For instance: Tide stain release. Say I had a coupon for save $3 on any tide stain release 20oz, or 15 ct. packets, etc…and I wanted to buy the 10oz bottle because i don’t use that much of it. The first 6 or 7 numbers were the same, so I was told I could use the coupon. (I haven’t done this, I was just wondering). Is this okay?

Any help would be great! I have a friend teaching me how to coupon, but was unsure of this area.

I love your site, loves the video, you are sooo helpful. I have learned so much from you.

Thanks so much. God Bless!

I have read comments from people on coupon blogs who are practically pleading with people who buy a lot they don’t need (in the name of donation). They are the working poor who may slip through the cracks as far as benefits are concerned. Of course, even benefits don’t cover toilet paper and toothpaste. Therefore, these folks are relying on getting to the store and actually getting a tube. They may be using gas they can scarce afford to pay for. And all the store can tell them is some couponer got here 20 minutes ago and got the last 6 or 10 or 15 we had.

We make decent money and I don’t have the funds to continually run back-and-forth to get the one or two I now buy.

But, the truth is there are always going to be people who operate from a short-term mindset. She thinks it’s a wonderful thing that she can do it right now. People contact retailers all the time complaining about cleared shelves. Retailers will order more to an extent. In the end retailers would rather please many customers who just wanted one or two than pleasing one or two people who wanted 15 each.

She should be more interested in ensuring that she will be able to use coupons in the long term, not running the privilege in the ground.

Just so you know, Cub Foods (which is a SuperValu store– not sure if this applies to all) in the midwest does accept expired coupons as part of their coupon policy (they can be up to 90 days expired). It’s one way they can compete with their main competition here– Rainbow Foods, which has double coupon days.

I think it would be sooo much fun to encourage a “Coupon Fairy Week” where everyone left coupons during the same week. I love leaving them.

And because they dont double coupons here but the one thing that I learned today was about stacking and to really understand a companies policy regarding stacking. Like Walgreens who knew you could stack.

So I am going to start at least looking at the coupons and see where it takes me.

http://www.nycsinglemom.com

Thanks again for your couponing wisdom!!

i am a newbie and i love this video! just finished watching your binder video and that is really interesting. i have a question though. most of the stores where i live are pretty far away, besides walmart and drugstores, i was wondering if you have covered or done a video about the commissary? just how to use coupons there, and when to get deals and also i think the commissary i go to has (As you walk in by the door) coupons to use, when is the best time to go and collect those coupons. things like that. unless you dont shop there? just an idea and it would be a really helpful video. (Btw i have actually been in a commissary where people actually clear out the shelves). thank you for everything!

I paired a BOGO coupon with a $2/1 coupon just this week. I bought 2 of the 4 packs of Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razors, regularly priced 8.99, so the two packs would have been $17.98. Walgreens is running a buy one get one 50% off sale on them this week. So that brought the two razors down to 13.49. Then I used the BOGO coupon that stated it was worth up to $7.13, so now the total is down to 6.36. Then, finally my $2/1 coupon came off, and the total for those two packs of razors was $4.36 plus tax!

Don’t compare Wal-Mart to any other store. No one has the buying power of Walmart.

That depends on the store that you’re shopping at. If you’re at Rite-Aid, Walgreens and CVS this is always true, as the BOGO sales items ring up full value for the first item and $0 for the second. However, select grocery stores have their BOGOF (buy one, get one FREE) offers ringing up at half of the retail price. For instance, if an item is on sale $3.99 BOGO at select grocery stores, the first one would ring up at $2 and the second one $1.99. In this case, you do NOT have to purchase both items to get the sales price. Now, with saying that, I’m in an area where my Publix grocery store BOGO sales ring up as just mentioned, however those on Georgia border in Florida, have what we call true-BOGO deals, as that of the drug stores…their prices ring up full price for the first one and $0 for the second one…you HAVE to purchase both items to get the sales price.

Here’s how it would look using BOGO coupons:

(True BOGO stores: Rite-Aid, Walgreens, CVS & select Publix stores)

Airwick Aerosal Spray, BOGO, $1.39
-first item rings up at $1.39, second item rings up at $0
-use BOGO Airwick Aerosal coupon
your OOP: $0, pay tax

Same scenario at other grocery stores such as Harris Teeter, select Publix, Bi-Lo)

Airwick Aerosal Spray, BOGO, $1.39
-first item rings up at $0.70, second item rings up at $0.69
-use BOGO Airwick Aerosal coupon
your OOP: $0.69 plus tax

I should have elaborated more….. I see someone at my local market who brags on how many CVS ExtraBuck cards she has (and she brags on how she is beating the system) and prints things multiple times, at home, at work, and her husband does the same, So she often can print 15 coupons from the net. And, man, she is keeping all for herself. So way different than printing a coupon for you and then for your husband sorry I wasn’t clearer.
And I sooooo agree that coupons make donating so easy. Love how Walgreens often has Colgate for free (after the register rewards on whatever its called prints out). I have a box in my hall closet for random things to donate.

Coupon buying and selling is just like the issue of downloading music, movies,…ect….. If anyone is going to get arrestted or sued it will be the companies selling the item.

Coupon buying and selling is just like the issue of downloading music, movies,…ect….. If anyone is going to get arrestted or sued it will be the companies selling the item.
I’m not

A couple of the most important principles to couponing is getting items at the lowest possible price and stockpiling. In order to get items at their lowest price you should wait until that item goes on sale AND use a coupon on it, if possible. When you are paying a price that you’re comfortable with paying, you should create a small stockpile…doesn’t have to be huge…just large enough to meet the needs of your family, and one that would result in you not running to the store to pay full price on that particular item when you are in need of it…just head to the stockpile and grab it.

I tend to think of my stockpile as a second emergency fund. My Hubby is active duty AF and I have medical conditions that limits my movements at time so having a stockpile is essential for us during deployments and flare ups.

Don’t feel defeated…this is a learning & growing process. Start by creating a list of items that you family use on a regular basis and watch when they go on sale in your area. When you are able to view a sneak peek of the Sunday inserts note which coupons are in them that your family would benefit from and plan accordingly to how many of each of those coupons you will need.

Don’t try to focus on getting everything all at once. Again, this is a learning & growing process, so pick a couple of items that you use most often and would like to stock up on…mine was paper products, i.e., paper towels, tissue, etc., and then work each week to add a couple to your stockpile. When you get that item to a level you’re comfortable with, move on to the next item…mine was personal care products, i.e., toothpaste, deodorants, bodywash, feminine care products, etc. These are items in which you’re going to find yourself never having to pay full price for…most of the time, if not all, you will be able to reap them for FREE!

The point is, take things in steps and create a plan. Don’t get caught up in comparing your goals and/or successes to those of others because we don’t know what their needs are.

Your plan:

Create a list: Know what your family needs, how often you need it and how much of it you’re going to need to sustain until the next sale. If at all possible list items that are comparable to one another…some brands I LOVE moreso than their comparable “cousins”…so when they go on sale I stockup on them to avoid “substituting”.

Get organized: A couponer loses money when s/he is not organized. There is no one right way to organize your coupon but there definitely is a wrong way…being unorganized. I use about three to four different methods, whole insert, clipped coupons in a binder, and a coupon clutch that houses my transactions divided by each store I shop at.

Wait for the sale(s): Don’t be in a rush to use your coupons. Even though a store says that an item is on sale that week does not mean that that item is at it’s lowest possible price. There are times when a brand of toothpaste is on sale for say, 2/$5…the sales ad says that it’s on sale and you’re excited and you purchase a couple. Weeks later that same brand goes on sale BOGOF (buy one, get one FREE) at $3. In both cases you are able to use a coupon on each item to reduce your OOP (out of pocket) cost, however in each instance, say your coupon value is $1/1 ($1 off 1)…in the first scenario you would pay $3 for 2 after coupons or $1.50 each. In the second scenario you would $1 for 2 or $0.50 each. Again, you want to make sure that a sale is actually a sale before you use your coupons on it or you won’t see any savings when combining a sale with coupons.

Take Babysteps: Go at a pace that’s comfortable and most cost-efficient for you. Sales will come and go. Once you’ve gotten the hang of the coupon policies at the stores you shop, although they’re ever changing now, you’ll be able to shop with ease.

As addressed in Collin’s video, as long as you’re shopping responsibly you’ll start seeing the savings add up! Happy Couponing!

Reaping In Abundance,
Kay

Manufacturers like at coupons as a marketing tool. Coupons were started as a method of giving a limited discount to a large number of people.
Manufacturers had noticed that when they offered a discount to a store, (so the store would have a sale on their product.) that a smaller number of people would buy a large number of items. So, manufactors come up with the idea of coupons in local papers. One paper to each house meant one coupon to each house. Now each household had a chance to buy the product at a discount.
The manufacturers don’t want one person using 10, 20, or 30 of there coupons to get their products for free.

Read your coupon closely, many now say “coupon void if copied, duplicated, sold, or purchased. Redeeming a void coupon is concerned fraud”

That being said, Manufacturers are too busy to close down every clippng service And they are not going to collect clipping services customer logs and track you down. It would just be easier for them to stop having coupons printed. And they will do that. The company I used to work for decrease coupon printing by 75% three years ago.

I have enjoyed the double coupons, but we only ever got up to .50 doubled. Sometimes it results in free items.

I save more with high dollar IP and insert coupons than I do with doubled coupons.

They are starting to put better digital coupons on the Kroger website if it interests you.

And I’m sure many stores are not going to enforce one coupon per transaction. But I have a sneaking suspicion that manufacturers intend for “purchase” to be synonymous with “transaction.”

I guess we shall soon see. They change wording all the time as we’ve seen with P&G coupons.

Not exactly sure of the policy at all places if that makes item free. Rarely happes to me : )

Chelsea be prepared for the cashier to be confused and reject your coupons. Try to get a handle on how to explain it in case that happens.

And, when I go to a site like Coupons.com (ist that the name, you know the ones that update monthly), you can see when you click on a coupon (it says you have met the quota already).

Just not sure of the general rule — of course I won’t do the whole print on 5 different computers to beat the system. For one thing I only have one computer, plus I think that’s scamming the system. Same way I think its wrong when people have multiple CVS cards.

The how many times you can or should print…. a grey area to me.

Thanks!!!

I just wanted to stop by and say how much I love your videos! hee hee!!

AND that no matter how long I have been couponing (almost 2 years now…) I STILL get nervous going up to the register with my 50+ coupons. lol.
Yes, they are all legit and I use them correctly, but I still get nervous and I can feel my face just turning beat red and I DON’T KNOW WHY! LOL. It bothers me BEYOND belief!

But anyway…keep up the vids…I loves ‘em

Also, the Federal Trade Commission has stated that selling, transfer, etc actually voids a coupon although there is no way for a store to know if the coupon was obtained in any of these ways. You can look this up on their website. Again, another loophole, but the intent is clear.

I don’t consider the buying of coupons to be an ethical dilemma (there are enough of those without adding something like this). But, I do think that this type selling becomes more large scale everyday and could potentially result in civil suits (especially for large volume sellers).

Barring any type of drastic action, I think that the further that people diverge from the manufacturers’ true intent for coupons, the closer we get to looking the gift horse in the mouth. Just because you get a check for your birthday every year from aunt Ida doesn’t mean you can count it as income.

Manufacturers have more money than we do, which is a two-edged sword. They have the money to issue coupons and run promotions. But they also have the money to invest in technology that makes it harder for people to redeem fistfuls of like coupons.

Some stores are already successful in attaching a social stigma to heavy coupon usage. Manufacturers have relationships with retailers just as customers do. It wouldn’t take much for manufacturers to “encourage” stores to become more strict than they already are.

I myself have purchased coupons in the past. I don’t much anymore. I have found that even using one or two like coupons results in some really great deals. Like I said, I don’t exactly think it’s a “bad” thing. I just don’t want to personally be an instrument in eventually devaluing a good thing.

Thank you Collin. I found this video very informative. I’m a relatively new couponer. My parents have always been frugal but didn’t really utilize coupons growing up. I’m 22 and a recent college graduate, so learning all of this from you is greatly beneficial.

Thanks again!

Just wanted to say that you asked an interesting question and I’m glad you did. I’ve never really felt like it was illegal to do it, or even really that it was an ethical issue. However, I think that since manufacturers hold all the cards concerning coupons (after all, every coupon is basically a gift from the manufacturer), they could take into account consumers’ behavior when issuing future coupons or integrating new technical barriers, such as the more advanced coding coming out right now.

Their obvious tactics may be to lower their subsequent coupon values or just hold sweepstakes, etc instead of issuing coupons. Or, I eventually think all coupons could go digital. There are few stores left that don’t have reward cards. Indeed, the huge numbers of people who consider good coupons a given is a little disconcerting.

And since it’s possible to sue anyone in civil court, they could choose to bring civil suits against persons who profit from selling coupons. And, according to the Federal Trade Commission, “Selling or transferring coupons to a third party violates most manufacturers’ coupon redemption policies—and usually voids the coupon.” Of course, no cashier or store is going to know a particular coupon’s history. But, just add it to the long list of things people probably shouldn’t do but do anyway.

Ebay rules explicitly state that sellers are prohibited from selling the labor and time associated with a coupon. In other words, eBay has already stipulated that the coupon itself is the item for sale. Therefore, it’s obvious that eBay has distanced itself from any potential future liability. (There are many items listed on eBay that violate eBay policy. There just really is not way for eBay to catch them all.) Here is eBay’s coupon selling policy:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/manufacturers-coupons.html

As you can see, they also limit any IP listings to 2 coupons, but sellers put notes in the listings about “having as many as you want.”

Lots of gray area, and as Collin said, right now it’s a personal decision. But given the right climate, it could potentially backfire on everyone.

I actually answered this question on a previous post and basically stated that my thought is that a manufacturer prints “Do Not Double” (DND) on a coupon because the manufacturer does not want to be held liable for reimbursing the store for double the coupon value. If a store makes the decision to double a coupon that has DND, then the store is responsible for this loss in revenue.

However, after stating that a reader named Robin also had this to say which I found very interesting….

Collin, I work for a food broker and work closey with some manfacturars. The DND clause is on the coupons because manfacturers don’t want their product to be devalued. If I can get the product for free as a result of a double, I will think less of their product and never pay full price for it. Something about when you pay for a product you appreciate it more. This is true acutally because I myself don’t feel half as bad when a product I got for free goes to waste, vs something I paid more for….make sense?

If I am correct – when a store doubles a coupon, the manufacturer is offering the .50 face value of the Q, and the store is covering the other .50.

If that is correct – then why do coupons even say “do not double”? Why would the manufacturer care if a store wants to double them, if the mfr only pays for the face value once?

I await your magical (and probably oh-so-simple) answer!
thanks

To make anything illegal, there has to be a law in place. If you can believe it… there is actually no law that deals with selling coupons – which means that it is actually not illegal to buy or sell manufacturer’s coupons on places such as eBay. I understand this seems confusing because the fine print on manufacturer’s coupons state that they cannot be transferred, purchased, traded and the list goes on. These rules are set up by the manufacturer… not the law. They cannot send you to jail. Also, lots of eBay sellers put a small disclaimer at the bottom of their auction. Usually it states – you are paying for my time to find and clip these coupons, not the actual coupons themselves.

The main thing to remember is this: It doesn’t really matter where you acquire your coupons as long as you’re correctly using them. Make sure to get the right product, the right size, and use them before they expire.

I know lots of readers who don’t feel it is right to purchase coupons off of coupon clipping sites, which is completely fine. You have to go with what you feel comfortable doing.

Also, on your Walmart question – I would just say that you need to follow your stores coupon policy. I do believe, though, that it makes no sense for a store to adjust a manufacturer’s coupon down because basically they are then taking the coupon overage from the consumer and applying it to their store, which doesn’t seem fair at all. I’m sure if the manufacturer had to make the decision, they would want the consumer who is purchasing their products to get it – not the store.

BTW… Fantastic video Collin…. I wish we could send a copy to our favorite stores and get them more informed on coupon lingo too!!

“Stacking” is when you use a store coupon with a mfr. coupon on the same item.

If you ever have any doubts about a coupon being illegitamate, contact the company.

Also, @ walmart, that is no problem at all! But, you could even have the coupon scanned for overage which they will give you in CASH!!! I think that’s even better, unless you absolutely need some items.
But taking advantage of that would be wrong. Lets say you have the $5 off any similac coupon, right? At walmart, the quarts are $3.67, giving you around $1.70 in overage. If you buy 1-10 even, that would be alright. I heard of a lady who bought a whole cartful (around 50!) used all the coupons, and they had to give her back around $70!

Hope you have fun getting free groceries with your overage.

Natalie

The candies are only .29 to begin with, so it’s not like each item is being dramatically discounted by the coupon. Say they are .79 each (which is not unheard of). You could only get three and still pay .37. The manufacturer is providing you with a $2 discount on their candy. Regardless of whether you buy the big bags or the small ones, they are still out $2 for the coupon.

And, manufacturers (especially this large) are not so stupid as to “forget” pertinent wording, such as “8 oz or larger”. In other words, if they omit size restrictions AND specifically list the names of the candies including the single serving, they mean for you to use it as you wish.

I know the IP doesn’t list the candies, but there wasn’t really room for it. The list on the insert coupon was quite long and very, very tiny print.

When you have a B1G1F coupon you use a $1/1 coupon when it applies to the item you’re buying (not the one you get for free). So, you can’t use the $1/1 hummus and the b2g1f coupon together because you already are getting the hummus free. If the $1/1 was for the pretzel that would work though.

Hope that helps some.

Note: You could buy 3 pretzels and 1 hummus coupon and use your B2G1 free coupon along with your B1G1F coupon.

Thoughts? Ideas? Sorry if it’s too confusing.

Can I use all 3 of these coupons to purchase 2 pretzel chips and tribal 1 hummus? Or can I only use 2 of the 3 on this transaction? Since I’m new at this I’ve been scared to try this transaction. Thanks!

Same reason Sony controls what retailers can charge for their products.

Yes, Sony is great but some people do not feel like they are getting something of value unless they pay a steep price.

They did respond to me very quickly. I mean, if they don’t have stuff to buy, not much reason for them to pay employees and turn the lights on, you know?

I think what they mean by “cracking down” is that people are taking the stuff home faster than they can stock it. The coupons are creating artificial demand, so I guess they would eventually take steps to temper the madness somewhat.

On a side note Publix is my favorite grocery store to shop at, but I don’t buy anything there that isn’t on sale because their regular prices are quite high. If I absolutely need something and it’s not on sale at Publix I run over to Kroger or the Commissary. Once you get the hang of shopping at Publix and their rules I’m sure you’ll love it too!

I want to know where you got that painting over your couch. I want it!

This should be required viewing for every cashier and store manager, especially those who refuse to accept IPs.

Is there a site like Veri-FI for SmartSource or other non-coupons.com IPs?

The fine print that states “Limit 1 coupon printed per offer. See coupon for exclusions, limitations and expiration.” – is actually not referring to the manufacturer’s coupons you will be using to score this deal… But actually referring to the Register Reward that you will earn as the “coupon”.

I hope that makes sense!

Maybe there should be a segment on maintaining your stockpile that focuses on donating items, rotating stockpiles, when stuff expires, when it’s TOO much!, etc.

There are legit PDF coupons available. You just want to make sure that they come from the manufacturer’s site. And if you are in doubt, email the manufacturer directly and ask them if the coupon is legit.

I know watcha mean about feeling unorganized! I suggest you check out my coupon newbie section here – http://www.hip2save.com/couponnewbie

Also, here are a few other posts I’ve done that may interest you:

http://hip2save.com/2011/03/coffee-with-collin-stockpile-organization.html

http://hip2save.com/2011/02/coffee-with-collin-coupon-organization-part-i.html

http://hip2save.com/2011/03/coffee-with-collin-coupon-organization-part-2.html

http://hip2save.com/2011/01/how-do-you-organize-your-stockpile.html

http://hip2save.com/2011/01/how-are-you-getting-organized-in-2011.html

What is wrong with retailers? Don’t they realize that there are lots of places to buy the same products, and if they don’t welcome me and my coupons, I will find somewhere else to make my purchases?

http://hip2save.com/2011/01/giveaway-4-readers-win-25-stella-dot-gift-certificates.html

Love them!

When most stores have a BOGO sale and you use a BOGO coupon, the coupon only attaches to one product in the computer even though you have to “buy” 2. So the store pays for one product (they may get special pricing from the manufacturer.) And your BOGO coupon “pays” for the other product.

thank you
granitestatesavers.blogspot.com

Collin, you rock! You need to go on the TLC show and show people how us “normal” people coupon. We don’t all buy 60 bottles of mustard!

Have a great day!