There is a lot of misinformation out there folks. With so many new couponers since the first airing of TLC’s extreme couponers show (which highlighted a couponer who used many coupons on the show fraudulently and teaches others to do the same), many people are using Qs in ways that aren’t legal. To make things worse they’re telling others to do the same because they don’t know any better (I’d hate to think that they do know better). It’s hard to know what is right and what is wrong when someone with more experience is telling you what to do, and it works. Just because a cashier or register accepts a coupon doesn’t make it right. We all need to educate ourselves on what a coupon is, where it comes from, and how it can be used. We also need to educate ourselves on the specific policies (or lack thereof) for coupon use at the stores we shop at. I’ve couponed for about 15 years, but that doesn’t mean I’m immune to mistakes. We all need to be on guard and carefully read the details of each coupon.
I received this e-mail last night from a reader:
i just recently started couponing and I love it but have a lot to
learn. I was in the store Sunday on the cleaner aisle and a lady was
telling me that the scrubbing bubble coupon I had which was for a
specific scrubbing bubble item could be used on any scrubbing bubble
item. She said it was “interchangeable”. I did get another scrubbing
bubble item and the coupon did work. How do you which items you can do
that with?
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of such a situation recently. Here’s my reply:
I don’t know what specific coupon you had, but you need to read the
details of each coupon. The picture is almost pointless. It may be a
picture for Tide detergent, but say “on tide, downy, or dawn products”
If it says “on any Scrubbing Bubbles” or “on Scrubbing Bubbles” then it
can be used on any scrubbing bubbles. If it says “on scrubbing bubbles
aerosal” it’s only good on scrubbing bubbles aerosals. The coupon may
go through if the cashier allows it, but it would be fraud. It’s like
paying with a fake dollar bill. You may be stopped at the cash register
and told that your coupon isn’t for the product you brought to the
register. That’s embarrassing, trust me! If the store doesn’t carry the
product for the coupon, they won’t get reimbursed for it. This causes
more issues with stores/companies making coupon policies stricter and
moving towards not accepting coupons. When you are shopping at smaller
stores like CVS and Walgreens the cashiers will get to know you
quickly. If you frequently take coupons to the register that aren’t for
the product listed or are expired, the less your cashiers will trust
you, and the more they will scrutinize your Qs. Does that make sense?
So to answer your actual question- I haven’t tried to figure out which
coupons are “interchangeable” because this practice is illegal. I’m not
trying to sound harsh, I just do my best to coupon with integrity.
There have been times that I’ve not paid attention to the details on a Q
and I was thankful (however embarrassed) when a cashier pointed it out
to me. I’ve also used expired Qs (expired the day before) and didn’t
realize it until I went back to the coupon database only to realize that
I hadn’t bought a paper the week where the current Qs were found. I
went back to the store to correct it. At this point, don’t beat
yourself up over what happened because someone else gave you wrong
information. Just move on and do your best
Now again, I am not looking at the coupon this reader used. I could pull out my coupons and find the scrubbing bubbles one, but since Qs are regional that doesn’t help me much. I do know that I’ve not paid close enough attention before and have taken a product to the register that wasn’t the product indicated on the Q. I might have lilac glade scented oil refills, when the Qs is specifically for vanilla glade scented oil refills. Regardless it’s not the right product and it would be fraudulent for me to knowingly try to use this Q on the lilac. Make sense?
Bottom line is that we have to use coupons integrity or manufacturers will find other ways to get their products into our hands and we won’t have coupons to use. What we need to do is read the details on our Qs and use them as intended. If we do realize that we’ve used a Q in a way it wasn’t intended, move on and try to do better next time.
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