Is This Shady Couponing?

[fortwildernessishome]

I just want to reiterate a few important points:

1. You can use two coupons on a BOGOF sale regardless if the items rings up full price + free or 50% + 50%. That is, provided your store allows it.

2. The stores LIKE for you to use two coupons on a BOGOF because they get reimbursed from the manufacturer for the value of the coupon (plus some small fee) on an item that they would normally have to "eat" the full cost of.

3. Most of the people who EXTREME coupon would have the store order stock for them. They wouldn't go into the store expecting to buy 300 boxes of cereal. So they wouldn't be taking away stock from regular customers. Personally its the MODERATE couponers who I find take away the stock. They don't have enough coupons to warrant the store preordering things for them, but they have enough coupons to wipe out the shelves. I just try to shop on Sundays to have the best chance of getting the sales items.

4. Would an extreme couponer go to all the trouble of matching the deals, etc. and then donate them (on a regular basis)? I think yes. For many of these people I think the thrill is in the hunt!

5. I don't think all the people are obese on the show. I know the twins weren't. I don't think J'aime was particularly heavy? The lady who had to bring her 4 kids to the store because her sitter was late? She wasn't obese?? There were others, but I can't remember them all.

I am not justifying all the extreme couponing because I think that everyone I have seen on that show has WAY too big of a stockpile. I just can't imagine eating all that food before it goes bad. I know people donate a lot of what they get, but even the people that were donating their purchases that day had HUGE stockpiles.

But, I think couponing can be a great way to save your family a lot of money.

Maggie

Perfectly said!!! All very good points!!!!!

 

[timmac]

I caught a bit of Extreme Couponing last night and was somewhat floored by this so I am wondering if I am the only one who thinks it is shady. Maybe I am missing something so feel free to enlighten me.

The woman they were showcasing, I think it was Missy, bought lots and lots of Purex detergent because it was BOGO and she had coupons. Here's my issue:
She used a $3 coupon on EACH bottle of detergent before she gave the cashier her store savings card. Only after the savings card was scanned, did the register remove the price of the free items. Of course she ended up paying something like $9 for $1000 worth of groceries. Basically, she got $3 off something she never paid for in the first place.

I know these couponers have figured out how to beat the system, but in my opinion, this is fraudulent use of coupons.

Nothing fraudulent about this at all, although individual store policies may vary. She purchased two bottles of detergent, and used two coupons for those two bottles. (That she did multiples of this is irrelevant so I'm keeping the example simple)

 

[Purseval]

1. As I said (more than once) I was giving an EXAMPLE!!! Definition: Example: A problem or exercise used to illustrate a principle or method-- I never said the other poster was assisting tornado victims. Apparently you are the one having difficulty reading. Sheesh...

So let me get this straight. You read my post about how I would rather help military families than people waiting for a handout at a shelter then extapolated it to show that I would step over my neighbor's crumbled home to mail a package out to the troops. Talk about pretzel logic! When I was mentioning the previous posts about tornado victims I was actually giving you more credit than you deserve

 

[GinnyEmma]

This is not biblical. It appears no where in the bible. In fact Jesus sent out his disciples with nothing including extra clothing, food, or money. They were instructed to stay with the first person who offered them help.

Lol, and Paul makes a pretty big point of earning his own living, rather than living off others. Just sayin'

I, btw, also think it is bad sport to clear the shelf just because you can.

 

[hipchickie]

If that's what you got from it I can live with that. No need at all to deflect attention.

I would certainly not want to misconstrue your intent!
Please let me know if there is some other meaning to your post, because it seems pretty straightforward

 

[okeydokey]

WOW. Judgemental much ? You might be interested to know that some people who use coupons are doing so in order to NOT have to increase food budgets or increase gas useage by running to the store every 5 minutes. So stocking up has become quite popular. And matching coupons to a store's "stock up " ad is also quite popular. If the store accepts the coupon is PURELY up to the store. If they thought it was fraud, they wouldn't have accepted it.

Not everyone who has to watch their money has mental illness. You should be ashamed for labeling people as such. It was a mean comment.

Not everybody has 100 bottles of Tums in their garage either. If you spend 30 hours a week working the system to get $400 of laundry detergent for $6 for the thrill of getting it and then hoard it in your home, that is mental illness. If this scenerio doesn't apply to you, then simply disregard it.

Funny, there is another thread on these boards now about a guy who won 2 million in the lottery and still gets his food stamps because lottery winnings aren't considered income in his state, and everyone thinks he is horrible. By the above logic, if the state doesn't see it as fraud, then it should be no big deal.

 

[Cierese]

Both Kroger and Food Lion in Clarksville, TN allow 2 coupons on BOGOF items as each item is rung in at half price. Great legit way to save. Kroger here will also allow an additional coupon if a BOGOF coupon is used e.g. today I used a coupon for "buy one body wash get one deodorant free". Kroger also allowed me to use a $2 off coupon on the body wash. I consulted the manager prior to checking out and was told that as long as 2 items were scanned, 2 coupons could be used.

Do you have any idea when the Publix is due to open (or even start construction on) in Clarksville?

 

[Purseval]

Funny, there is another thread on these boards now about a guy who won 2 million in the lottery and still gets his food stamps because lottery winnings aren't considered income in his state, and everyone thinks he is horrible. By the above logic, if the state doesn't see it as fraud, then it should be no big deal.

By the logic of this thread you would be mean-spirited and judgemental for thinking he doesn't deserve help.

 

[Purseval]

This is not biblical. It appears no where in the bible. In fact Jesus sent out his disciples with nothing including extra clothing, food, or money. They were instructed to stay with the first person who offered them help.

I don't remember saying that the bible told me the Lord helps those who help themselves, I actually thought it was Poor Richard's Almanac myself. But thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Kion10]

Does the friend always do this or was she just grandstanding for a tv show? I can't imagine someone going through all that time and trouble to get to that level of extreme couponing and just giving all the stuff away.

I'd also say that the other people not quite so fortunate would be the ones who go looking for Purex after she's been to the store. Since this was a special tv show odds are the store had extras on hand to make it look good but think of the regular families trying to stretch their grocery dollars who are lucky to walk out with a raincheck (and most times these sales are limited to stock on hand) after one of these people have cleaned out the shelves.

There was no media at this event whatsoever. She drove 10 hours from Orlando and donated an entire van full of donations to the disaster relief center here in town. Because that is what Missy is like. She supports 2 food pantries and an orphanage with her couponing.

Missy also does not clear shelves on a day to day basis. That is purely for the producers. They encourage it.

She also has taught over 5000 people in central Florida how to coupon and she did it all for FREE!

 

[leight]

There was no media at this event whatsoever. She drove 10 hours from Orlando and donated an entire van full of donations to the disaster relief center here in town. Because that is what Missy is like. She supports 2 food pantries and an orphanage with her couponing.

Missy also does not clear shelves on a day to day basis. That is purely for the producers. They encourage it.

She also has taught over 5000 people in central Florida how to coupon and she did it all for FREE!

I also follow a group in central fl. that considers this their ministry and devote time to teaching ethical couponing in their workshops for free. They provide general coupon policy but also make sure you know to contact your own store for specifics. They coordinate with Publix(and other stores) locally to ensure that we are aware of any changes and advise thru updates on their blogs. They coordinated with local papers for discount sunday subscriptions for multiple papers. They encourage donating and list any food drives in our area to make it easy for everyone to give back. They also make sure that we know that we can donate our expired coupons and give them to the troops overseas for use in the commisaries.
I think what they (Missy and the families involved with the group I follow) do is a wonderful donation of their time and talents.

 

[sydneysmom]

Not everybody has 100 bottles of Tums in their garage either. If you spend 30 hours a week working the system to get $400 of laundry detergent for $6 for the thrill of getting it and then hoard it in your home, that is mental illness. If this scenerio doesn't apply to you, then simply disregard it.

Funny, there is another thread on these boards now about a guy who won 2 million in the lottery and still gets his food stamps because lottery winnings aren't considered income in his state, and everyone thinks he is horrible. By the above logic, if the state doesn't see it as fraud, then it should be no big deal.

You know what ? I am going to disregard it because it's simply not worth arguing. It's HARDLY the same thing redeeming coupons as the lottery man who takes food stamps. if you can't see that, I feel sorry for you.

Oh, have a fantastic day!!!

 

[Purseval]

There was no media at this event whatsoever. She drove 10 hours from Orlando and donated an entire van full of donations to the disaster relief center here in town. Because that is what Missy is like. She supports 2 food pantries and an orphanage with her couponing.

She also has taught over 5000 people in central Florida how to coupon and she did it all for FREE!

That's the best part of the story. Instead of waiting for someone to give them food 5000 people are going out and finding it on their own.

So kudos to your friend. But my personal experience from all of the yard sales I go to plus threads in this forum where people brag about the thousands of dollars they make reselling items they get with coupons leads me to believe that your friend and the mentally ill hoarders another poster mentioned are the exceptions, obviously at opposite ends of the spectrum. I believe the vast majority of extreme couponers are in it for the money.

 

[GinnyEmma]

That's the best part of the story. Instead of waiting for someone to give them food 5000 people are going out and finding it on their own.

So kudos to your friend. But my personal experience from all of the yard sales I go to plus threads in this forum where people brag about the thousands of dollars they make reselling items they get with coupons leads me to believe that your friend and the mentally ill hoarders another poster mentioned are the exceptions, obviously at opposite ends of the spectrum. I believe the vast majority of extreme couponers are in it for the money.

Of course.

It is nice that the gal shared her knowledge and coupons. And didn't empty the shelves so that others could get some of the benefit of that knowledge.

 

[LovableGluttons]

I understand arguing about couponing makes for interesting reading, but really?


After trying for many years to teach other military families to use coupons per the military commissary store policy, I gave up.

I tried, they didn't get it, I took my toys and went home.

I don't have to clear a shelf, go on television, nor lie.

No grandstanding, nothing.

If you don't feed the wild animals, they won't come looking for handouts..... (meaning posters who like to argue although they are missing a clue, not people in need).

 

[GinnyEmma]

Lol, so people who disagree with you are wild animals? Nice.

 

[hipchickie]

If you don't feed the wild animals, they won't come looking for handouts..... (meaning posters who like to argue although they are missing a clue, not people in need).

You don't have to feed them you see the same ones, over and over, trying to make something out of nothing

...case in point

 

[stacy347]

The products I purchased weren't on sale. I used a manufacturer's BOGO coupon and a dollars off manufacturer's coupon together. I guess this must be common practice at our Kroger because the manager didn't even have to think about it he immediately said "yep, makes it a great deal, doesn't it?".

My Kroger not only doesn't allow it, but got quite nasty the one time I had 2 Suave coupons for 2 Suave items. One was B1G1 free and the other was $1.00 off one. I honestly thought it was fine (I coupon regularly, but I don't generally use more than 10-15/wk, so I'm no pro by any means ). She was outraged that I would attempt to try to use both coupons and went into a whole spiel about policy and remembering that for the future.

I am all for following policy, but the way she addressed it was just one more example of the awful customer service we have at our local stores. I'm sure a lot of it is a result of the cashiers dealing with people trying to cheat the system and thus becoming jaded, but it really shouldn't trickle down to every customer.

 

[PudgetteD]

Do you have any idea when the Publix is due to open (or even start construction on) in Clarksville?

No, wish I did! I drive by there every day (not to check on progress but I have to pass there to get just about everywhere I go) and so far they've got the area cleared, no more remants of the old hospital, and it looks like they're putting in big pipes of some sort, I know nothing about construction so I'm not sure what exactly they are but they're huge silver things. I hope it will be ready to shop by Thanksgiving but nothing official yet. Where in Tennessee are you?