Is my imagination or are coupons getting harder to redeem? It seems like a few years ago stores were offering double and triple coupons now you can't find any that do that anymore. Have the extreme couponoers made ti more difficult for stores to accept coupons? I like using coupons that can be pre loaded to my card using my store loyalty card, makes it so easy.
I often forget about the pre-loaded coupons, since I can't actually see them. I usually forget to use coupons, even if I have them with me, but if I have one that's for a larger amount, such as $3 or so, I tend to remember it. I'm not a fan of extreme couponing simply because I think anything that games a system in that way is going to end up hurting the people coupons were created for, which is those who actually really need to save money, or care enough to use them. I've seen people bragging about their stashes, they have a garage full of products that they'll probably never use, or swap them off with others. Yes, it's legal, but then suddenly the rules change, and the little people are always hurt.
No, they are harder to redeem with a higher purchase amount and also they aren't as easily available as they used to be. Not many places double or triple anymore and I guess with discount retailers, people prefer cheaper prices than to make up an amount to use a coupon. I once got my Pepperidge Farms coupons tripled (50 cents off) so each pack was half price ( plus it was buy one get one free) but these are rare nowadays.
It's definitely a lot harder to use coupons lately. Many places used to offer doubling, and they don't do that much anymore. Stores definitely tend to scrutinize the coupons closer than they used to. Whether that's because of the extreme couponers, or simply because companies are getting cheaper, it's hard to tell. But you definitely have to get more creative nowadays to get the same crazy deals that you could have found before.
I think it's harder to use coupons. I've tried recently to use a coupon with an item that was already on sale. The sales clerk gave me a hard time and told me she didn't have accept the coupon as the item was already on sale and the coupon couldn't be applied.
There was a time when it was so easy to collect and redeem coupons that we could have a kitchen cabinet drawer with tons of them. There were coupons in many food packets, and even in the flip side of your shopping ticket. Today it's really hard to get some good coupons, and even harder to redeem, but I guess this latter is happening due to a wrong strategy in which stores might be willing to offer a deal, but they don't pay attention on how good (but usually bad) trained are employees at the stores, who are continuously rejecting them.
Yes, I've heard of that too because retailers don't have to accept coupons when an item is on special, so that's why I go to big stores to use them where they will. I didn't think they would accept my Pepperidge Farm ones because they were special, but it was a big chain and the cashier just scanned it through. I guess now you go in knowing they can reject a coupon and not to expect it to always be accepted as payment these days.
I'm new to the whole coupon business since I came from another country. I don't think that it's harder to use coupons - they are just harder to find. Well, that's what my husband said at least.
Doubling and tripling coupons was a practice that was afforded to customers without ever being official at most stores, especially chains. Coupons are no harder to redeem today than they were 50 years ago because they're still the same things. You have to meet the conditions on each coupon in order to redeem it, and that's the same process as before. Stores aren't making it harder to redeem them. Manufacturers might be offering lower coupon discounts, but that's because so many people use them. They don't have to put out coupons to get consumers to purchase their products en masse. It's all economics.
As others have said, yes it's harder to redeem coupons these days. With the rise of the internet and social media companies are cutting down on how much theyre willing to let people use them. Its all about their bottom line, and I can't blame them. Consumers are becoming more and more savy and thats a challenge for businesses.
I think most coupon companies as well as the manufacturers know that a lot of people are getting more coupon-savvy, so they are coming out with less so people can't stack it. I don't use coupons as much as I should because I don't really know how to make the best out of it and how to get the most out of my coupons (I should really learn) so I haven't really noticed the decrease in coupons.
I use coupons a lot thanks to my mother. I used to make fun of her because she used coupons and now I use them too. It does get harder to find some coupons because the circular I get doesn't have every store in it. Also, every store conveniently doesn't take coupons when I try to use them. I could start getting them on my phone, but I would prefer the ones I can cut out.
I do too for coupons are so good to save money! Safeway card is simple and they have specials like if you spend $20 they'll give you back $3 coupon you put on your card. CVS & Walgreens is doing coupons on card click too & it's great! Love coupons! All you have to do is get a free online account for the stores and click away and it'll be on your card that simple!
I'll always use a coupon if I have one. However, they aren't as prevalent here in the US as they are in the US. A nice thing to do with coupons that you won't actually use, is to leave them in the supermarket right by the item they are for. Then someone else gets a nice surprise.
I have tried doing the "extreme couponing" thing a couple times. The main thing I found was that there were rarely coupons for things I actually bought. The main coupons I use these days are from my store (Fred Meyer). They tailor my monthly coupons based on what I actually buy. I also get savings in gas based on my purchases. These days, I focus mainly on stocking up when things I use are on sale.
It seems like they might have made it harder to redeem them which is a huge bummer. I guess they don't want people to pay so little? They are missing out on making money so they cut back on it, go figure. I love couponing and get free ones to print off everytime I go shopping. I get so excited when I see the price go down because of my coupons. I want to be like the extreme couponers. They should be giving out much more coupons or everything, especially the essentials.
I agree, I think that in recent years the coupons are not saving people as much money as they used to. I typically get coupons that force me to buy two or more of a product to get a certain dollar amount off. I remember when the coupons used to allow you to only buy 1 product to get the savings. I think that while there still are a good amount of coupons out there it definitely isn’t as great as it used to be. On the other hand I find the availability of coupons to be greater. You can get them in the Sunday paper or use apps such as DontPayFull or snipsnap to get store wide coupons.
I think this is a good thing in general, because when stores issue a lot of coupons, it actually raises the costs of all products for those who don't coupon - that's how they make up the difference. The more people use coupons, the more they have to raise their prices to account for that, so you're not really saving anything. It doesn't make sense to go somewhere to use a coupon for 50 cents off something when they already have the product marked up 50 cents more than other stores to begin with. I enjoy shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond, and you would be foolish to step foot in that store without one of their numerous 20% coupons they are always giving out, but in all honesty, you could often get those same products at the same price after coupon elsewhere without a coupon at all. I have yet to find anything there that I couldn't have gotten on Amazon at the same price or less plus free shipping.
