CVS Woes

Apparently some people have been have super-duper luck at CVS with the Hawaiian Tropic lip balms. My oldest daughter got braces for her legs today which gave me the opportunity to check out 2 new CVSes (finding the silver lining in those gloomy clouds)! I finally found the H.T lip balm and was so excited that I was going to get the great deal! I go to check out, ECBs in hand, and they wouldn't ring up. The cashier just rang them up as some generic item. I asked if I would still get ECBs since it wasn't in the computer as a H.T product. She said no and asked the manager about it. So the manager looks at it and says that the reason it is not ringing up is because the item has been blocked! They wouldn't sell it to me at all! I asked why it was blocked and she said she had no idea. So I asked for the main store manager's name & number so I could call tomorrow. She gave it to me but said that he wouldn't know either that the home office puts those blocks out. I called the CVS customer service line and asked them about. When I told the girl that it was blocked and they wouldn't sell it to me she said that was the craziest thing she had ever heard. She put me on hold to see what the deal was and she came back and said that it must be about to be recalled and that is why the block was put on it.
Has anyone else had this trouble??
I am going to call Hawaiian Tropic tomorrow and ask them about it. Sounds fishy to me!

My poor shopping trips didn't end there. I hit the CVS nearest my house on my way home tonight to pick up the CVS allergy meds and the CVS toothbrushes. I bought 2 meds & 1 3 pack of toothbrushes since the ad said they were buy 2 get 1 free. I didn't get one free. And no ECBs on the toothbrushes. I am guessing the hidden deal is over.

I spent 8 cents out of pocket and earned $7.58 ECB. I think I spent just under $8 ECB so I had a small loss. Hopefully I can plan better trips this week and maybe find sellable lip balm!