There are some great conversations that go on in the comments sections of all of the deal posts and sometimes it is information we can all use.

There were some questions raised about using a manufacturer coupon found at one store at another store.  Was this stealing or wrong?

My thoughts:

Most stores are given or are paid to hang the “blinkie” dispensers in their store.  They are happy to give out coupons because it helps you feel like they are helping you save money (and that makes you think of their store as having good values).

If you wait to only grab a “Blinkie”, pamphlet, or tearpad coupon when an item is on sale, there will not be any coupons there.  If you see “in store dispenser” on a Southern Savers grocery list and you don’t have the coupon don’t go to the store hoping to find it.  Be excited when you do but don’t have high expectations.

Taking coupons does need to be done only in moderation.  I grab two max per trip of whatever form.  I will not stand there and empty the dispenser.

“Peelies” (Coupons on select products) are another story.  I call the folks that take them “Peelie Stealers” and I don’t like them.  It is very different if the manufacturer or store took the time to attach the coupon to an item.  That coupon is only meant for the person that buys that product.

Is taking the coupon wrong?
The store would prefer you to use the coupon in their store just as they would prefer you to buy everything you ever need in their store but they realize that in reality this is not the case.  The manufacturer is really the person giving out the coupon, the store has just said that they would distribute it.  It is also the manufacturer that will be paying for the reimbursement of the coupon and not the store so in the end it has no monetary effect on the store other than you chose not to buy the product from them.

To sum it up, if a store intends for you to use a coupon right then on a product you are buying in their store then first it needs to be a store coupon not a manufacturer coupon and second attach it to the product.  If it is a manufacturer coupon not attached to an item then it is only being passed out by the store to be used as you wish.

Do stores pay for the coupons and displays…
I have a very hard time seeing this.  While it is not quite the same… from my days in the medical world we had drug reps and product reps shoving product displays and coupons down our throats to hand out to clients.  They never asked us to pay for them, as it was marketing for their product.  If they wanted a better display area they had to pay a premium for that space (same in grocery stores, ever wondered why products are located on the shelf they are on…).  So I just can’t see a store paying more for a display that will take up a larger shelf space, rather I would think the manufacturer would offer that for free with the hopes that you would spotlight their product.

Coupons are also a form of marketing for a specific product.  The store would like to sell more of every product in the store but they are not going to pay for marketing aids for each item.

*note – I personally dislike the word Blinkie and Peelie and  apart from this post you will rarely see them on this site.  It’s just a issue I have…*

Read More→