Printed Internet Coupons
- Thread starter SamSpade
- Start date
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
Food Lion took minebut not Mckays...
That's great! So, Food Lion will take Internet printed coupons? If they do, I may begin shopping there again.
I thought stores all took them - they're supposed to be regular manufacturer's coupons, right?
meddauna
Member
i think stores are getting away from internet/home printed coupons because if you know what you're doing it's easy to fake a coupon to get free stuff.
Mama_Mia08
New Member
I've never had luck w/them either. I just go directly to the companies sites and get them. Yes, it takes a little longer but it's worth it to me. Another one I like is startSampling.com because they send both coupons and free samples from time to time. I get some in the mail from P & G which are helpful too.
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
It really depends on the store policy. For example, I don't think any convenience store will take ANY coupon unless it's their own.
I know McKay's has said they won't take them, and from time to time Wal-Mart has refused them. It's frustrating, because I plan my trips to stores based on redeeming coupons and combining them with sales.
As far as I know, internet coupons have a bar code on them and they are good. However, I can see that they can be indistinguishable from a copy of a regular coupon printed on paper or Xeroxed.
I suppose I don't really know how the redemption process works for the store. I presume they get the difference or part of the difference of the sale, and if the manufacturer doesn't reimburse them because the coupon is invalid, they eat the difference.
You know what's weird? Most manufacturer's coupons do NOT have any means of checking the expiration date other than the cashier eye-balling it - meaning, if you use them on self checkout, no one will know if you use an expired coupon. Seems to me, THAT is a greater risk than a forged coupon.
See, that's what I assumed - that the coupons print with a barcode, just like normal coupons, and everything is encoded.
Huh. Learn something new every day.
lovinmaryland
Well-Known Member
I have used expired coupons several times at many stores... as long as you use the "self checkout machine" you go through every time!
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
I have used expired coupons several times at many stores... as long as you use the "self checkout machine" you go through every time!
:shrug:
That's my boss's experience. He's been known to use expired coupons so often, the local stores keep an eye peeled for him. I can't see how that could work if the machines automatically knew the coupon had expired, since they already seem to know if you bought the proper item.
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I just talked to him. He said the way to tell the difference is to compare the numbers above the bar code and see if it differs from an "active" coupon. His experience has been that they DO in fact change them from time to time, but not as often as the coupon is issued during a year, and that typically, they change it once a year. He said the bar code identifies the product and the discount but not the expiration, but of course, once they change the actual bar code for the coupon - however often they do that - it then becomes recognizable as expired. So the short answer is yes, and no. Yes, they can be recognized as expired but no, not that often.
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SamSpade
Well-Known Member
I have used expired coupons several times at many stores... as long as you use the "self checkout machine" you go through every time!
My boss just told me of another stunt, which he doesn't recommend - the coupon chute at self-checkout doesn't check what you put in it - meaning you could just toss in a coupon you don't want, and keep the one you used. He once saw a guy tossing bits of paper down the chute while re-using the same coupon with the other hand!
Just a few weeks ago while shopping at Wal-Mart in Prince Frederick, I noticed some coupons hanging above the electronics checkout. Note above the coupons was "Don't take these under no circumstances." While waiting for the answer to my question, I noticed that someone had used coupons for the following:
Free PS3 (coupon had sony logo)
Free PS3 Controller
Free PS3 Remote
Free PS3 Game
I could not believe that a associate of the company could have believed that. Why would a company, such as Sony, give away a $300 gaming system plus accesories. Do people not understand that by doing this, it gives the store a "timestamp" of the transaction. Eventually they will get you after reviewing the tapes.
Free PS3 (coupon had sony logo)
Free PS3 Controller
Free PS3 Remote
Free PS3 Game
I could not believe that a associate of the company could have believed that. Why would a company, such as Sony, give away a $300 gaming system plus accesories. Do people not understand that by doing this, it gives the store a "timestamp" of the transaction. Eventually they will get you after reviewing the tapes.