Inundated with coupons, students try to sort it all out

Justin Schmaltz uses the Clipper Magazine instead of a meal plan.

He picks up the coupon book from hyperactive distributors on Locust Walk at the start of each semester, and browses its pages for discounts at area restaurants.

It is students like Schmaltz who are responsible for the birth of the ubiquitous Clipper and countless other student discounts.

"Having no meal plan, I find that the Clipper Magazine is an extremely valuable source of discounts to local merchants," said Wharton junior Schmaltz.

In addition to the biannual Clipper fever, students find mounds of fliers at the bottom of their bookstore bags, in their faces on Locust Walk and lining their mailboxes around the start of classes.

While the Clipper, the Collegiate Couponbook and several other student discount vehicles are widely distributed, the verdict is still out on whether students widely use them.

While there are bargain hunters out there, many also say they simply recycle all the mass money-savers that come their way.

"I don't usually look at [the Clipper] too often. My roommates save it and tell me if there's anything exciting in it," said College sophomore Jessica Ley, who added that she last saw one on her floor.

School of Social Work graduate student Chekemma Fulmore agreed.

"I don't find [Clipper] to be extremely useful," Fulmore said. " I guess the coupons are not really for things I would need or use."

Penn's Clipper offers discounts from various companies, such as Campus Copy Center, Powelton Pizza and the Saturn Club. Even Dining Services advertises in the magazine.

And the Clipper is not the only discount magazine in town.

Mail Boxes Etc. and Modern Eye are just two of the stores that advertise in both the Clipper and its competitor, Collegiate Couponbook.

Some companies bypass the Clipper completely.

"We liked the style of the Collegiate Couponbook better," said Naomi Fiordimondo, who is charge of public relations at the White Dog Cafe. "We have considered the Clipper Magazine, and we decided against it."

"The Clipper Magazine didn't seem too successful for us," said Papaya King General Manager David Wagner.

And some students said they just don't have the time to peruse either book.

"I know I spend a good amount of money on meals because I don't have a meal plan," says College sophomore and Class President Jason Levy. "I guess it would be nice to spend a little less money but I don't have the time to go through a coupon book."

Still, clients get their money's worth, Clipper officials say.

They claim the Clipper will boost a company's image, cost less than competing advertisers and target the company's consumers.

"The service that we offer is that we create the ads for the people," Clipper Secretary and Treasurer Bob Zuckerman said. "We'll come up with the concept for them, and we'll come up with the photos for them."

And many clients do seem pleased with the results.

"Of all our ads, the Clipper Magazine has been the best as far as promotions go. It's the best promotion we've ever had," said the man who goes by "Curly" from Powelton Pizza.

"They have helped me a lot with coming up with advertising and pictures. It is pretty effective," added Saturn Club owner Rebecca Wright, who has been advertising in the Clipper for about 10 years. "Students are pretty comfortable using it."

Clipper was started in 1983 in a dorm room in Lancaster County by roommates Steve Zuckerman and Ian Ruzow, who are now the company's president and vice president, respectively.

"My brother was looking at an insert in a Sunday paper and he wondered if he could do this on a local level," explained Bob Zuckerman, who is Steve Zuckerman's brother.

The original Clipper, called the Campus Coupon Clipper, contained four pages of black and white advertisements and coupons. Since its introduction, the focus has changed, and the company now mails directly to households across the nation. Penn is the only college campus still offered the magazine.

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