Coupon Ethics
There are right ways, wrong ways, and illegal ways to use coupons. I want to educate you on these so that you can be a wise and fair consumer. Remember, when you intentionally misuse coupons to get a good deal, you are STEALING from the store. Stealing is ILLEGAL. Illegal activities are not glorifying to God and jail is not a frugal decision for your family- so don’t do it!
We will begin with understanding coupons. Manufacturers often put out coupons for items that they want you to try- it is basically like advertising for them, in the hopes that once you try the product you will be hooked. You use the coupon at the store, the store mails the coupons to a clearing house, the clearing house goes through all of the coupons to make sure that they are legitimate and were used correctly (and YES, they can tell!). If they were, the store is reimbursed for the coupon plus a handling fee- so stores actually make money off of your coupons. Manufacturer coupons ALWAYS begin with a number 5 or a number 9 under the barcode. That is an easy way to tell if it is a manufacturer coupon or a store coupon.
Store coupons are put out by the specific store. They can only be used at that store (generally), but can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon for greater savings. You can ONLY use a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon. You can NEVER use two manufacturer coupons on the same item- that is stealing and the store does not get reimbursed for those! Don’t even be tempted to slip one in there- saving $1 is not enough to compromise your integrity.
Printable coupons are coded with all sorts of information that tells the clearing house where it was printed, when it was printed, and has a special number and computer-specific code that traces it back to YOU. Because they are coded, the clearing house can tell if copies have been made of that coupon. DO NOT make copies of your printable coupons (or any coupons)! Print off your two per computer, but don’t try to make copies thinking that no one will know- they will know, and they will know it was YOU! This is illegal and is called coupon fraud.
As far as “right and wrong” go, we need to remember to be couponer-friendly people. We are all a community, trying to save our families money. Some of us pick up extra items to donate. This is great and an awesome way to use your coupons to glorify God. Don’t be a shelf-clearer! Please don’t go in on the first day of the sale and buy up all of the Windex just because it is free. Nobody is impressed with that! It is selfish and inconsiderate of the person coming in after you who would like the deal- or has a legitimate need for that item! Buy what your family needs, some extra to donate if you wish, but leave some for others. It is not glorifying to God to coupon selfishly.
Be kind to the people around you. Be polite and kind to cashiers- the couponers that go in being hateful and causing arguments with cashiers and managers make it harder on all of the other couponers, and make it less likely that these stores will remain coupon-friendly. If they are arguing and you know that you are correct, POLITELY talk to them about it (it also helps to have a copy of their coupon policy with you). Being nice goes a lot further than being nasty! If you have a lot of items and a lot of coupons, let the person behind you with a much smaller load go first- it says a lot about the type of person (and couponer) you are! If your transaction is taking a lot time, apologize to the person behind you. If you have extra coupons that you are not going to use while you are shopping, consider leaving them next to that item in the store for someone else to find and use. Be considerate of other people’s time, efforts, and feelings so that people will not dread seeing us couponers coming!
We will begin with understanding coupons. Manufacturers often put out coupons for items that they want you to try- it is basically like advertising for them, in the hopes that once you try the product you will be hooked. You use the coupon at the store, the store mails the coupons to a clearing house, the clearing house goes through all of the coupons to make sure that they are legitimate and were used correctly (and YES, they can tell!). If they were, the store is reimbursed for the coupon plus a handling fee- so stores actually make money off of your coupons. Manufacturer coupons ALWAYS begin with a number 5 or a number 9 under the barcode. That is an easy way to tell if it is a manufacturer coupon or a store coupon.
Store coupons are put out by the specific store. They can only be used at that store (generally), but can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon for greater savings. You can ONLY use a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon. You can NEVER use two manufacturer coupons on the same item- that is stealing and the store does not get reimbursed for those! Don’t even be tempted to slip one in there- saving $1 is not enough to compromise your integrity.
Printable coupons are coded with all sorts of information that tells the clearing house where it was printed, when it was printed, and has a special number and computer-specific code that traces it back to YOU. Because they are coded, the clearing house can tell if copies have been made of that coupon. DO NOT make copies of your printable coupons (or any coupons)! Print off your two per computer, but don’t try to make copies thinking that no one will know- they will know, and they will know it was YOU! This is illegal and is called coupon fraud.
As far as “right and wrong” go, we need to remember to be couponer-friendly people. We are all a community, trying to save our families money. Some of us pick up extra items to donate. This is great and an awesome way to use your coupons to glorify God. Don’t be a shelf-clearer! Please don’t go in on the first day of the sale and buy up all of the Windex just because it is free. Nobody is impressed with that! It is selfish and inconsiderate of the person coming in after you who would like the deal- or has a legitimate need for that item! Buy what your family needs, some extra to donate if you wish, but leave some for others. It is not glorifying to God to coupon selfishly.
Be kind to the people around you. Be polite and kind to cashiers- the couponers that go in being hateful and causing arguments with cashiers and managers make it harder on all of the other couponers, and make it less likely that these stores will remain coupon-friendly. If they are arguing and you know that you are correct, POLITELY talk to them about it (it also helps to have a copy of their coupon policy with you). Being nice goes a lot further than being nasty! If you have a lot of items and a lot of coupons, let the person behind you with a much smaller load go first- it says a lot about the type of person (and couponer) you are! If your transaction is taking a lot time, apologize to the person behind you. If you have extra coupons that you are not going to use while you are shopping, consider leaving them next to that item in the store for someone else to find and use. Be considerate of other people’s time, efforts, and feelings so that people will not dread seeing us couponers coming!
