Make sure you check out the rest of the Coupon and Shopping Ethics posts that I have posted!

This could be a sticky question and I have a feeling that some of your answers are going to be based on where you live (urban or rural), how well you know the employees in your store, etc.  But I thought it might be an interesting conversation….

Yesterday, Merissa shared a link with me about a couple arrested for forgetting to pay for sandwiches and asked what I thought about it.  The “nutshell version”?

• A couple and their 3-year old daughter were grocery shopping.  The pregnant wife started to feel light-headed so they grabbed some sandwiches from the self-serve deli.   They ate the sandwiches while shopping, placed the wrappers in their cart (saying that they made no effort to conceal them) and continued shopping.
• They paid for their groceries, but for one reason or another, the wrappers didn’t make it on the the belt at checkout and they didn’t pay for them.
• They were confronted outside the store by 2 men who asked them to show their receipt that they paid for the sandwiches.
• The couple apologized, said it was an oversight and offered to pay for the 2 sandwiches ($5).  Instead, the manager called the police, they were both arrested.  Since both parents were arrested, their daughter was placed with CPS overnight.

Ok – I have a few things to say about this, and then I would love to hear your thoughts!

The fact that they ate a prepackaged item (as opposed to something like produce, where the final price is determined by weight at the cash register) doesn’t bother me AT ALL. We have done this in the past (I have been known to grab a single serve soda halfway through my shopping trip, finish it while shopping and hand the empty bottle to the cashier to scan).  In most jurisdictions, it is not the eating of the item while in the store that is stealing, but leaving the store without paying for it.

That being said…..

If, as they said, they made no effort to conceal the wrappers, I am having a hard time believing that they DIDN’T see the wrappers in the cart once all of their groceries were loaded on the to cart. I’ve been shopping with a 2-year old while pregnant (as well as a 5 and 3-year old while pregnant) and at no time was I struck suddenly blind that I wouldn’t see wrappers in a cart that had been emptied of groceries. But maybe that is me.

and THAT being said….

Calling the police on the couple over $5 in sandwiches seems like overkill. And having both parents arrested over $5 in chicken salad sandwiches so that their child is taken by CPS and will now have a “CPS file” until she is 18 seems like Overkill-On-a-Freddy-Kreuger-level.

Like I said – I have done this.  We have shopped at stores that sold pizza by the slice and Brad grabbed a slice, ate it while we were shopping, and handed the empty pizza box to the cashier.  I have done the same with soda bottles.  When the kids were younger and had more in-store meltdowns, I opened many many bags of Goldfish.  Not ONCE did I forget to pay for them.

What do you think?  Have you eaten prepackaged items (not items where you pay by weight) at the grocery store before paying for them?  Why or Why Not?

And what do you think about the manager’s reaction to this couple?

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

I have to admit that I am taking a little extra joy in this one.

You see, in March of 2010, I came across one of his high-value counterfeit coupons, posted about it and within a few hours, both this site and my family (both online and in real life) came under an attack.  The people on the 4chan site put me through Hell for about 36 hours.  To see the one who created those coupons finally being brought to justice (and facing up to 30 years in jail!) after what he and his friends put me through makes me SO happy!

Lucas Henderson, a 22-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology student, is facing a pair of federal felony charges–wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods–for allegedly posting counterfeit coupons on zoklet.net.

Henderson, pictured at right, is also accused of directing users of that message board to 4chan, where they could download a copy of “How to Make Coupons,” a 45-page tutorial on designing coupons that would “scan at most any store in the U.S.,” thus tricking retailers.

The manual opens with a page listing “The 6 Commandments of Coupon Making,” including the admonition that the tutorial not be uploaded “to any permanent hosting.” Instead, the document should be shared on “anonymous image boards” (like 4chan) where “posts expire after a period of time.” Placing the tutorial at a permanent online location “makes it much easier for companies and moral assholes to come across them and warn stores about them.”

You can read more about this issue at the Coupon Information Center as well as The Smoking Gun!

You can also read more about my personal experience with these people HERE

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote a post about Coupon Barcode Decoding. As many of you know, I tend to get rather passionate about Coupon Ethics and everything in me tells me that decoding barcodes (in order to use a higher value coupon for 1 product on a lower-priced item not listed in the coupon description) is just WrongWrongWrong.

Just as a refresher, from my original post:

BarCode Decoding is:

Using a coupon good on (for example)  ”Brand X Shampoo” on “Brand X Styler” just because the bar code matches up, unless the text of the coupon states that it may be used for a styler.

Using a coupon for a completely unrelated item, just because the manufacturers code on the barcode matches.

Taking advantage of a glitch in the value code section of the bar code to buy less of a product in order to get the same discount.

Using a coupon in any way other than the wording of the coupon

BarCode Decoding is not:

checking a bar code to ensure that it is a store coupon and not a manufacturers coupon (which means that, if it is a store coupon, it can be stacked with a manufacturers coupon at many stores)

matching up a bar code to ensure that a coupon will work on an item that is not pictured on the coupon, but that you are reasonably sure is included in the description (and example of this might be using a Johnson’s bath & body item coupon that has pictures of baby wash on it on a Johnson’s Buddies item.)

using the fact that the manufacturer ID “matches up” (as long as the wording does as well) to explain to a cashier why the coupon is valid on that item, even though it might have beeped when scanned.

Since I originally wrote that post, I pretty much considered this a non-issue.  However, with the recent dust-up over J’Aime Kirlew decoding coupons on Extreme Couponing, the topic has yet again resurfaced.  And because I am the Master of Procrastination and always enjoy watching an online Train Wreck, I have found myself being sucked in to the TLC Extreme Couponing Facebook Fan Page and the comments (the default view on their Facebook page won’t show you Fan Comments…click on “Most Recent’ to see comments)

And I am shocked by the number of people on Facebook and online forums that are defending Coupon Barcode Decoding…and I am wondering if I am being too much of a Goody-Two-Shoes on this issue.  Not that I WOULD decode coupons to take advantage of a glitch in the system, but it seems like I am starting to be in the minority on this issue.

So what do you say?  Do you feel that Barcode Decoding is acceptable? In the 2 years since I wrote that post, the economy has taken more of a downward spiral.  Does the current economy make it more acceptable?  What do you think?

** please note:  I am inviting healthy and respectful discussion.  You are free to call me the biggest prude known to man (or of course, the most awesome of awesomeness ).  I have no intention of deleting any comments that disagree with me or any other readers, unless they are outright rude or employ namecalling**

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

::UPDATE:  The link to the article about Jamie’s shopping trip is glitching.  Her site is getting SLAMMED with traffic as a result of her research.  Keep trying – you don’t want to miss this article!

I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of you don’t spend all day, every day thinking about coupons, writing about coupons, talking to your fellow Deal Bloggers in social media outlets, etc.  I am therefore going to assume that many of you haven’t heard about the “scandal” that has come out of the Season Premiere of “Extreme Couponing”.

If you have read my Coupon Ethics posts, you know that I often talk about a time when people were using Crest Whitestrips coupons (which are usually high-value) on other products to get them free.  This is called Coupon Barcode Decoding and is considered Coupon Fraud.

When the names of the people who would be on Extreme Couponing was announced, there was a “ripple” in the Couponing Community as J’aime (AKA “the mustard lady” from the show) was known to have posted videos of herself clearly committing coupon fraud.  She had since taken those videos down and many of us were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt….perhaps she made the videos when she was still a newbie, didn’t know that what she was doing was wrong, had changed her ways, etc.

And then she went on Extreme Couponing and from all appearances, she is still using coupons unethically…to the point of committing outright coupon fraud on national TV. Please take a moment to read this report that Jill Cataldo put together about Jaime’s shopping trip, as well as the comments for a BUNCH of screen shots that clearly expose the truth about her shopping trip.

So why should we care?

Because Coupon Fraud hurts all of us in the form of tighter store policies, more scrutiny and suspicion from cashiers, etc.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if TLC has a response to this.

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

I have been stewing about this for a few hours (and doing a bit of ranting on Twitter), and it all comes down to one thing….

The TLC Extreme Couponing show (which premiered as a SERIES) is not reality.

Let’s look at the facts:

Tiffany from the show tonight (who is a total sweetheart and someone I have known for more than 16 months) can no longer do the deals that were shown tonight.  Why?  Because Kroger seems to be doing away with double and triple coupons!

Spending 5 hours at the checkout counter? Unless there was a major national film crew rolling, I can’t imagine ANY store manager that would tolerate that.  Brad is a retail manager and he gets “twitchy” when a transaction takes more than 10 minutes!

Aside from My Beloved Acme, I know of very few stores that don’t limit the number of coupons that they will double, or the amount of like-coupons they will accept.  Most stores will only double  the first like-coupon, and then accept another 3-5 at face value.  The stores shown in the Extreme Couponing show clearly lifted their policies for the film crew. (and then they wonder why their customers in the following weeks get upset that they can’t duplicate the deals that they say on TV)

Unless you have a SERIOUS “mustard fetish”, there is no reason to buy 60 mustard bottles at once.  Further, she paid about $0.30 each (AFTER doubled coupon) for them and I have NEVER paid for mustard.  The small bottles go on sale for about $0.80- $1 and a doubled $0.50 coupon makes them FREE.  Y0u can count on these coupons and sales all summer long.  With planning, you can build up a reasonable stockpile without being a shelf-clearer.

Most sales are on a 12-week cycle, as are coupons.  Sure, there are the few odd high-value coupons (like when a product is first released), but I assure you…Chex Mix WILL be on sale for $1 per bag and there WILL be $0.50/2 coupons available.  Unless you are hopelessly addicted to Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix (and really – who isn’t?), you DON’T need to buy 30 bags one week.

What do I advocate? SANE Couponing and Using Coupons Ethically!

There is still no reason to pay for your basic toiletries when you work the Drug Store Deals or even the Grocery Deals

You don’t NEED to buy 60 bottles of mustard.  Most sales and coupons are on a 12 week cycle.  I advocate having no more than a 6 month supply at any given time.

Couponing should be a way of life.  It should never become your life.

I will likely continue to watch Extreme Couponing…it is almost like watching a train wreck!  But I will NEVER advocate the shopping that you see in that show!

What are your thoughts on the show?

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

If you missed it last night, Extreme Couponing will again air on TLC on Tuesday January 4, 2011 at 10:00pm (EST) and 1:00am EST on Wednesday January 5, 2011.

Did you happen to watch Extreme Couponing on TLC last night? I did and I have mixed thoughts on it.

On one hand, I am concerned that showing the “extreme” side of using coupons at the stores might create a backlash against those who use coupons in moderation.  I am also worried that they made it look like you HAVE to spend that much time (one woman said that she spent 70 hours per week clipping and planning her shopping trips??) in order to save big.  That can be discouraging to those looking to get started saving money.

On the other hand, I like that they showed that Nathan donated so much to charity.  I have always loved the fact that using coupons allows me to increase my charitable donations.

We had a lively discussion last night on the Moms Need To Know Facebook page about the episode, but I would love to hear your thoughts on “Extreme Couponing”. (both the show and in general)

(Oh – and if you need a refresher, don’t forget to check out my Coupon 101 posts as well as my Coupon Ethics posts)

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

I have received about 10 emails notifying me of this coupon and…oh For The Love of All That is Good And Holy…please NO

It would be vanity to assume that I am the only “deal blogger” that you read, so in case you have seen this on another website or coupon forum….

Please do NOT try to use the current Doritos coupon (pictured above) that is circulating around the Internets.  It is a fraudulent coupon.

For more information on current fraudulent coupons making the rounds of The Internets, click here

And to find out why fraudulent coupons make me want to stab someone (seriously – I get so angry that I visibly shake!), check out my Coupon Ethics posts.

Photo credit:  Fabulessly Frugal

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Diane found me on Facebook a few minutes ago and sent me this link to a story in the Pottstown Mercury today.

Not only am I thrilled that a coupon counterfeiter was brought to justice, but I am ecstatic that it was the employees at my local Acme that helped to do it!

I can not WAIT to go in to my Acme to get my early edition of the next circular (they always have it waiting for me) and give the employees a big THANKS!

Way to go Acme….my love for you just increased…and I didn’t think that was possible!

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

So a funny thing happened yesterday

A good friend of mine sent me an email that had been sent to him by a friend of a friend. This email was a .jpg that had very detailed instructions on how to create an Internet Printable Coupons.  And this person had used the technology to create a coupon that got him a FREE Ps3 (although the scumbag had to pay tax..oh – I just feel SO sorry for him!). I have no intention of posting that .jpg here, because after looking at it, I realized how well it would work…and yeah – no…I’m not perpetuating fraud!

But all of a sudden, I got a newfound respect for grocery stores that stopped accepting Internet Printables with the word “free” on them.

You see – I have always been annoyed with local grocery stores that won’t accept a coupon with the word “Free” on them.  I could understand why they wouldn’t take an IP for FREE item, but one that required the purchase of another item?  That just seemed over-cautious to me. Perhaps I was naive as to the extent of coupon fraud..and the truth is, when we are taking about a BOGO Skinny Water coupon, it bothers me that we receive such scrutiny at the checkout for our valid coupons.  We are doing nothing wrong.  Why should we be treated like we are trying to get something over on our local grocery store?

The answer?  Because so many people are!

The guy who sent this email to my friend’s friend walked out with a $300 item for which the store will never get reimbursed.  That’s a crime – pure and simple.

And it’s easy to say that the store should have been more vigilant.  They should have questioned this coupon.  The “backstory” on this coupon is that the person told the cashier that they had completed a bunch of “free offers” on The Internets and been rewarded with one of these coupons.  We have all seen those free offers on The Internets (“Hey!  Want a Free MacBook?  Just click here!”), so it might be easy to understand why the cashier thought it was a valid coupon.  Yeah – the cashiers should have questioned it, but the coupon scanned correctly

But regardless of cashier error, there is no excusing the fact that somewhere, someone thought this was hunky-dorey to do.  It’s not.

So the next time you get annoyed at your cashier or store manager for over-scrutinizing your Internet Printable coupons, please remember that there ARE serious scumbags out there with no moral compass.  As always, the best advice that I can give you is to never “fly under the radar”.  Make friends with the cashiers and managers at your store so that they know that you are one of the “good ones”.

And as for those that create fake Internet Printable coupons? I believe that means that there is either a special circle in Hell reserved for you…or you will come back as a cashier who had to deal with lowlifes such as you!

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Most of you know that I tend to be slightly…ahem….”outspoken” when it comes to the subject of Ethical Couponing.

Kelly at Faithful Provisions (who I had the pleasure of meeting when I was in Nashville) wrote a great post this morning about the very real consequences for those around you when one tries to break the rules of using coupons.  The nutshell version?  Someone at her local Publix scammed the store and now every couponer who follows the rules is suffering.

Read Kelly’s post here.

Want to brush up on my stance on using coupons? Check out the following posts:

The Black White and Gray of Coupons

Coupon Ethics:  Why Stores Don’t Trust Us

Coupon Ethics:  Coupon Barcode Decoding

Giving Couponers a Bad Name

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Normally, I would just let things like this slide and decide that it isn’t the hill on which I choose to die (See? Even when I get ranty, I still hate ending sentences with a preposition!).  It still isn’t a Hill Worth Death…perhaps we’ll just go for a Flesh Wound.

Those who use coupons have enough to deal with:  bad attitudes from cashiers and other customers behind us due to the extra time coupons require, registers that don’t give the rewards that we have legitimately earned, the perception that we are somehow doing something wrong when we walk out of the store with $200 in groceries for $12, etc.

What we don’t need is a newspaper columnist giving his stamp of approval to a guy who routinely commits fraud.

Don’t get me wrong:  I get that this guy’s weekly column is largely tongue-in-cheek.  He looks for the most outrageous “Cheapster Tips” (like recycling the salt at the bottom  of the pretzel bag).  He even has some pretty good tips that he gives using an appropriate amount of sarcastic humor (calling a company to request freebies).  If you stalk read this site regularly or are my Facebook Friend, you know that I have a great love for ‘da Sarcasm.

But this tip was just Seven Kinds of Wrong, no matter how much you wrap it in sarcasm or “we thought the Lehigh Valley couldn’t get any cheaper” disclaimers.  Don’t want to click over to read the tip?  Then here’s the bottom line:  if you have a BOGO fast food coupon, go to the drive-thru at a time when the “spaced-out teenagers” are working, mention your coupon when ordering, order something “special” (like a soda with no ice) to make your order more complicated and then “forget” to give them your coupon so that you can use it another day.

It’s “tips” like these that perpetuate the myth that those who use coupons are always trying to scam the system.  So thankyouverymuchbiteme Mr. Spencer Soper!

Even the response to the 30 emails/phone calls that they received about this piece wasn’t an “Oops!  Sorry we told you to commit coupon fraud” (which this is…it’s no different than going to a grocery store, using the self-checkout, scanning your coupon and putting a blank piece of paper in the slot). 

We found it sneaky, but funny. Our feeling was that a tipster thought he was getting away with something, but the joke was on him since coupons are a form of advertising meant to lure customers. If the same coupon lured him twice instead of once, we figure it helped the business more than hurt it, especially if it encouraged a subsequent visit that otherwise would not have occurred.

Ummm – no. 

If I steal a sweater from Ann Taylor using this method, then come back and use the BOGO coupon another day, it doesn’t negate the fact that I stole one on a previous trip.  Does The Morning Call think that it isn’t that big a deal, since we are talking about a $3 burger instead of a $100 sweater?

When the cashier reconciles their register at the end of the night, and the register is showing that they gave out 15 free burgers, but can only match it up with 10 coupons in their drawer, what happens to the cashier?  McDonald’s may be a big corporation that can afford to lose a few burgers to scammers, but I’m betting the cashier with the “short register” feels differently.

Lastly, from their follow-up article on 10/4/09:

Some readers were concerned that a cashier or the small business owners are harmed by this tip. We called McDonald’s, where we used the tip to get a free quarter-pounder without forfeiting a coupon, and asked specifically about this. But the statement we received from the company did not address that question and follow-up calls to pin that down were not returned.

”We want our Lehigh Valley customers to know that they can continue to depend on McDonald’s to provide the quality, affordability and convenience they’ve come to expect through our everyday menu offerings, coupons and promotions,” Jim Mooney, the company’s marketing manager for the Philadelphia region, said in an e-mail. ”Our coupons are intended for one-time use only and should be surrendered at time of purchase.”

What part of  ”Our coupons are intended for one-time use only and should be surrendered at time of purchase.” is unclear?

Bad form Morning Call….bad form!

P.S.  Thanks to Steve at Dealing in Daddyhood for emailing me about this

P.P.S  if you want to read a newspaper column with GOOD frugal tips, check out Sarah’s columns in The Phoenix

P.P.P.S.  I seem to be getting ranty more these days…I may want to switch to decaf!

P.P.P.P.S. But what is the point of coffee if it doesn’t have caffeine?

P.P.P.P.P.S  I think I need to lie down now

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

I received the following email from reader Caroline the other day, and thought is would make a great topic!

Hi Mindi,
I was just reading another blog and thought of your couponing ethics series. If a company offers a money back guarantee/rebate and says they will refund your money (or double your money) if you are not completely satisfied with their product, isn’t it wrong to take advantage of that if you don’t have any issues with the product? Or maybe companies expect people to treat it more like a traditional rebate? It just gave me something to think about!

Thanks for the question Caroline!

First let me say this:  I think that Satisfaction Guarantee Rebates are an important part of the Manufacturer/Retailer/Customer relationship.  It alerts companies to the need to make changes in their manufacturing process, possible “glitches” in the production line, or just an all-around shoddy product.  Unlike “Try-Me-Free” offers (such as the current Tyson Skillet Creations one) or a Seasonal Promotions (like the Kellogg’s Fuel For School Rebate), I believe that Satisfaction Guarantee rebates are designed to solicit feedback from the customers.

And of course, I have used these kinds of rebates.  I’ve taken produce back to the store when it started to grow mold the next day and “corrected” them when they tried to just give me a refund rather than their “double your money back” guarantee (ahem – Giant!).  I’ve also called a company to complain when a product or service didn’t meet my expectations, knowing full-well that their response would be to send me either a refund or a coupon for free product.

But what about using a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate just to get your money back on an item that you like?  Or an item that you want to try?  Is it wrong to utilize a rebate of this type just to get your money back or to turn a good deal in to a moneymaker after coupons and store promotions?

I’ve always felt that there are enough opportunities to save money with coupons and deals alone.  With all of the Kraft deals that have been around this summer, I could easily use this rebate and this rebate to reduce my costs even more.  But the problem?  My children LIKE the Kraft Mac & Cheese crackers and I am pretty fond of the Kraft 2% Cheddar.  In order to use those rebates, I have to do something that makes me uncomfortable:  lie to the company.

So while I will never “call out” individuals or sites who promote the use of Satisfaction Guarantee Rebates as a way to make your deals even sweeter, I thought I would let you know why you won’t see me posting those rebates as part of the weekly deals that I post. 

(but now I’m thinking that a “Rebate Roundup” post is in order, because there are plenty of rebates of all kinds out there!)

What do you think?  Would you use a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate just to get a free product?  Do you think that companies expect that people will do this and just consider part of their cost of doing business?

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

I’m mad.  Hopping mad.  Spitting mad. (which is actually kind of funny, since I just quoted Gandhi, but I can’t get that quote out of my head)

If you have been reading this site for more than a few weeks, you know that I have been on sort of an “Ethical Couponing Mission”.  One of the side effects of the bad economy is that more and more people are using coupons for their grocery shopping.  While that has been good for me (and my Stats page), it hasn’t been so good for the supermarkets.

“What are you talking about Mindi?  You are always saying that stores love coupons because they bring customers to their stores and help clear their shelves, and that the stores don’t lose money beause they are getting reimbursed!”

See – I just read this post at Common Sense With Money and it really got my dander up.  Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that my friend had emailed me coupons for free Velveeta and free Reynolds Wrap?  It seems that I was naive enough to believe that this was an isolated incident.  But it seems that with the renewed interest in couponing comes a renewed interest in couterfeiting.

The two newest coupons are for Free Charmin and Free Bounty Towels…and both are fake.  And while a person may get a store to accept them, counterfeits like these are the reason that I can’t get a local store to accept my legitimate coupon for a free 2-liter of Diet Dr. Pepper (and I really love Diet Dr. Pepper!) and that many have had problems with the BOGO Aquajuice coupons….or that some stores have stopped taking IPs completely.

What’s worse is that these counterfeits dont look like IPs.  They are full-color coupons and I bet look very real “in person”…they may even be on a glossy “feels like a real coupon” paper.  If this continues, stores will soon begin to refuse to accept any coupons for free items.  For those of you who take advantage of rebates, mail-in offers or just get free coupons from companies through home mailers or by calling a company, this can have a major effect on your ability to use your legitimate coupons.

Think that counterfeit coupons isn’t a business?  There are over 450 ended (and marked as “sold”) auctions for these coupons on eBay, with most of the listings being by the same person.  In the past, I have rolled my eyes when people say that counterfeiting coupons is often done by organized crime and similar “criminal enterprises”.  I don’t know why I thought that they were done by little old ladies with PhotoShop and too much time on their hands, but I’m now a believer.

So what can you do?

1.  Never buy coupons for free items through eBay, Craig’s List, etc.  I’m not a fan of buying coupons anyway (I’ve never done it), but if you need to buy them, get them though a service like Coupon Clippers.  (edited to add:  I received an email from a friend who I know is an honest person who sells coupons on eBay.  I would like to clarify that I am talking about avoiding buying coupons for FREE items on eBay…or at least do so at your own risk and after checking this list.  I would also check the seller’s other auctions before buying and use some common sense.  Someone who has 30 auctions for FREE high-value coupons should be looked upon with suspicion.  Someone with 30 auctions for the kind of coupons that you get in you Sunday inserts or in the advertisements in your regular mail is likely to be an honest seller.  But if the only place you eve hear of a coupon being available is on eBay, there is a good chance that it is counterfeit)

2.  Spread the word among your couponing friends about this.

3.  If you have purchased any of these coupons, throw them away.  Please don’t attempt to use them.  Yes - you were scammed and are out the money that you paid for them, but that still doesn’t justify trying to use them now that you know that they are fake.

4.  Print out this release and this one and take them to your local store (grocery store, Target, CVS, etc).  Point out to them that they probably don’t look like Internet Printables and may be easier to “slip by” a cashier.

5.  Check this list often for news of new counterfeits or to make yourself aware of counterfeits that you may encounter online.

As for me, I’m adding “trolling eBay for auctions to report” to my list.

I realize that Moms Need To Know is just a small corner on the Internets.  I have no illusions that I can single-handedly take down counterfeiters with my site. 

But what I can do is work to help my local stores not be the victim of fraud.  It is in my (and your) best interest to do so before these people ruin it for all of us!

(stepping off soapbox, taking a deep breath)

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Back when I was a child (when dinosaurs roamed the Earth), coupons had no expiration date, groceries were individually priced and everything had to be done  (including the redemption of coupons) by a cashier manually.  Then they started doing everything by UPC codes and people have been trying to figure out new ways to scam the system ever since!

First things first:   BarCodes are pretty standard:

The first 5 digits of the bar code are the manufacturer ID

The next 3 numbers are the “family” code

The last 2 numbers are the value code

So what is “BarCode Decoding”?  Simply put, it is deciphering the bar code on a coupon to see if it will work on different (preferably less expensive) items.

Those who decode coupons will match up the first 5 numbers with other products made by the same manufacturer, thus enabling them (in many cases) to take advantage of a “glitch” in the bar code that will allow the use of a coupon on an item other than what is described on the coupon.

Why is this wrong?

Despite what many people think, the bar code is not the intent of the coupon.  The bar code is merely a way to speed up the processing of the coupon.  The coupon is based on the wording of the coupon; the text is the “offer”.  If the wording of a coupon is “$1 off Product X”, then the coupon should only be used for “Product X” even if a glitch in the coupon will allow it to be used for “Product Y”.  Similarly, if the wording of the coupon is “$.50 off 4″ and a glitch in the value code will allow it to be used for only 2 items, then it is still wrong to use it on only 2 items.

In a nutshell:  no matter what the bar code says, it is the text of the coupon that is the offer. Taking advantage of a glitch in the bar code to get around the text of the coupon is fraud.  It’s not fraud on the level of your Bernie Madoffs of the world, but it is still fraud nonetheless.

All that being said, there is some confusion as to what is and isn’t bar code decoding.

BarCode Decoding is:

Using a coupon good on (for example)  ”Brand X Shampoo” on “Brand X Styler” just because the bar code matches up, unless the text of the coupon states that it may be used for a styler.

Using a coupon for a completely unrelated item, just because the manufacturers code on the barcode matches.

Taking advantage of a glitch in the value code section of the bar code to buy less of a product in order to get the same discount.

Using a coupon in any way other than the wording of the coupon

BarCode Decoding is not:

checking a bar code to ensure that it is a store coupon and not a manufacturers coupon (which means that, if it is a store coupon, it can be stacked with a manufacturers coupon at many stores)

matching up a bar code to ensure that a coupon will work on an item that is not pictured on the coupon, but that you are reasonably sure is included in the description (and example of this might be using a Johnson’s bath & body item coupon that has pictures of baby wash on it on a Johnson’s Buddies item.)

using the fact that the manufacturer ID “matches up” (as long as the wording does as well) to explain to a cashier why the coupon is valid on that item, even though it might have beeped when scanned.

I know at least a few of you who have read this far are already thinking of your arguments as to why bar code decoding isn’t that bad.  Let’s tackle a few of those right now:

“If the company was so concerned about it, they would make sure that the coupon was coded correctly!”

Yes – and if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his butt when he jumped….the world is an imperfect place and mistakes happen, even in the big bad corporate world of creating bar codes. 

If the mistake was that a $.75 coupon was coded for only $.25, you would be upset wouldn’t you?  When you are buying the exact same item described and pictured as on the coupon and the cashier tells you that she can’t take it because it beeped (thus meaning it was coded incorrectly), you want them to accept it anyway…right?  A glitch is a glitch, no matter who it favors!  Just because the glitch favors you doesn’t make it ok to take advantage of the mistake.

And once again, the bar code is not the offer on the coupon.  The text of the coupon is the offer.

I’ve called the company and they said that as long as it went through, they were fine with it!

How about if you call Proctor & Gamble and ask them if they were upset a few years ago when people took the $7 WhiteStrips coupons that were coded incorrectly and walked out with free Tide, Pampers & Swiffer refills?  Stores put out coupons to promote and move specific products, especially ones that they think need to be promoted and moved off of shelves.  There is a reason that the WhiteStrips coupon is currently a $10 one and the Downy coupons are only $.25!

The coupons that my friend recently emailed me WILL scan at many stores, but are fraudulent coupons and they may not upset the manufacturer, but the store that doesn’t get reimbursed will likely be a little miffed! 

Stores need to show sufficient quantity of product sold/ordered in order to be reimbursed by a manufacturer.  What if the recent high-value Huggies coupons (there were for the Gentle Care line) would also work on “regular Huggies” and you redeemed it at a store that had yet to start carrying the Gentle Care line?  It may have scanned (because it was coded for ANY Huggies), but the Huggies people could look at the reports and say “how can they be taking this coupon?  They don’t even carry Gentle Care?  We’re not reimbursing them!”

Times are tough!  I need to save money however I can!  If taking advantage of a small glitch in the system makes me dishonest, it’s such a small thing I can live with that!

Only you can decide your own “dishonesty comfort level”.

You may have noticed more and more segments on your local news about using coupons and coupon classes.  While I applaud the news stations for showing people how to save money, the reporters have been distorting the facts a bit.  I know a few people who teach coupon classes and know that those people teach how to read a coupon for the purposes of verification only….not as a way to “get around the system”.  But the news reports are making it seem like it is fine & dandy to decode a coupon to use it other than as intended.  After a few months of watching these reports, I finally had to speak up and say something.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

Remember the saying “one bad apple destroys the whole bunch”?  Well, there are a bunch of bad apples out there and they are messing it up for many of us!

What are these people doing?

Counterfeit Coupons: 

last summer someone took a Target Printable that was good for $5 off any $25 toy purchase and Photoshopped it so that it was good for $5 off ANY purchase.  Before Target knew what was happening, they had been printed and redeemed by the thousands.  The fallout from that is still being felt by many Target shoppers as some cashiers still misinterpret the “don’t take that particular coupon” rule in to “don’t take any Internet Coupons”.

Recently a friend emailed me coupons that were good for a FREE 1lb box of Velveeta as well as a FREE roll of Reynolds Wrap.  They were in PDF form and with no expiration date and she wanted to know if they were real.  The problem is, they were scans of a 20-year old coupon and anyone using them would be committing Coupon Fraud (whether they knew it or not).  After a bit of digging on the Internets, I found that these coupons made the rounds a few months ago and many people walked out with bags full of free Velveeta and Reynolds wrap…..and the stores won’t get reimbursed one dime! (for more info on that coupon, click here)

Then there were the $5 coupons that were on Facebook a few months ago.  They got pulled very quickly but I think that was the time that my Acme started being extra-cautious about IPs.

Photocopying Internet Coupons:

As you might imagine, I tend to make couponing converts in my offline life.  One day one of my friends mentioned a coupon that I had linked to and was so excited because she had made 20 copies of it so that she could build her stockpile of that item.  I had to give her the bad news that using photocopied Internet Printables was a form of fraud. Internet Printables usually have a limit of 2 prints per computer, so the only way to legally get extra copies of the coupons was to find extra computers.

Self-Checkout scams:

Do you feel like you are scrutinized more at self-checkout more than when you go through a line with a cashier?  Blame it on the people who will, for example, scan their $2 Pampers coupon but put a coupon that they don’t want/need in the slot (allowing them to keep the Pampers coupon to use again).  I haven’t seen it done yet, but I’ve had quite a few people tell me that they have seen it happen!

Barcode Decoding:

I will talk about this more this week (probably Wednesday), but this is a serious issue that is getting more press (in that it is being promoted as a fine thing to do).  I have to tread gently on this issue because there is a way to do it that is borderline-acceptable and a way to do it that is just plain wrong.  But I am of the opinion that, no matter what the barcode says, the wording of the coupon is what matters.

So what can you do?

Try not to “fly under the radar” when using your coupons.  I try to shop at the same time of day at my local stores so that I usually am dealing with the same managers and cashiers.  I have been using coupons on a large scale for so long that I hope that I am seen as “one of the good ones” and as a person that they don’t need to suspect (at least, that is how I am treated at 3 of the 4 local stores).

Remember the saying “if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is”.  The scans of the Velveeta & Reynolds coupons should set off alarms in your head.  A $5 Pantene coupon is the stuff dreams are made of (at least – MY dreams).  These are the ones that usually end up on a sign at every cashier station that says “DO NOT ACCEPT!”

Be suspicious of any coupon sent to you in PDF form.  With the exception of the Rite Aid $5 off $25 coupons (and a coupon that an olive company had on their site a few months ago), PDF coupons are almost always unauthorized and can get you in to trouble.  Most manufacturers make their coupons available directly through their websites, through online coupon printers or through SmartSource.  Target makes their coupons available both through their website and with deals with other sites like A Full Cup and Hot Coupon World.

Speak up!  If you hear of someone photocopying Internet Printables, let them know that they shouldn’t be doing it (but be nice – they may not know what they are doing is wrong).  If you see someone “switching” coupons at Self-Checkout, tell the attendant.  I know that the second one may seem like a hard thing to do, but the benefit is twofold:  you are helping to prevent fraud and it might reinforce to the store employees that you are an honest couponer.

Have you done anything to help reduce fraud?  Spoken to anyone about any of these issues? (or is any of this something that you didn’t realize was wrong?  Post it in the comments!

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

I am really enjoying the ”Couponing Ethics” discussions that we have been having.  This question came to me via email from Caroline and I loved it.  If you have any topics to contribute, please don’t hesitate to email me!

Hi Mindi,
I love your blog! I’ve enjoyed reading the posts about couponing ethics and I’m not sure if you’ve covered this before, but what about the issue of when you need to return something you’ve bought with a coupon? The particular coupons aren’t itemized on the receipt and there’s no way to tell which coupon was used on which product. I was just thinking about this because I need to return something I bought and used a coupon for. Will the cashier be able to adjust the price if I tell her/him I had a $1 off coupon? What if you return something and don’t remember (a) if you used a coupon for that item, or (b) how much the coupon was for? I’d be curious to see what you and your readers say…

Ok – here’s my feelings

As I have said in the past, I look at coupons as tiny little gift certificates…no different than as if I went directly to the manufacturer and asked them for money to use for my purchase.  As long as a coupon is “scanned in to the sytem” the store is going to be paid the full amount of the coupon.

The problem arises when too many people look at coupon as a “discount” and not a form of payment.  It’s not a discount.  The store will be getting that money from the manufacturer assuming that they comply with all the rules printed on the coupon (and I can’t imagine that many stores that accept coupons don’t comply).

So what happens when you return the item? 

Unless the store is able to void the sale (which most stores can’t do unless you return it within a few minutes), you should get back the full price of the item.  Even if you return the item, the store will be getting the money for the coupon and for them to subtract out the value of the coupon when you return it would result in an unfair enrichment on their part.

Here’s an example:

You buy Gator Golf at Target using the $5 coupon.  I believe that Gator Golf is about $15.

You give them your coupon and $10.  The minute that the coupon is scanned, it goes in to their “system” for reimbursement from Hasbro.  In order for Hasbro to approve the reimbursement, they will make sure that Target sells sufficient quantities of Gator Golf, which includes all those people who buy Gator Golf without a coupon.

You get home and your child says “But Moooo-oooommmmm!  Gator Golf is for baaaaabies!!!!!” 

You go back to Target the next day to return it.  Even though you are returning it, the $5 coupon is still in their system for reimbursement.  If they give you back just $10, they will have the product that they can re-sell for $15 and in a few weeks, they will have $5 from Hasbro for your coupon.

In other words – you would have $10 and they would have $20 (the $15 Gator Golf and the $5 for the coupon)

But if they give you back $15, then everyone is even!

Clear as mud?

There are a few exceptions to this:

If I purchased something at the grocery store that had double coupons, I would have no problem if they subtracted out the doubled value (giving me the “single value), since that is a store promotion and comes out of their profit.

Likewise with store coupons:  those are promotions for which the store often isn’t reimbursed (although sometimes they are, but it’s too hard to tell which is which to argue with them)

I do recognize that there is the potential for abuse with this. 

Last week Ronzoni Bistros were Buy One Get One and I had 6 BOGO coupons.  I got 12 for free (hey – my husband likes them for lunch…not me!).  In theory, I should be able to take all 12 of them back and get $13.74 in cash ($2.29 x6) back, because Giant is getting reimbursed that amount from Ronzoni.  But that just doesn’t sit well with me.  To me, that seems like scamming.

Do you think that you should get the money back for the coupon when you return something?  As always – you are more than welcome to tell me why you think I am WrongWrongWrong…as long as everyone is respectful!

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

We have had some interesting “couponing ethics” discussions on this site….and this is an issue that frequently has people gnashing their teeth! 

What is a Shelf Clearer?  Simply put, it’s a person (or persons) who goes in to a store and promptly clears the shelves to take advantage of a good deal.  Go to almost any couponing message board and you will find people complaining that they were unable to get the good deal because someone else cleared out the store.

The problem is, there are many factors at work here:

1.  Stores not providing adequate stock

2. Resellers who, for example, use coupons to get 50 tubes of toothpaste for free, and then turn around and sell them at flea markets

3.  The perception among customers that fellow shoppers “owe it to them” to leave some stock.

I have mixed feelings on the topic of shelf-clearing. 

If I go in and buy 30 boxes of Corn Flakes in one trip because of a great deal, is that considered shelf-clearing?  if I only buy 29, am I then “ok”?

If I go in to a store and there are only 5 boxes left of those Corn Flakes, am I “obligated” to only take 4?  Or am I ok to take all 5 because there are only 5 left and the store should have more stock?

If I go to CVS to stock up on a moneymaker on toothpaste and the deal is “Limit 5″ and there are 5 tubes left, am I being selfish for taking all 5?  Should other people looking to do that deal be mad at me?  Or mad at CVS for not having adequate stock for the deal?

Do we couponers owe it to others to leave product?  Or is it a case of “you snooze you lose”?

I’ve never actually bought 30 boxes of Corn Flakes, but I have taken the 5 tubes of toothpaste…and I can’t really say that I have felt bad about it.  I do try to be considerate of other customers (mainly because I don’t want to go to a Home & School Meeting and be beaten to death for taking all of the Pantene), but I work on the Law of Averages:  I may clear a shelf for a Pantene deal one week, but sit out the next 3 deals because I am still using up my stockpile.

And then there are other issues:

If I DO clear the shelf of 30 boxes of Corn Flakes and then turn around and donate them to a food pantry, am I “hurting” those who don’t qualify for Food Pantry services?

If I leave 1 box for the person who doesn’t qualify for Food Pantry services, should I have left 2 boxes?

With the economy tanking, I’ve seen more and more people complaining about Shelf Clearers.  It’s easy to take full advantage of a deal when you are feeling flush.  For many, couponing can be a “rush”….a game to see how much you can get for how little.  But once you are on a limited (or no) income, I would imagine that it would be frustrating to count on the $.17 cereal to feed your family…only to find that the shelf has been cleared.

What do you think?  Do we owe it to others not to clear the shelf?  Should we blame the stores for not having adequate stock?  Or is it truly a case of “you snooze you lose”?

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!

One of the problems many couponers have is when they end up with $175 in groceries for -$3.00. People think that we are scammers, gypsies, tramps and thieves.  Believe me, I have deleted more comments than you can imagine from people calling me every name in the book (note:  we may have free speech in this country, but this is the United Sites of Mindi and I don’t let comments calling me a beyotch or worse names stay up)

So this seems like a good time to have an open and honest discussion about using coupons.  I am going to lay out a few scenarios and please let me know your feelings on them.  If I miss any scenarios, let me know in the comments and we can revisit that in a Part 2 (if necessary).  Please try to confine your arguments/thoughts/debate on the posted scenarios! 

Please be respectful of each other.  Different opinions are what made this country great!

Scenario #1

You are at a store and see a peelie or a hangtag or a tearpad or a blinkie for a product that isn’t on sale.  Do you take it and save it for another week when the product will be on sale?    How many do you take?

Scenario #2

A certan local store occasionally had Triple Coupons.  Although their stated policy is that they will not give overages, the store is notorious for not updating their registers for the first few days of the sale, which means that if you get in early you will get overages.  Do you rush in to take advantage of the overages before the programmers at corporate catch up to the glitch?  Do you point out to the cashier  the potential overages so that she can adjust and give you your items for free without overage?  Do you say nothing and use the overages towards the rest of your groceries?

Scenario #3

You have Internet Printable coupons that say “Do Not Double” on the top of them, but the bar code on the coupon starts with a “5″ (which means that when scanned, they will double).  Do you go to the self-checkout in the hopes that nobody will catch it and that your coupons will double?

Scenario #4

There is a Catalina deal going on at a store and you hear that it is working on “shelf prices”, not on “sale prices”.  Do you calculate your deals based on shelf prices (which is usually a programming glitch with the registers) or on sale prices as the deal is meant to be done?

What do you do?  (and remember, please be respectful of differing opinions.  I am going to assume that my readers are not looking to purposely defraud companies, but there can be a certain amount of “grey area” in couponing)

Get all the codes you need for your online shopping at my Online Coupon Database!