This is When Bed Bath & Beyond Will Stop Accepting Coupons in Jersey & Pa Ahead of Store Closures

After months of speculation, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey court early Sunday.

It's not much of a surprise for those who have been following the chain's struggles in recent years as they've been closing some stores across the country.

But what does today's news mean?

Basically, it means that the chain will liquidate. All remaining 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores will close across the nation (including all of their remaining stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania).

Additionally, 120 buybuy BABY stores nationwide will also close as part of the liquidation process.

And, yes, it sounds like the stores could close pretty quickly. Though, they say that if they find a buyer the course could be reversed. But it's not clear how likely that will be.

So what does this mean for shoppers?

Well, if you have a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon, you better use it RIGHT AWAY.

Those infamous 20% off Bed Bath & Beyond store coupons that littered our mailboxes for years will be honored through April 26, the chain said in an email to customers on Sunday. That's only Wednesday, by the way.

Liquidation ("going out of business") sales will begin almost immediately in the stores, though.

“Creditors wouldn’t want to allow shoppers to tack on those 20%-off coupons on top of 70% off liquidation prices,” retail expert, Burt Flickinger, told CNN.com on Sunday.

Gift cards will be accepted through May 8. Returns and exchanges will be available until May 24 (for products bought before April 23).

For wedding registries, by the way, those will be transferred to competing retailers. Shoppers will be informed about that soon.