Coupon Class – Lesson Six

 Welcome to lesson six of my FREE 9 lesson online coupon class. Please ask questions and leave comments so that we can all learn from each other.

Assignment #1 – Print off the coupon policies for the stores at which you shop.

It is really important to be aware of each store’s coupon policy. Once you are armed with that information you can politely inform your cashier and store manager of how the coupon is supposed to be accepted at their store . I suggest printing out the policy and taking it with you to the store. I am always amazed at the lack of training that some stores give to their employees. Often we (the shopper) are the ones that have to educate them.

Links to store coupon policies:

• Albertsons
• Commissary (Military Bases)
• Dollar General
• Food Lion
• Giant Eagle
• Harris Teeter
• Kroger
• Lowes Foods
• Meijer
• Rite Aid
• Target
• Walgreens
• Walmart

Obviously not all stores are listed. For some reason, some stores have failed to publish or even have a corporate coupon policy and it’s left up to store manager to determine it. This does cause confusion and quite frequently disgruntled shoppers as there is no uniformity across the chain. If you shop at a store not listed and you have a link to the coupon policy, please leave a comment with it and I will update the list.

 Assignment #2 – Start a price book.

It’s difficult to know if a deal is really a deal if you don’t know what the regular price is for an item in your area. I suggest you start a price book. A price book is simply a log of what you pay for items in your area. Once you have recorded your prices for a while, you will know what you are willing to pay for an item. A price book can simply be a notebook that can fit in your purse. Take it to the store with you and write down the prices of items you frequently purchase. Another option is to use a binder. If this option appeals to you, I suggest you print several of the pages below, hole punch them, and keep them in a binder. You can sort your price book based on the category that makes sense to you: Store Name, Item, etc…..

Below are two links for PDF files of price book pages:

• Price Book Page – Sorted by Store
• Price Book Page – Sorted by Item

Assignment #3 – Visit the CIC website (Coupon Information Corporation). Also check out their FAQ section.

Coupon fraud costs stores a lot of money every year and we pay for other peoples misuse of coupons. Stores are not reimbursed by fraudulent activity and the cost associated with this fraud is passed on to us in the form of higher prices. It is estimated that coupon fraud costs retailers approximately $300 million dollars per year.

Here are some important things to know:

• Do not photocopy, scan, or fax coupons. It is illegal to do so. If the coupon is not legitimate and you receive the discount (amount of the coupon) the store will not receive reimbursement for the amount of the coupon.
• Read the fine print on the coupon and follow it.
• Don’t use expired coupons.
• Be suspicious of coupons that are in a PDF format. They are often fraudulent.
• If you think a coupon is too good to be true, it probably is a fraudulent coupon.

The CIC (Coupon Information Corporation) is a great source of information on this topic. That is where I found all of this information.

There are severe penalties for coupon fraud:

• Longest prison sentence: 17 years
• Highest financial penalty: $5 million
• Prison sentences of three to five years are not uncommon.
• Financial penalties generally vary, but have often been in excess of $200,000.
• Go here to see the current counterfeit coupons in circulation.