If you have ever watched “Extreme Couponing” on TV, you know that shoppers on the program demonstrate how they received hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of merchandise for only a few dollars (if that) by using coupons. They will buy dozens of the same item, using dozens of identical high value coupons (often doubled in value by the store) to accomplish this feat.
Now some manufacturers and retailers are fighting back. Look what P&G is now printing on its manufacturers coupons.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Here the manufacturer is imposing a limit of four identical coupons that can be used when buying the same product. But now some retailers are getting in on the action too.
*MOUSE PRINT:
“Rite Aid may accept up to 4 identical coupons for the same number of qualifying items as long as there is sufficient stock to satisfy other customers within the store manager’s sole discretion.” – Rite Aid Coupon Acceptance Policy, May 2011
“You may double a maximum of 4 identical manufacturers’ coupons. For example: if a customer purchased five boxes of Cheerios and presented 5 manufacturers’ coupons for 50¢, the first four coupons would be doubled to $1. The fifth coupon would only be redeemed for 50¢. Up to an additional 12 identical manufacturers’ coupons/items will be redeemed at face value for a total of 16 identical manufacturers’ coupons.” — Stop & Shop and Giant coupon acceptance policy.
If these practices are actually enforced, and other companies jump on the bandwagon, extreme couponing may become a thing of the past.
Some manufacturers’ coupons now say “Do Not Double” or “Not Subject to Doubling.” I never understood this. Why would MANUFACTURERS care? Don’t they only have to reimburse stores for the face-value of the coupon?
Edgar replies: I think they are either in cahoots with retailers, or don’t want to piss them off (and cost them money). I personally think it may be illegal for manufacturers to in essence dictate to stores what price they can charge consumers.
I agree with the limits on quantity by Rite Aid. And I hope other retailers adopt the same policy. I watched one of those extreme couponers buy 72 jars of mustard and other ridiculous quantities of similar items. Nobody needs 72 jars of mustard.
It has been my experience at the stores I use that two like coupons is all they accept in any single transaction. In addition to adding the no doubling rules on coupons, more coupons are valued at $.55, beyond the maximum ($.50) most stores will double daily. Miejer used to double every coupon under $1, but they stopped that years ago.
I agree with the limits. Coupons are meant to be an incentive to purchase the product – not to only allow a few to buy up all the merchanidise while others are given no opportunity to purchase reasonable amounts. I second Tundey – who needs 72 jars of mustard? Extreme couponing by some does nothing but hurt the regular people who do reasonable couponing.
I’ve also noticed that sometimes Stop & Shop puts a maximum cap on how many of that sale item you can purchase in one transaction. It’s not often, but once in a while in shows up in the circulars.
I work at Macy’s. Macy’s will accept 1 coupon per qualifying purchase. There are exclusions, expiration dates, and manufacturer limits to all Macy’s coupons. Associates, like me, have difficulty keeping up with the offers. The final authority is the register. Read each coupon or offer carefully or ask an associate for assistance. Associates cannot override the register on coupon rules.
I’m for the limits. From my POV, I want product on the shelf available to me, not all of it in some hoarder’s trunk. It seems from the manufacturer’s POV they’d limit if only because their purpose is to generate new customers or give a booster shot to existing ones. Their purpose is subverted with the single hoarder clearing the shelves in the local store.
Don’t these hoarders ever look at expiration dates. How can you use all those salad dressing, mustards, etc. before they expire. I am so for the limits. What a waste!!!
I use coupons when I really need the item.
re: 72 mustards – lets hope they are dropping them off at the local food bank.
I’ve never understood why manufacturers or retailers let people get away with this in the first place. Couponers argue that there’s nothing in the rules that say they can’t double or stack coupons. So what? Unless there’s something in the rules that explicitly says they can, the answer is “no”.
@Linda
They resell the items on craigslist, garage sales, amazon, ebay, etc… They then sell them at a slightly lower price than suggested retail. This way they rake in the difference off the coupon. They are taking the coupon and basically turning it into cash (at a small discount off the coupon value). The 72 mustard guy probably made 70-100 bucks all for about 2-3 hours of work. Then on top of that they get whatever from whatever rewards programs they are using.
You also have a segment who just like to get things for free. Or as someone here put it ‘hoarders’.
Plus these limits will mean nothing anyway. They will just make N number of trips to get what they want.
Limit four. Buy them and walk out the door and then right back in and buy four more. Screw everyone else.
I did buy 72 jars of mustard and used it for my 400 foot long hot dog! I think we use two or three jars a year.
I used to do a lot of couponing back when I had the time. Never to the extreme that the people on the show do it, but one of the things I did was to purchase items I would not use (items deemed useful) and donate them to charity. During those years I was essentially doing two grocery shoppings a week. One for my household & the second was for the local food bank. There were several other people in my “coupon circle” that did the same thing. Granted we were no where near what the people on the show do, please keep things like this in mind before bashing the people buying multiple items in front of you.
There SHOULD be limits. Sometimes it should be even on non coupon items.
Case in point, when the local grocer has certain breads on sale for BOGO there are a couple restaurants that go in every single morning and buy every single loaf as that is actually cheaper than the price they get.
At least a dozen times I’ve gone in on the day of the sale by 9AM and the shelf is cleared, I asked and they told me the restaurants buy it up and send some one in every morning for more.
None of the stores where I live offer double on coupons and I don’t mind. One coupon per item and a limit to the items is fine too. I have never thought about shopping like they show on TV. It sounds so much like “All for me and screw you” Too bad you don’t shop this this way etc. And for Amy I think you and your “coupon circle” deserve a big Thank you for thinking of other people while shopping. Kudos to you and your group. That’s such a wonderful thing you do for people in your area.
I do understand many people’s view on ‘hoarders’, ‘line stoppers’, and ‘those people’. However, please be aware that in many cases, the savings -are- passed along to churches, food banks and shelters. After the Joplin, Mo. tornado this spring, one of our local couponers asked the group waiting on papers to arrive (about 20 people at the time) “who emptied out their pantries to help out with the relief efforts?”. Everyone did, and most of them donated hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning supplies, hygiene products, diapers and food… items that were desperately needed in the days and weeks that followed.
Many of those items came from Joplin stores that were evaporated in the tornado, and would have been unusable had they not been in pantries in outlying communities.
So if you get stuck behind a couponer, please have some patience. Some don’t care that they are tying up the line – people are people – but most are as conscientious as they can be about it. And they are only following the rules set up by the manufacturers anyway. Producers and stores will, and will need to make adjustments to ensure all of their customers are being treated fairly. It’s all good.
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Some manufacturers have their reasons as to why they do not want their coupons doubled.
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One reason is that it cheapens the perceived value of a product or a service.
If I, the consumer, continually purchase a 2-liter of Dr Pepper for 29¢ (because my 50¢ off coupon was doubled to $1.00 off), I no longer perceive that item being worth the shelf price of $1.29.
So, when I do not have coupons to redeem for Dr Pepper, that $1.29 seems sky high to me.
Another reason is that some manufacturers invest a lot of their advertising dollars in their products by offering bonus size containers or premium offers.
They do not want their advertising emphasis to be on discounts via their coupons being doubled.
Many times there are advertising agreements (promotional offers) between the manufacturer and the retailer.
Finally, a double coupon offer encourages more of the Dr Pepper coupons to be redeemed, which causes a larger payout by Dr Pepper for redeemed coupons via the fulfillment house.
I have never seen an extreme couponer where I shop. I do know that some retailers will have a sale circular in Sunday’s newspaper and will not stock their shelves nor order extra stock for the sale items. Their warehouse dates of delivery do not coincide with the circular at all. One clerk told me that the circulars are made up 6 months in advance so it is not their fault. Really? When the store shelves are empty, it is not always from an extreme couponer.
Friday I was at the Roche Bros. in West Roxbury, Ma. There was absolutely no bread because we were expecting the hurricane and everyone had already bought up the supply. I asked a clerk and they said there was no more. I asked the manager and he was unaware that the shelf was empty. He went to the back and came out with a new delivery. Sometimes, it is just a communication issue.
The stores around here don’t usually limit the number of coupons you redeem as long as you buy the correct amount of the item. What they do is to offer double couponing up to $.99. This means the regular $1.00 coupons cannot be doubled which puts a severe limit on ‘extreme’ couponing.
“received hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of merchandise for only a few dollars (if that) by using coupons”
i just don’t see how that’s possible or even understand it.
that coupon even doubled would still mean it would cost $3 here and say you bought 12 that would be $36…that’s not only a few dollars and i’m not saving money…
Edgar replies: They ONLY buy items that cost about what doubling the coupon equals. So if the item is $1.49, and they have a 75 cent coupon, the item is free. And is a case or two of it if they have dozens of coupons.
Here in Canada, extreme couponing has never really taken off because stacking coupons was never allowed…almost every coupon I have ever seen since I was old enough to shop has always said limit one per customer or something along those lines. For us, couponing is really not practiced as most retailers will just discount items and put them in a flyer, or will have scannable coupons taped to the till so you don’t even need to clip and bring.
Just FYI
I was thinking this could really hurt stores because who knows how long it takes for manufacturers to reimburse the stores for the money they are out. A few extreme couponing groups could put a store out of business doing that. But I guess people don’t really care about how their behaviors might be irresponsible or threaten other people’s livelihood. So long as they get a good deal.