MARTIN SLOANE | SUPERMARKET SHOPPER There's an art to finding those extra values

When you play the Great Grocery Game, checking the shelves for products that offer extra value is important. It will also add some unexpected excitement to your shopping adventure.
Let's start with few "free" offers you may come across. Michael Angelo's Italian Entrees have a "Try Me Free" banner. Buy the entree, send in the proofs-of-purchase and you will receive a full purchase price refund. The request form is on the back of the package. The offer expires on Jan. 1, 2005. The Swanson Great Starts breakfasts marked with "Try Me Free" continue to be available in freezer cases at many supermarkets. The mail-in form is on the box. The offer expires on Dec. 1, 2004.
Look for specially marked packages that advertise a "Guarantee." A small panel on the front of Healthy Choice Mixed Grills says "Guaranteed Great Taste!" The guarantee on the back gives you a choice. If you agree the taste is great, you can use the mail-in form to receive $6 in Healthy Choice coupons. If you disagree, you can ask for a purchase price refund up to $4.99. The offer expires on Dec. 31, 2004.
Cartons of Minute Maid punch and lemonade (64-ounce size) have a coupon good for 10 free game tokens at Chuck E. Cheese's. The coupons expire Sept. 30. Also in the refrigerated juice case you will find a free mini-music CD offer on specially marked cartons of Tropicana Healthy Kids orange juice.
Cereal television
Specially marked boxes of General Mills Total and Oatmeal Crisp have hit TV show DVDs packed inside. All you have to do to receive a DVD for Barney Miller, Mad About You, or King of Queens is buy the cereal.
When was the last time you went bowling? Would a free game tempt you back to the lanes? Banquet chicken offers a free game of bowling on specially marked packages. The coupon on the package expires Aug. 31.
Kellogg's Eggo waffles now have a companion syrup. To encourage the purchase of the new syrup, waffle packages have "Save 75 cents" sticker coupons.
Sometimes specially marked packages require you to do a little math. I found boxes of Extra Strength Tylenol 50s, in a double box, "Buy One Get One Free; 100 for the price of 50." The shelf sign for the pain reliever said $5.99. On the same shelf, the 100-count box said "25 percent More Free," and 100 plus 25 was priced at $8.99. Well, which would you buy?
More in the box
Banquet Homestyle Bakes have a $1.50 sticker coupon for the purchase of a box of Banquet Dessert Bakes. When I found the dessert bakes, the banner on the box said "Now Bursting With 50 percent More Fruit." Grocery product manufacturers should be praised for putting more in the box. Birds Eye Simply Grillin' is a new larger 17.5 oz size and the package announces "New Size 25 percent More." Mrs. Paul's shrimp bowls proclaim "Now over 2-times more shrimp."
On-Cor lasagna now has "20-percent More Meat!" VO5 Herbal Shampoo has a "33 percent More Bonus" -- 20 ounces instead of 15.
We get upset when manufacturers downsize; it is only fair to call the toll-free telephone number and compliment the company for "upsizing" with a bonus package.
Sometimes bonus packages leave me with the impression the company is trying harder to sell an item that might not be doing well. I got that impression when I saw that only the red Fragrance Sensations Windex was offering "25 percent More Free," 32.5 ounces instead of the regular 28 ounce size. If you're a regular Windex buyer, would you be tempted to switch from blue to red for an extra 4.5 ounces?
Occasionally a specially marked bonus package will make you wonder how the company calculated the bonus. The Pizza variety of Pepperidge Farm Gold Fish says "20 percent More" and the weight on the bag is 7.2 ounces. I found the "original" Gold Fish. The weight on the original is 7.2 ounces. Where is the bonus? It took a call to Pepperidge Farm to learn that the regular weight of the Pizza variety is 6 ounces.
A tip about specially marked packages: Just because the product is on the shelf does not guarantee the offer on the box is still good. Be sure to look for the expiration date. The "Save $2 On a Zoo or Aquarium Ticket" offer on 10-count boxes of Kool-Aid Jammers expired April 15 and I am sure some will still be on supermarket shelves.
M.L.M., a reader from Greensburg, Pa., noticed that Aunt Jemima frozen waffles had "55 cent, use now" coupons attached to the boxes. The waffles were also on sale 3 boxes for $2.49 and the supermarket doubled the coupons. M.L.M. wound up with 16 free boxes!
Has a supermarket adventure included discovering a great offer on the package? Write and tell me about it. Write to me, Martin Sloane, The Supermarket Shopper, in care of The Vindicator. I publish the most interesting letters.
XSend questions and comments to Martin Sloane in care of The Vindicator. The volume of mail precludes individual replies to every letter, but Martin Sloane will respond to letters of general interest in the column.
United Feature Syndicate