Welcome to The Coupon Challenge! This site is dedicated to providing coupons, freebies, store matchups, recipes, free/cheap events and much more! Don't want to miss any of the great deals or money saving tips? Subscribe to my RSS feed or get FREE daily updates via email . Thanks for visiting!
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
Electronic coupons or ecoupons are next up on the list of topics for Couponing 101.
What is an ecoupon?
An ecoupon is a digital coupon that isn’t clipped or printed. The coupon is downloaded online directly onto a store loyalty/discount card and is redeemed electronically. The coupon value will automatically be deducted at checkout once the qualifying purchase is made within the redemption period.
Where are ecoupons accepted?
Ecoupons have become more prevalent and are now widely accepted. However, not all stores accept ecoupons so it is important to know your stores coupon policy. Simply heading over to the store website will also help determine if and which service your store uses for ecoupons since each store will have a specific ecoupon service they use. You will need to sign up for that particular ecoupon service and register your store loyalty card to load and redeem coupons.
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
What is a Catalina Coupon?
A Catalina is a coupon printed at the register from a Catalina machine when a participating product(s) is purchased. The Catalina machines are little printers next to the register (shown below).
There are several ways to earn a Catalina coupon or CAT:
- Purchase X amount 0f products and earn X dollars off your next purchase. You will need to purchase a specific number of participating products or a specific dollar amount of products to trigger the Catalina.
- Buy 2 Kikkoman soy sauce and get $1.50 off your next purchase, buy 3 and get $2 off your next purchase OR
- Purchase $30 of participating Proctor & Gamble products and earn $10 off your next shopping trip
- Purchase X products to receive a FREE product on your next shopping trip. You need to purchase a specified number of products to either receive a coupon to get a free product or to get money off of a specific product(s).
- Purchase 4 participating General Mills Cereals and get FREE Milk (coupon printed at register). You must purchase the 4 boxes of applicable cereal then you will get a Catalina coupon at checkout for FREE milk. You can’t get the milk free in the same transaction.
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
“Stacking” coupons is one of the great secrets of saving with coupons. Once you realize that stores will allow you to use both a store coupon AND a manufacture coupon on 1 item, the whole world of coupons seems a bit brighter. Why? Because you have now essentially doubled your savings!
Now, not all stores allow “coupon stacking” and not all stores even offer store coupons. The popular chains do; however, have this wonderful note in their coupon policies. This week, we will look at your favorite stores that allow coupon stacking.
Before we more forward, it is important to note that you can’t use 2 manufacture coupons on 1 product. I am discussing using a store coupon (see post here) with a manufacture coupon. You must also follow any restrictions set forth by the manufacture or the store.
Coupon Stacking Example:
Buy 1 Trix Cereal @ $2.50
Use $1/1 Trix Manufacture coupon
Stack with $1/1 Trix CVS store coupon
Final: $0.50 each after coupons
CVS
According to the CVS Coupon Policy:
CVS/pharmacy accepts one third-party manufacturer coupon and applicable CVS/pharmacy coupon(s) for the purchase of a single item, unless prohibited by either coupon offer.
Make sure to always scan your Extra Care Card at the Magic Coupon Kiosk before shopping. You might be surprised with an unexpected store coupon or free offer. You can also print CVS coupons online.
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
Knowing the difference between a Manufacture coupon and a Store coupon is important to help maximize your savings. Why? You can stack a manufacture coupon with a store coupon at most stores! I will post in more detail about stacking next week, but I wanted to point out how to tell the difference today.
We have already looked at the Anatomy of a manufacture coupon. Make sure to head over and read that post if you missed it.
I want to look at in-ad coupons from my local grocery store, Farm Fresh. I have received questions regarding these coupons over the years, so I wanted to focus on this store.
First, notice the coupon below states “Store Coupon” on the top where it would normally state “manufacture coupon”. Additionally, you will notice the barcode starts with a “0″ and the coupon lacks a redemption address and retailer terms. The coupon also states “redeemable ONLY at Farm Fresh”. The store doesn’t get reimbursed by the manufacture for this coupon.
You will also find manufacture coupons that are sponsored by a specific store. The coupon below is a manufacture coupon with a Farm Fresh store logo. You will notice the coupon has all the same features of as a standard manufactures coupon and says “Redeemable at” Farm Fresh. The coupon will be submitted to the manufacture for reimbursement.
Some stores will accept competitors manufacture coupons, so read the coupon policy at your local store to see if your store accepts competitors coupons.
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
After posting about the anatomy of a coupon, I realized it was important to step back and show you a few ways to recognize a fraudulent printable coupon. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common to come across fraudulent or modified coupons.
Follow to steps below to reduce your chances of unknowingly using a fake coupon:
- The coupon is too good to be true: If something is too good to be true, it probably is. A printable coupon for a FREE 12-pack of Pepsi would raise a huge red flag for me.
- No expiration date or a long expiration date: A coupon must have an expiration date. If there isn’t an expiration date, chances are the coupon is not valid. Having an expiration date longer than 6 months would also signal something may be wrong with the coupon. Most printable coupons are going to be valid around 4-6 weeks depending on the manufacturer.
- Lack of a UPC code: A coupon needs a UPC code to be tracked and to specify the item. If there isn’t a UPC or barcode, don’t try to use the coupon.
- The coupon is a PDF: PDF coupons are becoming increasing rare. They are easy to manipulate and the number of prints is unlimited. While not all PDF coupons are fake, research the coupon if it was emailed to you from a friend or found randomly on the web. Obtaining the PDF coupon directly from a company website or from an email sent to you by a company is the safest course of action when dealing with PDF”s.
Also, make sure to use a trusted site for obtaining coupons. The Coupon Challenge and most other bloggers try extremely hard to ensure the coupons we are posting are legitimate. Yes, we can still be fooled. However, we take measures to prevent sharing with you coupons that are fraudulent.
What are the 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.
You can find a list of fraudulent coupons on the CIC website.
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
New to the series? I recommend starting from the first post and working your way current as the posts build on each other. Search all Couponing 101 – Back 2 Basics posts.
Last week I talked about the Anatomy of a Coupon. We will be continuing our examination of coupons by looking at the security features on printable coupons to prevent fraud.
1. Pattern of Circles or Dots behind the expiration date to prevent photo copying.
2. “Watermark” or faded image behind the Coupon Value and Description to prevent photo copying.
3. Encrypted 2-D Barcode which is unique to each coupon print (even for a second print of the same coupon). The first 4-digits is the same for each coupon you print, all other numbers will vary. You can enter this code into the Veri-fi website to verify that the coupon hasn’t been redeemed ( if you’re concerned the coupon may be a copy).
4. The Border of a coupon is repeating text that shows the time & date stamp of when the coupon was printed, zip code where printed, redemption value and expiration date as well as a unique number sequence. The information identifies your computer!
5. Under the expiration date (as part of the border box) you will find the same information as on the coupon border. You could cut off the entire border of the coupon but the information will still be obtained from the expiration date box.
Copying or creating coupons is fraud! According to the CIC, the penalties for coupon fraud are:
- 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
Penalties for those convicted of coupon fraud related crimes vary by each case and the number of laws violated.
Tagged as:
Couponing 101 - Back 2 Basics
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
