Coupon Education at Walmart

I stopped by Walmart yesterday to "grab a few things".  Have I ever mentioned how I HATE shopping Walmart?  The store is gigantic and you have to walk a mile to get the 2 things on your list.  Then when you check out they have 4 registers open with lines 8 people deep.  To make this trip worse, I realized it was a Tuesday which for my local Walmart means "Double Coupon Tuesday".  There went my plans for a pedicure before I had to pick up my boys from day camp! :(

I did take advantage of the Double Coupon deal since I was there and got 6 Three Musketeer bars for free. (I had 3 coupons for .50 off 2, so doubled it was $1 off 2 and they were priced at .50 each)  And I found some old fashioned suckers for .10 each thanks the the lady behind me telling me about a clearance section I missed.

This lady was new to couponing and was asking myself and the fellow couponer in front of me all kinds of questions.  We had what felt like a 10 minute discussion as we stood in line at Walmart. (those lines always feel like they take FOREVER!  My new coupon friend called it the "Eternal Line". lol)  I thought I would share some of the knowledge we left her with during our Education at Walmart.

1. Does Walmart Take competitor stores coupons? NO  They price match ads, but they do not take say a Target or Smith's coupon.  
2. What type of coupons does Walmart take? They take manufacturer coupons.  Your coupon must say "manufacturer" on top next to the expiration date.
3. Does Walmart give rainchecks? YES they do, you have to request it though.  Ask your cashier or Customer Service.
4. What if a store brand item is on sale at a competitor, how do I price match that at Walmart? Walmart has it's own store brand "Great Value".  If you want to price match Smiths Peanut Butter you can price match it with Great Value Peanut Butter.  FYI, Great Value icecream is delicious! :)
5. Do I need to have my ad with me to price match? NO  This is a new policy at Walmart.  In fact, my store has competitor ads on a bulletin in the entry way.  The cashiers are SUPPOSE to know the prices at other stores.  In my opinion, it's best to have the ads with you instead of losing time arguing about the price match.

A tip that was shared in all this "knowledge swapping" that I thought was great is that when she finds something on an amazing clearance, she takes a picture of the display on her phone.  That way if she gets to the front and it rings up differently she doesn't have to wait for them to call the department and verify the price.  She said that it works 90% of the time but she has had some cashiers say "You'll have to show my manager that photo" to which she replies "Bring it on!" ha ha

Do you have any tips for shopping Walmart?