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Coupon Abbreviations
  • SC = Store Coupon
  • MC = Manufacturer Coupon
  • SS = Smart Source
  • RP = Red Plum
  • PG = Proctor and Gamble
Coupon Terms
  • WYB = When You Buy
  • B1G1 = Buy One Get One Free
  • .75/1 = 75 cents off one item
  • .75/3 = 75 cents off three items
  • EXP = Expiration Date

Going Nuts? I can help you understand coupon terms and abbreviations

Nielsen Home Scanner Consumer Panel

on 2.15.2012 at 12:08pm
32 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.

I’ve posted about this before, but here’s another opportunity to join the Nielsen Home Scanner Consumer Panel.  This is an interesting way to be a part of the grocery marketing industry, helping to show what people are buying in certain areas of the country.  There are also opportunities to review products and give feedback on various surveys.

You are rewarded with cash or other prizes based on your activity level.  I find that the most beneficial part is that you are really forced to keep track of what you buy and how much you buy.  It helps you know how much your spending and gives you a good idea of how to stock up too.

What are your experiences with Nielsen?

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    • Amy McCravy

      I signed up for this the last time they were accepting new members, and ended up sending the scanner back. Everyone’s experience may be different, but I found that the rewards didn’t add up quickly enough to reimburse the time spent scanning (many items have to have the prices entered manually, and coupons have to be added, etc.) — it just wasn’t worth it to me. They also have surveys and things you can do to get extra points (the extra points usually add up quicker than the weekly points for scanning), but having to remember to scan every single thing, including farmer’s market produce and bakery bread and personal care items, was just too much for me. 

    • Modern Mia Gardening

      I am currently a NCP member.  I scan once a week, which works for me since I know I always go to the grocery store on Thursdays.  I admit to not always remembering to scan after getting gas or other non-routine shopping trips.  So far, the points aren’t adding up quickly but I am saving them for one of the higher point-value items in the catalog.  

    • Jessicamorley

      Not recruiting in my area…

      • Elizabethconner

        my area either :(

    • Jessicamorley

      Not recruiting in my area…

    • not recruiting in my area.

    • not recruiting in my area.

    • Bnethers

      Not taking consumers in my area! :(

    • Karen

      not recruiting in Bluffton SC either

    • Jaclyn

      I kept the scanner for one day and sent it back. It woke me up at 3am beeping. Also, it’s not as simple as just scanning products. You also have to enter price, if it was on sale, used a coupon, etc. It wasn’t worth it to me.

    • Babysnuggles83

      not recruiting in kings mountain, nc either

    • Laurie

      I signed up 6 months ago and have thought about stopping many times.  It takes a lot of time to scan every item and you have to enter coupon amounts (which we all use tons of) and prices for almost everything.  I have scanned every week and have completed every survey, after 6 months I have enough points for a Micro Multi-Tool ($10 item?).  The weekly points increase at 6 months so I plan to hang in there for a few more months to see if the time involved is worth it.  I can however tell you how much I pay for almost everything I buy off the top of my head.

    • Kreesey13

      I subscribed and within the week sent it back.  The prizes werent worth the time it was going to take to scan and record every purchase.

    • Erica

      I did this for about 2 years and it’s just not worth it. It’s too time consuming and just a plain pain in the butt!

    • Eric S

      Thanks everyone for your feedback. Not one positive reponse. I won’t waste my time.

    • Anitalbernard

      I have a scanner that has been sitting in the box for a couple of weeks now.  Obviously, I do not have the time for it.  I will be shipping it back….when I find the time..lol.  Glad I read these responses, as I was unsure of whether to get everything uploaded today or not.

      • Ruth

        Oh my gosh. Mine is still in the box on the dining room table, waiting to be unwrapped also. I’ve been getting a ton of emails and messages on my voicemail from them “Don’t forget to take the survey….” sort of thing. I’ll just send mine back also. Guess I’ll need to open the box to see what the procedure is to do so correctly. Joining was an impulse decision and now I’m really sorry I got myself into this. Lesson learned for me.

        • Anitalbernard

           I am feeling the exact same, lesson learned!!

    • bamamom

      I have had the scanner for a week now. I really don’t think it will be to much of a hassle to scan since I usually only shop once a week and get gas once every two weeks(usually). I shop only at Publix (maybe once/twice a month going someone differnent) so all the items I have scanned so far have been listed. I only have to enter the amount of my coupon, which isnt a big deal. I dont have huge shopping trips so that helps.  I am a sahm so what little bit  of a “reward” I get is worth it to me :) HTH!

      • bamamom

        Oh wow, sorry about the typos!!

    • JPBMC

      Not accepting in my area…Charlotte NC

    • CRUISES72

      It is not worth your time. The prizes for scanning is not worth all your time scanning each item. 

    • Hmcgillem

      This program is such a pain the rear! I tried scanning one small trip to Walgreens and it took about 30 mins for under 10 items.  You have to select the store, and then scan the item. It’s been a while since I did this, but I think you’re asked for how many you bought, did you use a coupon, how much you paid, etc. for every item. Couldn’t imagine doing this on one of my grocery trips.  So, I sent the equipment back. 

      • Ginger

        Yes! I did thi s a long time ago, and had exactly the same experience. I sent my equipment back, too. Unless they’ve updated the system…

      • Llet

        This program is a great idea, but if you buy more than 10 items a week, it is not worth the time. And if you use coupons, is could take you more than 30 minutes to do less than 10 items. So NOT worth the time!!

        • Bkittie

          I agree.  I do a lot of sale/coupon match-ups, and it took up an enormous amount of my time.  I sent my scanner back after a couple of months.

    • Abbiruth

      I have been using the scanner for a little over 3 months now.  I have found that it makes no difference (in points accumulation) if I scan EVERY shopping trip or just one.  Currently, I scan one grocery trip and one retail-type trip (if applicable) per week.  I also take short online surveys for additional points.  On average, it adds 5-10 minutes onto my routine to scan in the items.  The points do accrue slowly, but all correspondence from NCP indicated that it would take up to a year to accumulate enough points for a “bigger” prize.  So far, I have found it to be a positive experience!

    • avalon

      I signed up for this a few months back. I actually like taking surveys and such, so I thought I would enjoy this. I have to agree with the others, though: This program is a giant pain in the @ss. If it were as simple as just scanning the products, then that would be fine. But you have to type all sorts of crap in and it is incredibly tedious. I’m not just being lazy, it’s simply not something I enjoy spending my time on.

      Not to mention, when I signed up I thought there would be some decent benefit to it. I’ve done Neilson TV surveys before and recieved CASH in the mail ahead of time. But with this, I was pretty dissapointed. It seems like it would take forever to earn enough points for any of the prizes I’m interested in. I’ve earned way more tangible goods from Swagbucks by getting Amazon gift cards. I was expecting something along the lines of that– especially for the amount of effort you need to put into it– but no such luck.

      Unfortunately I’ve heard horror stories about people sending it back and then getting charged because the scanner supposedly didn’t make it back to the company. These things aren’t cheap, so now I feel stuck participating (if somewhat halfheartedly) for no other reason than because I can’t afford to pay for the scanner should it get lost in the mail. :-/

    • Traci0322

      No new subscribers in Athens, GA

    • Chiefsangeleyes

      Never needs subscribers in my area!

    • Bobbie14243

      I’ve been doing it for almost a year. At first I was diligent and entered every shopping trip, then realized that no matter how many trips I entered I only get points for ONE trip per week. So I only entered one trip, usually the smallest trip with no coupons like gas or prescriptions. It takes forever to earn enough points to get anything better than what I consider “fund raising prizes” I could get most of the prizes you could earn by the one year mark at the dollar tree and get better quality. I finally got tired of the trouble, it’s boxed up and will be shipping back as soon as I make a trip out that has a fedex location nearby. I don’t want to just use a drop box for fear of it not being documented as sent. I want a receipt because I don’t want to get stuck paying for this scanner. Serious waste of time in my opinion!

    • Jringer4

      Biggest. Waste. Of. Time.