 addresses and owned 3 cash registers. And I remember all the cigarette offers - you could never take a walk without staring at the ground looking for cigarette packs. Marlboro had "miles" that you could collect - people actually got furniture and pool tables with the miles!!! The magazines would be a hard copy that came to your door. You kept a list of what refund forms looked good. The ad would say something like "10 forms for your Tylenol box" so you'd mail them the Tylenol box and your list and hope they sent you back something you actually could use. Took maybe 10 days back and forth Joanie
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4 . "aaaahhh the good old days" Posted by patsyann on Apr-03-21 at 05:24 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 05:24 PM (Eastern) by 99.102.47.186 great fun!!!
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8 . "we got paid actual cash in the mail." Posted by ppe1952 on Apr-03-21 at 08:50 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 08:50 PM (Eastern) by 67.247.236.2 widmer wine sent $2 bills actual cash ot we got those little red or green bearer checks no name just said bearer. i handed out complete deals to the guys i was working with to get free all-in-one tools from castrol. i still have a coucple. they were absolutely great. conventions gave me a reason to travel. NY, PA Ok, NV WV. notebooks filled with ziplock bags full of upc's, notebooks full of baseball card pages filled with forms.east coast trading was very different than west coast trading. packed boxes of hand made items to trade for deals. traded lots of quilts, afghans, potholders. some of my friends worked in convenience stores and got the bonus merchandise from cigarette packages. and traded that stuff. it made a good christmas even beter. post cereals had a great offer to get toys r us gift certificates. send in box tops and they sent you n gift certificates- they also paid on box bottoms and side panels. free jackets from atari, free gift certs from harry and david's. got my self a nice spiral ham and a cheesecake plus some real fancy dishes. still have some of those. DO NOT meddle in the affairs of dragons for YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND GOOD WITH KETCHUP!
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2 . "Remember" Posted by kawanti on Apr-03-21 at 10:13 AM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 10:13 AM (Eastern) by 50.104.22.205 Dishes and misc. With green stamps Misc.. coupons u could get for free at the library And piggy wiggly and iga grocery stores
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3 . "oldies" Posted by ppe1952 on Apr-03-21 at 12:38 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 12:38 PM (Eastern) by 67.247.236.2 i started refunding in about 1980- ofr me it came as an outgrowth of green stamps. you could combine your green stamps with certain coupons that came on cigarette packs so that started it. cigarette merchandise was great. lots of it and real high quality. marlboro, newpoer, virginia slims, winston/salem. Great stuff. ooil companies gave great stuff also. tools, t shirts, hats. we would go conventions and trade all that stuff. i have always been able to have real good forms.- still do for that matter- but people loved to trade. go to a convention and find 100-150 of you new best friend. i miss that. the person to person trading and the kind of information you can't talk about ( or shouldn't) on the internet. i had bickets of qualifiers and people used to save m their garbage. now it is all code and tape with very little food or HBA. oh well . i had great fund. i have been over a good mart of this nation doing this hobby and have wonderful people. DO NOT meddle in the affairs of dragons for YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND GOOD WITH KETCHUP!
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5 . "I remember...,,,," Posted by suzhappy on Apr-03-21 at 06:38 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 06:38 PM (Eastern) by 174.203.104.244 Being a young military wife 40 years ago and we moved from duty station to duty station, country to country every 3 years and the military packers would come in and they would give me the strangest looks when they got to my boxes and boxes of UPCs and complete wrappers and refund forms and what looked like garbage to them I�m sure but was worth gold to me!! LOL Those were the days! My kids were always the most popular kids on base because nobody else had an actual Crestmobile and so many cool cardboard club houses on the back porch!! I don�t refund much anymore but I send for samples and freebies now and have boxes and boxes of those. Fun but not as fun as getting those refund checks in the mail used to be! Please leave me feedback if we have had a favorable trade and I will do the same for you! http://www.refundsweepers.com/dcforum/fee dback/28.html
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6 . "hi" Posted by mcox on Apr-03-21 at 06:57 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 06:57 PM (Eastern) by 69.123.232.88 i loved the conventions planned my vacations around them. went to the ones in NY,CT,NJ,Vegas , and reno back in the day. what nice folks i meant. first one i showed up with a small photo book with a few forms and a lady went pass me with a file cabinet on wheels. i said oh no almost turned around and went home. but i stayed and was taught a lot. what fun. miss it. melody
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7 . "I started in March of 1981...and not many after went online with my Commodore computer...no images but" Posted by JOYHAPPYONE on Apr-03-21 at 07:56 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-03-21 at 07:56 PM (Eastern) by 45.19.209.10 all text...the refund site I had found was Refunders Refuge..was something totally new after doing all my trading through the mags..had about 10 regular traders and we actually wrote a letter to each other with each trade...kind of raised our kids together. my first offer that i received , was coupons for Mazzola, a dollar on the oil...and 2 50 cent coupons on the margeine and something else, It was amazing because a one dollar coupon on anything back then was a windfall PILATES ? HELL NO, I thought you said PIE and LATTES !!!!
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9 . "back in the 60s" Posted by deleKeno on Apr-04-21 at 05:36 PM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-04-21 at 05:36 PM (Eastern) by 70.92.226.53 I had a list of the refunds sent for on my refrigerator---yes 60s...I still have the list. In the 80s I was part of a group of 5 who put on a convention monthly that attracted around 100. We had yearly "birthday cakes" with refund related motifs. I have a picture of a Kellogg cake. I am still using Lipton beach towels (among others),a Brakebush cutting board, Nabisco cookie jar, Miracle Whip plastic cutting mat, and loads of other items. Of the five I am the only one still trading and doing refunds.
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10 . "I miss the Hershey t-shirts" Posted by ladywcats on Apr-05-21 at 10:21 AM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-05-21 at 10:21 AM (Eastern) by 69.61.174.93 I used to save the Hershey upc to send in for free Hershey stuff, there were others send in the upc and get something free. Now there is very little food deals out. The cigarettes company sent out so many nice things. I still have the m&m christmas light from M & M candy wrappers. Some of the stuff that the companies sent out was good stuff. I bet today some of it would be worth money. Have a great day Gloria
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11 . "Almost ANYTHING free and fun in the mail.....M&M T-shirts, Beach towels, the Wishbone promo....with the peelies ;p Barely any refunds at all anymore (MIR) Catalinas were huge for a while and a GREAT way to get free or money making deals to combine with our paper coupons....almost any store was amazing pre TLC EC show @@ <3" Posted by Chicagoclipper on Apr-10-21 at 01:08 AM (Eastern)
Posted on Apr-10-21 at 01:08 AM (Eastern) by 99.22.27.65 Sunny skies once again
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