A couple of young women in Williston, North Dakota were recently busted for fraud after running a coupon scam in the Albertson’s supermarket where they both worked.
They managed to get at least $21,000 in “overage,” or money owed to them for having coupons that were worth more than the on-sale product (in this case, Tide detergent).
These chumps give couponing a bad name.
Worse, when people indulge in fraudulent behavior it winds up costing all of us.
So tempting to think, “Giant Corporation makes billions a year – it’ll never be noticed.” Don’t think that way, unless you’d also be fine with taking money out of a store’s cash register when the clerk’s back was turned. Coupon fraud steals from the retailers (which may not be reimbursed for fake Qs) and from the manufacturers (if they pay out unwittingly).
The money that retailers and maunfacturers lose translates to price increases for consumers. Everybody loses, except the cheaters – and they might, too, if they get caught.
For those who are new to the Q, I’m offering a coupon ethics primer on how to do it right – and also how not to mess it up for everyone else.
Don’t buy coupons
According to the Coupon Information Corporation, it is not legal to buy or to sell coupons. So why are they so darned available? Because sellers claim they’re selling the time they spent clipping the Qs.
Here’s what the CIC has to say about that: “Such disclaimers are invalid and do not provide any legal protection to either party. Such obviously invalid disclaimers merely serve to prove that the seller/auctioneer knows that their illicit coupon sales are inappropriate, wrong, and subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, depending on the situation.”
Besides, some of the coupons available online might be counterfeit and/or stolen by people who swipe ad inserts from Sunday papers. Or, sometimes, from newspapers themselves: Four people were arrested in South Carolina last April for stealing stacks of coupon circulars from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
Watch out for fakes
How do you know they’re fake? For starters, if you’re buying them (again: illegal!) then you really can’t know. That is, until a store manager calls the cops because you’re trying to pass bad paper.
Sometimes a fake coupon winds up getting shared on social media. For starters, don’t click on any links to get these FABULOUS DEALS! or you’ll wind up with malware on your computer. One recent example is an alleged Aldi coupon that gives customers huge savings ($60 to $100) to commemorate the supermarket chain’s anniversary.
Thing is, Aldi doesn’t issue electronic coupons. The idea of a discount grocer offering up to $100 off to millions of potential shoppers is ridiculous on the face of it. People want to believe. But don’t click on any deals shared through social media, no matter how lucrative they sound.
Speaking of lucrative: That’s another way to discern a potential fake. If a coupon is for $3 or $4 off, or for a free product, it’s probably a fake. Check the fine print, too. Most coupons specifically say that buying and selling is prohibited. For obvious reasons, a counterfeiter is going to leave that part out. And if the expiration date is a year or more down the road then it’s likely fraudulent.
Stick with coupons from newspapers or magazines, or those obtained from well-known sites like Coupons.com or CouponMom.com.
Don’t be a deal hog
When I couldn’t find an advertised product I asked the drugstore manager when more would be delivered. He told me he put only a few at a time on the shelf because of “the coupon ladies,” rolling his eyes when he said it.
As a coupon lady myself, I was mildly offended. But I knew what he meant.
Ever seen someone with six or seven of an advertised item, a fistful of high-value coupons and a triumphant grin? Yes, I’d like to be that person – in theory. I love me some deals, but I also think it’s not very sporting to clear the shelves. Other people need that sale-plus-coupon special, too.
On that note…
Be a coupon fairy!
Notice that the person ahead of you in line is buying something for which you have an extra coupon? Offer it!
Think of this as either giving back or paying it forward. All I know is that when you can save someone a buck you should save someone a buck. Or even 50 cents.
Only once have I been rebuffed. It was a dude who said, “I never bother with coupons. They’re not worth it.” He didn’t look rich, just misinformed. (Well, that, and a little snotty.)
“All right, then,” I said. “But if you saw a dollar on the floor there, would pick it up?”
“That’s not the same thing!” he said.
“That coupon would have saved you a dollar. You’d have had an extra dollar in your pocket after paying,” I pointed out.
He had no reply.
Don’t bogart the blinkies
Those little coupon-dealing devices attached to store shelves are known as “blinkies” to dedicated couponers. A blinkie will print out one or two coupons, then pause for a minute or two. Apparently that’s supposed to keep people from hogging more than they should.
Yet more than once I have observed people punching the button, then waiting. Sometimes they’re in this for the long haul: On at least two shopping trips I have gone past that aisle and seen the same shopper still there, and still pushing the button.
Such people probably take more than one cookie at staff meetings, too, and stash Tupperware in their purses or backpacks before visiting the all-you-can-eat buffet.
Seriously, though: Don’t be a pig. It’s coupon ethics, remember?
Don’t bogart the peelies, either
Coupons attached to the outsides of packaging are for those packages only. If you’re buying two packages of the M&Ms with coupons on them, then stick with those two bags. Don’t peel the coupons off half a dozen other bags and them later.
This is also true for those tear-off pads of coupons you see from time to time. Sure, you could take the whole thing. But really? The only reason you have that option is that other shoppers didn’t take more than they should.
Miscellaneous coupon ethics
Don’t try to pass an expired coupon. The cashier might be too busy to notice. But if you know it’s expired, you’re being a big cheater. (However, expired coupons can be sent to military families stationed overseas. This post by Penny Pinchin Mom explains how to do it.)
Copying = fraud. Reproducing a Q is also fraud. Read the fine print.
Be patient. The cashier may have been told to scrutinize all Qs very carefully, for the first two reasons noted in this section. This makes me feel uncomfortable, as though I were suspected of criminal activity. Since I’m acutely aware of why I’m getting the side-eye, I try to possess my soul in patience.
Prepare to fail. Some stores won’t accept coupons you’ve printed out because – surprise! – they’ve been burned before. You can call the customer service number at the store’s main office and ask for help, which you may or may not get. Or you can politely leave the store and try another retailer.
What you can’t do is pitch a huge, noisy fit because (a) you’re an adult who should act like one and (b) shouting and threatening that you’ll never shop there again might be exactly what the harried store manager wants to hear (“Oh please, please never come back!”)
Besides, acting like a schmuck in public is the kind of thing that makes people think that all of us coupon ladies are annoying.
I am mortified when I give an expired coupon or a coupon for an item I did not get! Someone takes the whole pad, I am quite sure. I hate that. I might take two, but not the whole pad.
I do offer coupons to others. Most are extremely happy. All thank me.
Stealing where you work is a doubly bad idea. Not only are you in trouble, you don’t have a job, either! If buying coupons is illegal, why would you suggest those two places where we pay for their time spent clipping? Are those two different?
I made a friend at a store. She was a checker and insisted I give her coupons for the wrong brand of something and coupons that were expired. I refused to do so. Later, I heard she was forced to take a week vacation. That week, the coupons they took in dropped so dramatically, they knew what she was doing.
She worked at four places where I eventually found out she broke privacy rules or did things like taking coupons that she should not have. She made no gains for all her cheating, she just cannot help it. This same person saw nothing wrong with her fifteen-year-old daughter sleeping with the married youth minister of their church. I decided she had no moral center.
I also leave coupons about to expire soon on the shelf where that item is located. One employee told me she loves to find those and trash them. Rude?
My daughter works in a big local supermarket chain. She and the other workers appreciate everyone trying to be nice, but leaving coupons on the shelf just means extra work for the cleaning crew. I was leaving coupons, too, till she asked me to stop.
We coupon here, although my daughter does a better job of it than I do. I tend to get burned out easily. Good savings though for those who are into it and hopefully doing it ethically.
We don’t get very many coupon inserts in the Sunday paper up here. Fortunately I can download them from the supermarket and drugstore websites.
I absolutely LOVED your response to the man who rebuffed your coupon!
Funny — he didn’t seem to love it. 😉
Isn’t it amazing that some people don’t see paying with coupons as saving their own dollars! It is just like deposits on soda, water and other drinks…you are throwing away $.05 and the $.05 all add up!
Maybe they aren’t thinking big-picture. One of the tips from the “Challenge Yourself To Save” chapter of my first book is to “save your savings” — that is, after every shopping trip you should transfer the amount saved with coupons and/or loyalty card discounts. After a while it starts to look like real money.
Of course, it all looks like real money to me. Wish we had the deposit law up here.
Guess you can’t be nice to some people.
I don’t have a lot of spare time to coupon. I normally look for coupon codes for online purchases. That said, I “LOVE IT” when someone gives me a bunch of grocery coupons or a coupon is handed to me in the check out line or I find one on a shelf right next to the item I want. It is such a kind gesture.
Dang…people are stupid. And greedy. I like to save as much as the next frugalista, but cheating to do it? Way too much work. Not to mention the headline that follows: ” Coupon caper leads to cool off time in the slammer.”
I’m still trying to figure out how they did it. My best guess is that during their own work shifts they checked their own purchases out, using the fake coupons, so there would be no questions about the authenticity of the Qs.
Interesting how they could put the overages on a prepaid card.
And yeah, greed is not good.
Years ago there was a printed fake coupon for free 2pk of dove soap. Someone online bought over 200 soaps and justified using the fake coupons because she was donating them. Cheating is cheating no matter why. Cheryl
Agreed!
I had a nice thing happen with couponing. The young soldier in front of me was buying something that I had a coupon for so I offered it to him. It saved him 75 cents I think…it was during the Safeway Monopoly promotion. He was buying for some sort of party so ended up with A LOT of Monopoly pieces. He gave them all to me, saying he didn’t collect them and wanted to thank me for being nice. When I opened them later, I ended up with over $100 of money and free food. I feel like I turned 75 cents into a hundred dollars!
Wow! This time, kindness really paid off.
Thanks for sharing that story.
I usually don’t offer coupons I’ll not be using to someone in line at the supermarket, but I do at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, etc. and it’s always been appreciated. When I have grocery coupons that will expire soon, I leave them near the product in the store. I’ve started taking my coupons to the self-scan area and using them. If I mistakenly try to scan an expired coupon or for a product I didn’t purchase it rejects it. Only once have I had to ask the clerk for help and she couldn’t figure out why it didn’t scan either so she did an override for the coupon deal. Doing it myself avoids the eye rolls from the customers in line behind me 🙂
For a brief stint I was into couponing and had the binder to prove it. Now I just do everything digital through rebate apps like Ibotta and checkout 51, walmart savings app. I don’t buy that much that I need to stockpile and I don’t have the run, energy, time and money to keep it up. It did get addicting but also tiring and burnt out from it. I only buy what I need what matter how good a deal to keep costs down.
Coupon rebate apps are apparently pretty cool. It’s also a good way to save for your emergency fund: Send all rebates that way.
Thanks for being such a consistent reader and commenter.
I’ve tried leaving soon to expire coupons on the shelf near the item. But twice recently, a store employee was nearby and told me they were instructed to collect and throw away coupons if they see people doing that. Once it was at Target and the second time at Meijer. Both times I asked why and was not given a good reason. So I guess all those diaper coupons I clipped and left on the shelves just went in the trash. Sad!
I shop at Aldi mainly and Dollar Tree for many products so coupons are not used here that much. I do use them at Walmart or Walgreens for shampoo, soap and other personal care items. I tend to buy a lot of stuff that they just don’t make coupons for. Great post Donna!
Thanks, Marcia. Note: Some dollar stores, including Dollar Tree, do accept coupons. Restrictions do apply, but coupons are generally accepted.
I’d suggest that anyone who uses dollar stores sign up at CouponMom.com and view her weekly match-ups. Some weeks she’ll have a dozen or more items absolutely free at the dollar store because of coupons.
And here’s the Dollar Tree specs:
https://www.dollartree.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=TermsConditions
It frustrates me when people state that they don’t have “spare time” to clip coupons, yet when you dig a little further you learn they have time to watch TV, read and comment on blogs, engage in social media and participate in hobbies. I wish these folks would just say, “I don’t like to clip coupons.” I worked full time, raised three kids, and cooked most of our meals. I wasn’t one of those “coupon ladies” that stocked my shelves for several years at a time. But I used coupons regularly on items that I would routinely purchase. I find it hard to believe that people can’t find 10 to 15 spare minutes per week to clip and organize some coupons for commonly purchased products. My kids are raised now, but I recall instances a number of years ago when friends (generally stay-at-home moms) would complain about their financial issues, comment about not having time to clip coupons, and yet spend every Tuesday at Disneyland (including buying lunch at the park) because they had annual passes.
A bit off topic…but I seem to have noticed that coupons are less generous in quantity and quality. I used to see significant savings on dishwasher and dish soap….it seems “that ship has sailed”. Your thoughts?
You aren’t imagining it:
http://couponsinthenews.com/2017/05/02/pg-makes-more-tide-gain-downy-bounce-coupons-disappear/
Hmmm. I have followed PG for quite some time and IMHO this company is in trouble and doesn’t get it…Warren Buffet getting Duracell for a “song” was another mis-step…IMHO. Their products are over priced and now with the coupon policy…less desirable. I just bought laundry soap with coupon for 99 cents for 32 washes/loads. The same size Tide …. $8. Is the Tide product 8 times better?…probably not….I wish them well….
Jestjack, I see the same things too. I am also mystified at the short expiration dates. Most of the coupons from the Sunday paper are good for only 3 to 4 weeks, whereas in days past they regularly were for 6-8 weeks. I also see a lot of coupons for junk food and cake mixes, which I tend not to buy. My rule of thumb is, if the national brand’s price minus the coupon is the same or less than the store brand price, i’ll use the coupon. Otherwise it’s store brands, except for peanut butter (DD is a Jif fan, and she’s the one who eats most of it!). Our local chain Stop & Shop carries a line of “premium” paper products that is very comparable to Bounty/Charmin. So I usually buy those.
See my reply to Jestjack. Coupons are undergoing some changes.
Wow. I just don’t get the mentality that it’s okay to clear a shelf or take an entire book of coupons or scam the system with expired or phony coupons–but apparently some people do.
I tried couponing for a while, but it wasn’t a good match for me. It was a huge time investment–a LOT more than 10-15 minutes. Get the papers. Clip the coupons. Sort and file the coupons, remembering to weed out the expired ones. Remember to take the coupons to the store. Select the correct items and make sure the price with coupon is less than the price of another brand/size without the coupon. Hand over the coupons at the register… I *did* save money, but it was cumbersome and inefficient, and didn’t feel like a good ROI on my time invested at all! For someone who can streamline the process, or who enjoys the game, I can see it working extremely well.
That said, if someone handed me a coupon for a product I was already buying, I’d smile and say, “Thank you!” as I handed the coupon to the cashier.
Maybe it’s time I looked into some of the coupon apps for the smartphone. Let it earn its keep, eh? 😀
Great post, Donna!
I don’t use a ton of coupons, but I do use some and try to pair with sales when I can. I’ve gotten some really good deals that way on things I buy anyway. My sister and I swap our packs of coupons from the Sunday paper after we’ve cut out what we want, so sometimes, I get TWO coupons for an item I use regularly! Bonus! Although, as mentioned above, if we’re a little slow to do our swap, some of the coupons are expired once we get around to it. In addition to the short expirations, and lower values, I’ve also noticed that a lot more coupons require purchases of multiples, which works for a family, but maybe not for a single person or couple.
I don’t use coupons, I always buy the store brand. I wait until it’s on sale then stock up. Couponing takes to much time for me and trying to read the small print is horrible. I’ve looked into doing the CVS thing to, but, it’s to much for me to keep up with. I make my own laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, and body wash. I just don’t buy things like I used to. If it’s not really needed or I can’t find it for free we don’t get it.
I use fewer coupons than I once did, mostly because the local paper offers very few of them. But I download them from store sites onto my loyalty card regularly.
Store brands work for me, too — and on the first Tuesday of every month we hit “Senior Tuesday” at Fred Meyer (a Kroger store), because we get 10 percent off store brand products. You have to be 55 to take advantage. If you’ve hit that age threshold and there’s a Kroger store in your area, check it out.
I’ve been a huge Kroger fan for years. Loved the 5-cent rebate they gave years ago for each of your own bags used. (Sprouts still does it.) BUT, I just found out that Kroger’s 10 percent senior discount on its own brand products is ending September 5, at least in Texas. This has been printed on the bottom of several receipts from different Kroger stores in the last couple of weeks. They have and will continue to reduce prices to balance the loss. Since many of the prices have been lowered already, and they are still allowing the 10 percent off, this week is kind of a sweet spot.
Enjoy your blog and look forward to the opportunity for a meet-up in Dallas.