Extreme Coupons: TV Show Draws Extreme Backlash

[cm8]

Any one get a chance to check this out yet


http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/fin...-to-get-the-most-from-coupons?ywaad=ad0035&nc

I guess we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later


I apologize if this has already been reported

 

[Free4Life11]

I find the author blaming the show to be kind of crazy since I don't recall any of the Extreme Couponer's going to Target or Rite-Aid, they all went to grocery stores....

I actually think the show has done a good thing in that more stores now have a written policy instead of the whatever-the-cashier-feels-like-today policy.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

Oh, they are happy to go anywhere to get that free toothpaste all 500 tubes they buy at a time. Just a matter of time till the stores get coupon usage regulated. ( you do know a coupon co. is hired to send and process the coupons)

I use coupons so no flames.

The show showed a coupon user TAKING papers from neighbors.

 

[laura.anne]

I find the author blaming the show to be kind of crazy since I don't recall any of the Extreme Couponer's going to Target or Rite-Aid, they all went to grocery stores....

I actually think the show has done a good thing in that more stores now have a written policy instead of the whatever-the-cashier-feels-like-today policy.

The mustard lady, the one everyone has pinned down as basically committing coupon fraud on the show, did a few Target shopping trip videos before the show (I think that's how she was scouted for it). I haven't seen them because she took them down but from what I've read, she was committing coupon fraud in those videos as well, so whenever anyone talks about Target policies, that's the first thing that comes to mind for me.

 

[Free4Life11]

The mustard lady, the one everyone has pinned down as basically committing coupon fraud on the show, did a few Target shopping trip videos before the show (I think that's how she was scouted for it). I haven't seen them because she took them down but from what I've read, she was committing coupon fraud in those videos as well, so whenever anyone talks about Target policies, that's the first thing that comes to mind for me.

Well I guess I never even knew you could use a BOGO coupon AND an additional manufacturer coupon at Target. The thought never crossed my mind to try to use both, so their change doesn't affect me.

Both Target's and Rite-Aid's changes sound totally reasonable to me.

I never saw Jamie's Target video, but what I still can't understand is HOW was she able to get away with? The register would have absolutely beeped, so it had to been overridden by the cashier...if that's the case sounds like the cashier was a pushover or was a friend who was helping her cheat the system.

 

[fakereadhed]

The writer clearly doesn't coupon. Stacking coupons hardly ever gets you two items for free. It does lead to bigger savings, but free items are the exception not the rule. Couponing saves, but unless you're on TLC you get some stuff for free, but it's only so exciting because it hardly ever happens! Even the person who wrote the article believes the garbage on TV.

 

[C.Ann]

This "popular" show (I use that term loosely as I see it as more of a negative) ran no more than 2 or 3 episodes before stores started changing their policies - even the major supermarkets..

I suspected right from the very first episode that it would cause problems.. It has - and will likely cause even more as long as it continues to air.. And who will it hurt? The people who are only trying to get 2 or 3 of an item when it's on sale and they have legitimate coupons for them.. I don't consider 3 boxes of cereal "hoarding" - I do consider grabbing up 100 items that would take you 25 years to use "hoarding"..

"One bad apple spoils the bunch.." It's a shame that show ever aired..

 

[Marionnette]

The writer clearly doesn't coupon. Stacking coupons hardly ever gets you two items for free. It does lead to bigger savings, but free items are the exception not the rule. Couponing saves, but unless you're on TLC you get some stuff for free, but it's only so exciting because it hardly ever happens! Even the person who wrote the article believes the garbage on TV.

You used to be able to use a BOGO manufacturer's coupon at RiteAid when they had a BOGO sale on the item and you could literally get both items for free! That nice little loophole has been closed now, but it was widely known in couponing circles that it was possible to do this and RiteAid did not prohibit it.

 

[Sagginit]

i did notice a change after the show started. my local foodstore did double and then triple coupons in the first few weeks (i have shopped there on and off for years and never saw it). i scored lots of cheap stuff and a few free things. they did however limit each person to 10 coupons which was fine with me. they have not done it since and im sure b/c its a hassle. people had their binders with them and shelves were being wiped clean. the cashiers were way strict so im sure there were a ton of fights over the limit. i did notice that one of the newstands i was going to suddenly had no inserts. like the entire stack of newspapers had not a flier and when i questioned it after a few weeks i got a lame answer of of they didnt send it. i wouldnt buy it and after a few more weeks the paper magically started sending the inserts again.

target still is letting you stack regular coupons for $ off. i got a great deal on nexcare bandaids, and kraft dressing the other day. i do better there somedays than the foodstore.

 

[fakereadhed]

You used to be able to use a BOGO manufacturer's coupon at RiteAid when they had a BOGO sale on the item and you could literally get both items for free! That nice little loophole has been closed now, but it was widely known in couponing circles that it was possible to do this and RiteAid did not prohibit it.

Thanks! Not a RiteAid shopper. Had no idea that was real!

 

[Marionnette]

i did notice a change after the show started. my local foodstore did double and then triple coupons in the first few weeks (i have shopped there on and off for years and never saw it). i scored lots of cheap stuff and a few free things. they did however limit each person to 10 coupons which was fine with me. they have not done it since and im sure b/c its a hassle. people had their binders with them and shelves were being wiped clean. the cashiers were way strict so im sure there were a ton of fights over the limit. i did notice that one of the newstands i was going to suddenly had no inserts. like the entire stack of newspapers had not a flier and when i questioned it after a few weeks i got a lame answer of of they didnt send it. i wouldnt buy it and after a few more weeks the paper magically started sending the inserts again.

target still is letting you stack regular coupons for $ off. i got a great deal on nexcare bandaids, and kraft dressing the other day. i do better there somedays than the foodstore.

It sounds like you're talking about Pathmark. They're doing a double coupon event this weekend. They will be doubling coupons up to $2 in face value. Limit 10 per transaction per day. Staten Island Stores Only

Closer to my home, GIANT PA had four doubling up top $1 coupons in their flyer this week. They do it about once a month.

Acme fully doubles up to a face value of 99 cents. No limits as to the number of coupons, nor the number of "like" coupons in an order.

I do think that couponers are being scrutinized more but I've found that as long as I'm abiding by the store's policy I don't run into problems. Some cashiers have commented on how well I do. Only a few have given me a hard time about the coupons that I use, and it's mostly because of the order that they, personally, like to receive them in.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's a shame that show ever aired..

Well what's weird is that everything I've read has said that the producers talked to the stores in advance, and so the clearing-of-the-shelves, the *massive* numbers of coupons and *huge* savings in one trip, are totally allowed and condoned by those stores.

So for them (or their competitors) to now point to the show, to the couponers themselves, as being bad, or to blame for the changes...seems odd, since the stores went along with it.

 

[cinderella73]

Well what's weird is that everything I've read has said that the producers talked to the stores in advance, and so the clearing-of-the-shelves, the *massive* numbers of coupons and *huge* savings in one trip, are totally allowed and condoned by those stores.

So for them (or their competitors) to now point to the show, to the couponers themselves, as being bad, or to blame for the changes...seems odd, since the stores went along with it.

We all had a laugh here when we saw the managers , customers, and employees standing off to the side smiling and cheering the couponer on. Because we all know thats not how it would go down if a camera wasn't there ! lol

 

[*Seanaci*]

My two cents...I coupon. To save a few bucks every week I shop for groceries.

Extreme couponers coupon to buy what they can and pay as little as they can when they walk out of the store. I wonder though, how much these "extreme couponers" are really saving when some of them (yse, I have watched a couple of shows) have had to add rooms to store all of these items they really didn't need in the first place...or take out a bigger insurance policy on their house to cover all these items they really didn't need in the first place. Seems to me, going to that extreme, you really wouldn't save much in the end because you're paying for it in your extended home owners insurance. *shrugs*

Just saying.

 

[tomthebarncat]

Or that lady who doesn't have a real job and says that couponing is her job. Well, you have a small family and are not feeding an army,so evidently making a few cents an hour, is a good wage. I watched this show twice, the first time, I thought I was going to puke the second show, the man gave his extra stuff to an feeding organization. I personally think the whole thing is fake, especially since filming releases need to be signed, everyone involved knew what they were getting into

 

[SiAmCrAzY]

I try and use coupons when I can~ but only if it is for something I am going to buy anyway. I have a few friends who are avid couponers, and some who have reciently because of this show and it's unrealistic expectations~ lost their minds. They have started buying coupons online, stockpileing and useing fancy couponing lingo- one of my friends won't buy ANYTHING unless it is on sale and she has a coupon This has led to some pretty interesting meal planning at her house.

I am all for saveing money, but if you are buying something just because it is on sale, or you have a coupon for it you are not really "saving" money. Seriously who needs 2000 boxes of cereal or 500 tubes of toothpaste? Kudo's to the guy who donated his surplus, but what about all of the excess that does not get used or donate and simply goes to waste? That is the show they should be airing.
There is a lady a few blocks from me that is a serious couponer and every summer she has the best garage sales you can get, new razors~ shaving gel~ toothpaste for dirt cheap. She is a very nice lady- but I get the impression that she cannot stop, it is an addiction for her.

 

[NYCDiane]

Well what's weird is that everything I've read has said that the producers talked to the stores in advance, and so the clearing-of-the-shelves, the *massive* numbers of coupons and *huge* savings in one trip, are totally allowed and condoned by those stores.

So for them (or their competitors) to now point to the show, to the couponers themselves, as being bad, or to blame for the changes...seems odd, since the stores went along with it.

Of course it's all planned out in advance. You can't just go into a store with a film crew and start filming. Also, have you ever noticed there are very few other shoppers in the store at the time?

The reson the stores are complaining now is because "regular" people are now coming into the store and clearing the shelves of pasta, toothpaste, ramen noodles, and gatorade and getting it all for free.

 

[eliza61]

The writer clearly doesn't coupon. Stacking coupons hardly ever gets you two items for free. It does lead to bigger savings, but free items are the exception not the rule. Couponing saves, but unless you're on TLC you get some stuff for free, but it's only so exciting because it hardly ever happens! Even the person who wrote the article believes the garbage on TV.

But the problem is "that garbage" is now causing stores to make policies more restrictive, which in the end effects normal, every day shoppers.

Generally stores have a "sheep" mentality. where one leads the rest follows. My local shoprite has now posted advertisements on new restrictive coupon measures. Mainly stuff like only 4 item coupon per order. So now if you've got 75 coupons for toothpaste, you are only allowed to use 4. Also the now have "Store reserves the right to change policy at any time". Translation, the store has the right to refuse the coupons.

I'm not surprised one bit.

 

[ssawka]

Never saw the show, don't have cable, but I think grocery stores could use the couponing fad to their advantage. Just make the show part of their ad and actually encourage people to use coupons and lower prices on products that have a manufacturer's coupon. Electronic and Computer stores do this all the time, by reducing prices on products that already have a rebate. You use to be able to get a lot of things free (or very cheap) this way.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

This whole extreme couponing thing is destroying the chances for the rest of us to see significant savings when we use coupons to shop. I don't go to any kind of extreme, but if there is a coupon for an item that I was planning to buy anyway, I will clip it and use it to save a buck or two.
Working in the supermarket, I can tell you, we are not the only ones changing our policies- the manufacturers are also reacting to these extreme couponers. Procter & Gamble, for example, fines individual stores for what they call "gang cut" couponing. That is if a person buys 25 bottles of Pantene with 25 coupons, P&G disapproves, and will not pay the supermarket when those coupons are redeemed. My chain has limited coupons to 4 per item type, per customer. So if you have $1 off coupon for Kelloggs cereals, your limit is four coupons to four boxes of cereal. We also limit bulk pruchases of items to 4. We have seen our shelves emptied on the first day of a sale on some items, by one or two "hog shoppers" This makes it unfair to other shoppers who come in for sale items that have been wiped off the shelf. A raincheck is a nice idea, but sometimes you just want that particular item now, not a raincheck to get it later.