I won’t mention any names, but another deal blogger popped over on my Facebook page and said hi. In return, as a common courtesy, I liked their page, so of course the deals & stuff that they do are showing up on my feed. I was really disappointed when, in their feed, was a post about misusing a coupon and imo, encouraging their readers to do the same. And some readers were posting that they had in fact done the same thing. They even posted that they had to, in some instances, get a cashier or front end supervisor to override it to accept the coupon. The coupon says, in very plain and bold print “One coupon per transaction.” There’s really no misunderstanding it. We can argue ‘one purchase per customer’ all day long, but one coupon per transaction, that’s pretty specific.

Fine, I’ll be Miss Goody Two Shoes and spoil the party. What’s the harm? Well, lots actually. This is how I foresee the events unfolding. First the formula manufacturer will recognize what’s going on and contact Walmart. Walmart and/or Abbott will issue a memo that will go out, reiterating what the coupon already states and urge the stores to follow the instructions printed on the coupons. Store managers will filter this information down to front end supervisors who will then filter it down to cashiers. And, Walmart cashiers, who already are notorious for NOT accepting coupons even when you are following policy to the letter, will become even more discriminating and refuse to take even more of your coupons. Rather than risk their jobs and get in trouble, they will choose to err on the side of caution and just not accept any coupon they are leery of.

And Abbott, who just issued a very generous $5 coupon, will go back to offering $1 coupons. And moms who really need formula and need those high value coupons to save money won’t be able to. All so that a few couponers could score some cheap paper towels and soda and weren’t smart enough to figure out another way to do it.

Don’t do it-don’t misuse coupons or go against what the wording is. If it specifies a size, variety, flavor, combination of items, limit per transaction, whatever…just follow it. Misuse of coupons and coupon fraud hurts all of us. When someone makes a counterfeit printable, it makes stores leery of accepting all printables. When someone goes against the wording of the coupon, it causes all cashiers to further scrutinize all your coupons, which is a hassle.

There are still enough good deals to be had without breaking the rules. A freebie, moneymaker or great deal is so much more satisfying when you do it the right way!

ETA: And just because you’re donating it, doesn’t make it ok!