Jill Cataldo


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Jewel freezer deal begins today, Feb. 27th!

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If you’ve ever thought about getting that second freezer (which many Super-Couponers find invaluable for stocking up on meats, frozen vegetables, and other frozen foods) be ready to hit Jewel-Osco on Feb. 27th for their annual Freezer Deal!

As in years past, the details will be in Sunday’s ad. It’s a 5.3 cubic foot Igloo freezer. This year, it will sell for $159, with $160 worth of free product coupons for you (frozen foods and other food items, as well as some non-food grocery items too.)

The coupons expire on May 31 of this year. A reader has posted the ENTIRE list of coupons in the comments below this post. To maximize your savings, hold onto them as long as possible, matching as many of them as you can to Buy One, Get One Free sales in the store — then, you’ll take two home free instead of one!

Longtime reader “Your Jewel Cashier” (who, yes, is a Jewel cashier) sent a great list of tips for freezer day to share with readers planning on adding a freezer to the family this weekend…

KEY POINTS ABOUT THE SALE

Details for freezer deal:
It is 159.99 w/160.00 in coupons.
It is an Igloo brand again.
It is a coupon book again, not loose coupons.
The coupons will expire on various dates, and won’t be honored once they do.
Your Jewel card is required to make the purchase.
Each store will have aprox 50 freezers to sell (bigger stores will have slightly more)

The ad will clearly state-
Limit one freezer purchase per customer
Limit one MFR coupon and one STORE coupon may be used toward freezer purchased.
(This means the people that bought all the joint juice from the Wags deal last month to get the 10.00 coupons in hopes of using them all in one order to get the freezers for free are going to be disappointed.) [Note from Jill: The store coupon being referred to here would be in the instance that a shopper has a “$10-off-$100” coupon from a mailer.]

KEY POINTS ABOUT THE FREEZER

As always, freezers SHOULD NOT be loaded on their backs for transporting purposes, they should be kept upright at all times.

Please remind readers to not bring their HONDA CIVIC or FORD FUSION to buy the freezer and then expect the 17-year-old bag boy to fit that square peg in a round hole?!?!?!?!

(Laugh all you want, but this happens numerous times in every store every single year! And then the customer insists that it will fit if you take it out of the box, then it gets scratched up, or the car does, and the customer gets mad at us! Borrow a truck, guys! You should see it, it’s like a clown car experiment gone wrong!)

The freezer must be plugged in and LEFT ALONE empty for 24 hours to regulate its internal temperature before attempting to fill it.

This is another interesting phenomenon we watch every year. The customers that buy the freezer and 100% of the food all in the same day at the same time never read the owners manual, which clearly states you can’t fill it until it’s been plugged in for 24 hours (at least that’s what mine said when I bought it 3 years ago.)

Now we all know they aren’t going to fit that food in the overhead freezer of their refrigerator, and sure enough, they either call back a day or two later and complain that their freezer isn’t working and the ice cream is soft. Or a month later they are returning food saying it’s freezer burned like it had frozen, thawed, and then froze again. And I want to say, “YES! That’s why the freezer came with instructions!”

One final personal note to those purchasing the freezers this year:

I know most of us couponers are used to going through self check out when doing “deals”. But if I may, PLEASE if you are getting all, or even half of the free items in one order, please, please, please:

1) go through a traditional lane
2) give the cashier your Jewel card and your coupons FIRST before starting your order. You have no idea how much stress and time this saves EVERYONE involved. EVERY SINGLE ONE of those free coupons is set to “beep” with a price prompt, meaning if the cashier gets your coupons at the end of the order they will have to look up every one of your free items on your receipt one by one to find the price. IF the items are on sale with the Jewel card they will have to manually do the math to see the sale price and then manually key in that price as well as write it on the coupon for accounting purposes.

If you give them the coupons first, they can go through and write down the prices as the items scan which eliminates all the time and effort of having to look each price up. This generally eliminates most all mistakes, the need for manager intervention, and about 10 minutes off your check out time.

If you have any additional questions about the freezers, you may enjoy reading last year’s freezer discussions, where you’ll find many other answers (a lot of the same questions get asked each year!)

2010 Jewel-Osco Freezer Deal

2009 Jewel-Osco Freezer Deal

Happy shopping, and good luck! The freezers tend to fly out of the stores.

Comments

  2. Anyone know around what time we should be getting there for this or what time they start selling them?

  5. Some of the stores are setting up the freezers tonight and they are available for sale. Beat the crowd and check out your local Jewel tomorrow to see if they’re available (and while there, check out the $1 sale at the produce dept: potatoes, baby bananas, bany carrots & mushrooms). I’m sure they’d rather get rid of them sloowwwllly, instead of that mad dash on Sunday.

    Jill is right. These freezers, when in the box, are quite large and won’t fit into a midsize car. You definately need a truck or SUV. I agree that you shouldn’t use all the coupons at once, that’s just not the super-couponer way! You’ll get way more stuff if you hang on to them for the better deal.

  8. I checked with the 2 Jewels near me. They
    start selling them on Sunday at 6 a.m.
    One store will have 30 freezers available–
    the other will only have 25. I will definitely
    need to get there early!!!

  9. Jill, will you incorporate the freezer coupons in your “deals of the week” blog to let us know when to use them or are we on our own? Is the May 31st exp. date on all of the coupons seem quick or is that about normal? As always, thanks for being you!

  10. You could always rent one of the Home Depot trucks (do Lowes and Menards rent them too?) for 1hr if you don’t have a way to get it home. It’s $20 for the hour and, while I realize it will eat into the deal, it is definitely an option. (We had to sell our pick-up two months ago so I’ve been looking for other ways to accomplish this.)

  12. Just to uber clarify, is it one per customer, or one per HOUSEHOLD? I don’t want to sound greedy, but we desperately need freezer space with four boys, two in their teens, and if I’m lucky enough to find one, I was hoping I could bring along my husband (who has his own Preferred card) and get a second one.

  14. So wait…I JUST bought a new Ford Fusion!! Are you saying that I can’t jam that freezer into my new car?!? The trunk IS pretty roomy…..LOL

  17. Our South Holland, IL Jewel store is selling the freezers today at the sale price and giving the coupon booklets! I picked mine up a little while ago.

  18. Does anyone know if Albertson’s (who owns Jewel) offers a deal like this so our family in FL could take advantage?

  20. My wife sent me out to get one at 12:01 am. They didn’t have the coupon books available but I got the freezer and have to go back for the coupons.

  21. My friend and I just got back from the Morris Jewel. They were well stocked with freezers and there were only about 5 of us crazies there at 5am. Still plenty left!

  22. My husband said we could go to Jewel together at 7am. I’m a worry wort and was convinced they would all be gone by then. Leaving his big Yukon in the garage (I can drive it, but I’m afraid to back it out of our garage cuz it’s snug in there) I took my sonata and went up to our Jewel. 6:03 am, and I’m 5th in line at the customer service counter. When I get to the front, I joyfully pay (praying that I will be able to somehow balance the box in my trunk). I asked her how many freezers we had at the Grayslake store. She said they had gotten 26, and here it is 10 past 6 in the morning and they are down 7. EEP!

    Now to the front of the store where 2 workers are there with a hand truck loading up people. They asked me to bring my car around and they would load for me. I said I was worried about it fitting in my car. I pointed to it in the lot and they said “Do you have anything bigger at home?”. sure, but hubby is asleep and I didn’t want to wake him. They said no problem and offered to hold the freezer for me until I could come back later that morning. YEAH!!!

  23. I just came back from the Romeoville store and I got one for my mom! We got ours two years ago!

    The cashier said we were the 4th freezer sale and there was one other couple behind us! They still had a bunch left but I did not count them!

  24. I just got back from buying my freezer at the Joliet Jewel and it rang up for $99.99. So I only paid $108.24 with tax!! The cashier didn’t know why it was ringing up for that price, but everything went through fine and it got my coupon book worth $160.00. I was the third person to buy one.

  25. Went to LaGrange Park at 6:15–parking lot empty, but saw one truck with the hazards on by the door. Turns out I was the second to arrive. I felt like a crazy person! They had 30 (now 28!) Not exactly stampeding the place–go get ’em! Glad I am home safe and sound(fit in the Oddessy upright no sweat)a happy new freezer owner! Can’t wait to plug it in. Needless to say my hubby did not share my 6am enthusiasm and is still asleep. Oh the anticipation! LOL

  26. with my mom and a couple others and after a little bit of inconvenience, we all got ours. Although, the 4 of us were all told by different Jewel associates in the days before that we would be able to purchase them at 6 a.m. when the store opened, the service counter said in fact we were not able to until 7 a.m. They ended up allowing us to buy them but then we all had to wait around til 7 a.m. to get the coupon books (none of us were comfortable leaving and coming back later for the coupons).

    I kind of wish all the Jewels would follow the same protocol . . . even put it in the ad or something. From the blogs, I see that some were selling yesterday and others today at 6 a.m. So much variance in how these were sold.

    In the end, it was fine but I would have slept the extra hour rather than getting up at 5:20 a.m. :)

  27. I was actually able to put mine on hold yesterday at the Jewel in Lake in the Hills. Just picked it up and the manager mentioned they had like 52 left! I thought they’d have flown off the shelves!

  28. I called 2 Jewel stores last night near me and both said they only had 6, so I sent my husband out early this morning to get my freezer. He says that there were about 4 people waiting to get their freezers. The cashier asked what was going on with the freezers, why such a rush to get it?? Anyway, my husband goes to pay and it rings $99. Don’t know why it rung at $99, but I was EXCITED when he got home and told me. We SCORED a really good deal.

  29. I was so excited to get a freezer this morning. But, Elburn Jewel shoppers beware! After I pulled up by the door and ran in to pay for the freezer (about 2 minutes), Officer Fred from the Elburn police department was writing me a ticket for parking in the fire lane! Even though he could see we were loading the freezer, he said I couldn’t leave my vehicle unattended in the fire lane. Learned a $20 lesson there. Jewel management said there’s nothing they can do.

  30. Sent the hubby out this morning at 6am to buy a freezer at the Rolling Meadows location (3000 Kirchoff Road). When he rolled back in bed at 6:15, he told me it was only $99.99! $109.49 with tax. I said, “How is that possible?!”

    Once we got up at a reasonable hour, I checked the ad for the price and checked to see if it was the right freezer (like they have a variety of freezers laying around at Jewel-Osco!). Hummmmmmm….. I guess we just saved $60! I think I’ll buy a lottery ticket today! ;o)

    I just called their store, and they have a couple left. When I asked the price, he said they are NOW $159.99. So maybe they have corrected the error… or maybe not… if you’re close to this location, it may be worth the effort to make the trip in case they are still selling for $99.99.

    Good luck!

  31. I went to a Jewel location in Joliet and walked out there paying $108.24 and my coupons. I even went back and got a second one at the same price!!! Unfortunately they caught the mistake before a friend made it out there. So excited to have my new freezers and all these coupons :

  32. Got mine this morning at 6 am. Paid the full, advertised price. Stings to read that people got theirs for $99 but I guess if mine rang up for $99 I wouldn’t say anything either.

  33. Got ours today… Thanks Jill for all the help you give to everyone. I got to the store at 5:10am there were about 5 people ahead of me all getting freezers. I came back in for a few things when I got back to the check outs the rush was over and they still had 20 of them left. I was surprised but still happy I got there earlier to secure mine. Looking forward to going back before May and getting BOGO for some of those coupons. Thanks Again…

  34. Ours scanned for $99.99, but they wouldn’t let us take it home at that price. The cashier overrode the system to the ad price. Oh well! Can’t let it ruin my day!

  35. I was at the Golf/Barrington Road Jewel at 12:15pm today and they had about 20 freezers left. Was in a hurry so I couldn’t get one then. When I could, I rushed to my regular Jewel (Wise & Roselle in Schaumburg around 2:00), and they had at least 10-15. Maybe some stores got a lot more, or people aren’t running to the store today for a freezer. I missed it last year, so I’m very excited!!

  37. I have been trying for the past 3 yrs to get a freezer and my hubby wont let me. I have a large one now but when I put a 1/2 beef in there, it doesnt leave a lot of room for anything else. I told him I just wanted a little one I could put my veggies in this summer when I freeze them. He told me he doesnt care about the coupons we would get a freezer we could put something in. He just doesnt understand.

  38. and there were only 5 other people out there in the parking lot…got there and got one lickety split for the advertised 159 price. We love our new freezer…I can finally quit overloading the one attached to my fridge.

  39. We were at the Jewel in Elgin on Summit street around 4:30pm today and they had 20 freezers left if anyone didn’t get one this morning. (They are $159.00 there) By the way Jewel has Deans ice-cream bogo so we 2 free ice-creams right away.

  42. I bought mine at 6:00 am and transported it upright. I plugged in at 10:00 am since it was not tilted during transport at the number 4 setting which is suggested in the mannual. However it is 7:00 pm now and the freezer is not even a little cold. It is room temperature. The lights are on and it is making a humming noise as if it is working. It has been plugged in for 9 hours. Does it take 24 hours before it will have any change in temperature or is there something wrong? Suggestions? Help please and thank you!

  43. yikes it has been 24 hours and freezer is still not cold. I called my Jewel and of couse they are sold out so I cannot exchange it. :-( I really want a working freezer and am so disappointed.

  44. Visited today, Minooka’s Jewel on Ridge Rd & Rt. 6 has at least 20 or more freezers still available as of 1:30pm Monday afternoon. + Super nice staff at this store! Going back for mine tonight!

  45. I went shopping around noon and to my surprise, they were at least 20 freezers still standing around the store.

  46. My instructions basically say:

    Plug it in
    Turn it on
    Set temperature to 4
    Place food inside the freezer
    After using the freezer for 24 hours set the freezer to your desired setting.

    But I am leaving it empty 24 hours just to be safe.

  47. For those who bought a freezer the last few days, does yours have a removeable drain plug for inside? The hole on the bottom inside left of mine has a hard plastic piece surrounding the hole but it is not removeable. Just wanted to compare.

  48. Was at the Wood Dale Jewel this afternoon and they still have a LOT of freezers sitting out on the floor.

  50. I got my freezer, which I planned on putting in our garage. However, when I read the instructions, it says that it should not be put there, as it is not designed to run in temperatures under 55 degrees. I currently have an upright freezer that runs with no problems inside the garage, so I am not sure what to do.

    Has anyone else kept their new freezer in the garage? And have you run into any problems doing so? Would appreciate any feedback!

    Thanks so much!

jillcataldoheadshotI'm Jill Cataldo, founder of Super-Couponing® workshops and author of the nationally-syndicated newspaper column and video series "Super-Couponing Tips" enjoyed by over 20 million people each week.

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