If you've noticed the price of the frig packs of Pepsi and Coke bouncing around, you are right. Soda is one of the true rollercoasters of sales pricing. And it has little to do with supply and demand.

Remember, shelf space is limited, and old packaging is, well, old. Think back...around the holidays, Pepsi ran a huge promotion, get the code out of your package and enter into an instant win and sweepstakes. Prices were higher, people wanted the codes. The game ended, and suddenly the packaging was old. Who wants to buy a specially marked package to WIN, only to find that the contest has been concluded. Certainly Pepsi-co doesn't want to deal with unhappy consumers. Time for mass sales, 5 packs for $10, rebates, gift cards.

Enter the coca-cola olympics promotion. First, dump all the old packaging. People want the packaging with the codes! Then, game over, dump the old packaging, 5 packs for $10, rebates...and so it goes.

Notice Pepsi has been on clearance for the last month...and now the Superman promotional packages are hitting the shelves.

As a saver, which do you prefer, the sale price, or the game code?

Well, truthfully, you can have both, and it's actually a better deal. Almost all soda contests are NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. If you participated in the coke Olympics games, you know that you can get MORE codes online, up to 5 A DAY (?).

Personally, I can't drink 5 frig packs a day. I can generally log on to request five codes a day, while sipping my $1 a pack coke from the last sale/rebate/deal.

Remember, super savers take advantage of packaging changes. For every item that is squeezed onto a store shelf, one is taken off. Usually at a clearance price. New packaging, label changes, new laws and labeling requirements, all mean SALES.

Available in a store near you