Problems with manufacturer coupons?

[magik]

Although I love to bargain hunt, I’m not really one to use many paper coupons. It’s probably been a few years since I tried to use any sort of paper coupon, and even then I think it was probably a store coupon. The newspaper recently had two coupons for food items I buy frequently, so I clipped them out and tried to use them at two different stores today (Target and Walmart) and they weren’t accepted at either. When scanned they came up as ”unrecognized” or not matching the item even though these were definitely legitimate manufacturer coupons that I cut out of the newspaper and they definitely were for the items I bought. I double- and triple-checked that the items I was buying matched what the coupons were for.

Are stores just not accepting manufacturer coupons anymore? Anyone else having issues like this? The lines for customer service at both stores were very long or I might have tried to ask there.

It’s not a huge deal since I rarely use coupons, but it seemed really weird that the coupons didn’t work at either store and they’re definitely legitimate, brand new, non-expired coupons.

 

[Communicore1991]

I haven't used manufacturer coupons in awhile but if I'm at self checkout, I'm going to call over the person manning those registers, ask them to help me with the coupon and if they can't get it to scan, hope they'll do a manual override to process the coupon or get their manager to come over and put in the override. There's no reason for me to wait in a customer service line if what I'm purchasing is exactly what's on the manufacturer's coupons terms.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I still use quite a few manufacturers coupons and don't have any trouble. I wonder if there was a printing mistake on these that was causing them to be rejected.

 

[barkley]

I wonder if there was a printing mistake on these that was causing them to be rejected.

it might have to do with the paper it was printed on. i recently had an issue with both a coupon and a gift card i had printed to use at the store. neither one would scan correctly so the clerk had to get customer service to get involved. they manually entered the information and did some kind of override to use them but in the course of it they said they were having to do it more frequently b/c the way their registers are set up to prevent fraud it makes them picky and prone to rejecting coupons that aren't on newsprint (does anyone even get them this way anymore???) and non plastic gift cards (guess most people just apply them via their phones).

 

[afan]

it might have to do with the paper it was printed on. i recently had an issue with both a coupon and a gift card i had printed to use at the store. neither one would scan correctly so the clerk had to get customer service to get involved. they manually entered the information and did some kind of override to use them but in the course of it they said they were having to do it more frequently b/c the way their registers are set up to prevent fraud it makes them picky and prone to rejecting coupons that aren't on newsprint (does anyone even get them this way anymore???) and non plastic gift cards (guess most people just apply them via their phones).

But it was from the paper not printed by the op so that shouldn't have been an issue. They also should have matched it and taken it anyway. Unfortunatley there's been so many fake coupons out there that have scanned I imagine the stores aren't as willing to do thay any more.

Did you use any coupons from the store app? I've had this issue both with store and manu coupons, both will be in the app. If the app used a coupon for the item you won't be able to use a paper copy unless one is a store q and the other manu.

 

[barkley]

Did you use any coupons from the store app? I've had this issue both with store and manu coupons, both will be in the app. If the app used a coupon for the item you won't be able to use a paper copy unless one is a store q and the other manu.

no just a random coupon i had found on-line. the one's i've had issues with regarding an individual store's website is with safeway. i will go online and load the coupons and offers onto my my safeway card and it never fails-at least one or two won't be applied. if i try to deal with it at the register they tell me b/c of the 'just for u' offers they can't determine what individual customer offers are so i've taken to printing off the list of all the coupons and offers i've added and just head over to customer service for a refund.

 

[magik]

I haven't used manufacturer coupons in awhile but if I'm at self checkout, I'm going to call over the person manning those registers, ask them to help me with the coupon and if they can't get it to scan, hope they'll do a manual override to process the coupon or get their manager to come over and put in the override. There's no reason for me to wait in a customer service line if what I'm purchasing is exactly what's on the manufacturer's coupons terms.

I did ask the employee at the self-checkout registers for help and they just said that if the register doesn’t accept it, it is not allowed.

 

[jo-jo]

About 5 years I found a few site where you could print out coupons. I used them for awhile but I was denied. At that time I was told not accepting because people could print out 50 coupons.

 

[tvguy]

We get the manufacturers coupons in the mail every Wednesday. I can't remember the last time we used one because they tend to be for items that, even with the discount, are more expensive than the regular price of other brands in the store.
We do have a rewards card at our store, and they send us specific coupons based on what we historically buy, those we use. They are usually something like $2 off a package of beef, a free package of mushrooms, a free bag of store brand chips, etc.

 

[Psychodisney]

Try ibotta. I feel like they are essentially coupons.

 

[CGB]

I haven't used coupons in a while, but there were some good ones recently in our sale paper inserts for Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts, toothpaste and body wash. So, I made a quick trip to Target. The register locked up as soon as the cashier scanned them. Long story short, after re-scanning all items and coupons three separate times, it wouldn't work. I told the cashier to forget the coupons, but she insisted it was the machine, not the coupons. Sure enough, we switched to a different register and everything went through perfectly on the first try. I commented to the cashier that instead of the new facelift with the store they should have upgraded the registers. She rolled her eyes and nodded.

 

[lanejudy]

I use coupons fairly often, though at the grocery store not stores like Target or Walmart (our grocery sections of those stores are small). Sometimes the newsprint smudges or blurs, making the barcode unreadable; the cashier usually just overrides it. Also check that the coupons you printed weren't specific to certain store -- I have found that in the regular coupon section that comes in the newspaper, occasionally a coupon is only valid at a particular chain. Sometimes it will be accepted with an override but other times they refuse because the store won't be reimbursed for it.

 

[_19disnA]

Some stores probably have different rules about handling of generic coupons they didn't issue. It is far too easy for someone to find a bunch of on-line coupons and print multiple copies them. Stores who have had bad experiences with those are probably more strict on what they will accept.

 

[DLgal]

Does Target even take coupons? I don't think they do. They only do offers through their app.

 

[afan]

Does Target even take coupons? I don't think they do. They only do offers through their app.

They do. And some of the stuff in their app are manufacturer coupons. It'll say if it is.

 

[Anthony1971]

Our store will accept original manufacturer coupons only and store flyer coupons and of course digital loaded onto your …. Card. Most of the time the coupons loaded on the card are the manufacturer coupons so you can’t use both. Simple the manufacturer stopped reimbursing the stores and the stores stopped accepting… Whatever the opinion the store still has employees who do just that… get reimbursed for the coupons so in the end the store is providing a service and when they starting eating coupon amounts on top printed coupons become hard to use.