I received a few emails yesterday from people wondering why their usual Tuesday Ralphs coupons weren't in the printed Los Angeles Times. Todd Everett blogs that he may have some insight into why the inserts now come in the mail. Excerpt:

I’m the only person in my apartment building who subscribes to The Times. I have no idea why I do, these days, other than inertia; but that’s subject for another, and continuing, discussion.

The ads — for Ralphs and a number of other companies, including supermarkets, car tune-up places and so on — are packaged by a company called RedPlum. They’re organized to the degree that those of us who don’t get their ads in the paper, get them in the mail. And vice-versa; I don’t get ‘em in the mail.

Last week, when I got the second “wrong” ad, I looked at a copy someone had received in the mail and thrown away. It was for Ralphs, but a different ad, and one not featuring the Studio City location. I took it to the store, and the sale prices matched.

Clearly, the wrong edition of the RedPlum/Ralphs supplement was being inserted in my copy of the Times.

He unravels the details over there.