Internet Printable Coupons
November 12, 2009
Since there has been talk of legitimate couponing I thought I would touch on a subject that drives me crazy! I was in my store the other night as a woman gave multiples of the same IP. When it was my turn to check out the cashier showed me the coupons and they were all copies. They were all bad copies actually–it was clear that they had been copied MULTIPLE TIMES as the ink was barely visible!
So–I am going to go on the assumption that maybe some people don’t realize that you are not supposed to make copies of a printable coupon. Most internet printables have a limit of two prints per computer. They limit the prints for a reason. The company that issues the coupon only want to allow so many to be redeemed as they are the ones that will have to pay the store when it is time for the coupon to be reimbursed!
By using copied coupons you are creating coupons that should not exist! Manufacturers are not obligated to reimburse these coupons as they are copies! I know many of you are asking how will anyone know it is a copy…well, each coupon has a unique code that appears on the coupon. I have circled the number in red to show you where you will find the number (click the picture to make it bigger if you need to)
Would you make a copy of a coupon from the newspaper? Making a copy of a printable coupon is no different! Print limits exist for a reason. If you read the fine print on the coupon it says that the coupon is VOID IF COPIED! If we want stores to continue to accept printable coupons we have to make sure that we use them appropriately. Remember…a few can spoil it for many!
Here is an example of the location of the pin number on SmartSource coupons:
Kay — I use many IP coupons that I can print from multiple computers because 1.) I also shop for my mom and my sister plus my elderly home-bound neighbor sometimes; 2.) I shop for things to donate to the Atlanta Food Bank and Ronald McDonald House; 3.) The store is not losing ANY money as long as the coupons are legitimate. The store will be reimbursed in full PLUS a small handling fee. And I never clear out shelves. Never. If I see they are running low on something for which I have 10 coupons, I’ll only take 4 (or whatever) and shop for the remaining items at another Publix later in the week. I don’t think it’s wrong or unfair to use more than 2 coupons just because you can only print 2 coupons from a single computer.
I think people will differ on the case when you print two coupons from a couple computers. I respect those people who would not do that as it conflicts with their own morals….I also respect those people who print off multiple computers. I would not expect my morals to work for you nor would I expect yours to work for me.
as my ink gets lower, my print gets lighter as well…although, i have never tried to use a coupon that was so light it was vague, i have used them that were a little on the light side….main thing is that the code bar is scannable…..i have NEVER photo copied a coupon….but i would be hard pressed to visually tell the difference in those i print on my HP printer from those copied on a good Xerox….
Agree with Coupon Crazy…
If you print from two computers (work and home) to get four of a coupon, how is this any different than buying multiple papers? If I’m out of town or don’t get to the store on time I have a hard time getting a Sunday paper with the inserts. Should I blame the people who buy more than one paper and “stole” my opportunity to buy one?
I am relatively new to couponing and typically use a mix of both IP and newspaper coupons. As long as the IP coupons are legitimate, I don’t think there should be a problem. I have access to three computers so I could print and on occassion have printed up to 6 legitmate coupons at a time for things that we need and use on a regular basis. As I buy for three seperate households and regularly collect items to give to the local food bank, if I need to buy 6 items and I have 6 legitimate IP coupons then I use them. Although the IP coupons I use are legitimate, I have had cashiers question some of them because my ink cartrige or laser toner lessened and the coupons did not come out as dark as when they were new. Although having them questioned is inconvenient, I understand and know that in the end I have nothing to worry about because they are legitimate. I and the other families m pay for the ink and paper to print the 2 coupons/computer and as long as they are legitimate, I think it is acceptable to use them and to expect them to be honored.
Why did the cashier accept them then? That is crazy.
I have never used all five computers to print coupons, and if the intention is to limit the # per customer, then they would force you to log in before printing, which many sites do now. That way, no matter how many computers you have, you can’t print more than your personal limit. I agree that printing multiple copies from my home computers is not any different than buying more than one paper.
I work for Publix. A few days ago my co-worker and I both seen a customer making mulitple photo copies of coupons. The customer came through my line and I apoligized and told her we did not accept photo copied coupons. She insisted they were not even though we watch as she made copies. I too use coupons and love to save money. Publix does not get reimbuesed for photo copy coupons. Please don’t abuse the use of coupons. My store manager has done away with alot of competitor coupons as many were abusing use of competitor coupons. I would not be surprised if my store manager did away with INTERNET coupons completly. Please keep this in mind
What about the PDF coupons? Where you can print as many as you want.
Jodi–Limiting the number of IPs per computer IS the manufacturer’s way to limit the number of coupons per person. There’s no way a “logging on” system would work to prevent one person from printing more than the allowed number of Qs. That would be easier to get around than the current system. They just haven’t found a better way to limit.
I am also knew to couponing. Yesterday I went to Krogers to get some items that were on sale and the cashier was able to scan my printable coupons with no problem. Then I finished my shopping at Publix when I got to the counter the cashier was obvoisly having a bad day. She scanned all of my items and then I passed her the coupons. She says that we don’t take copied coupons. I explained that I print my coupons from the internet and the thought to copy a coupon has never crossed my mind. She called for her manager and explained that she would not continue with my order because I was using copies of coupons. I politely explained that I had just left Krogers and the young lady was able to scan each coupon with no problem. I am very confused and I wan’t to know how I could explain myself if this situation arises again.
The person that made the copies at Publix and then tried to pass them off as valid is an idiot. What kind of a person does this? It gives legit couponers a bad name.
I am glad this was posted. My printer has suddenly in the last week started printing multiple prints of everything. I was keeping the coupons not realizing that it was a printer error because I knew you could usually print at least two per site. I wasn’t going back and checking the site to see if the print limit was reached.
I would not willingly copy coupons because I would not want my stores to stop accepting them. I had the fun task of going through all my coupons and getting rid of any that were multiples. Luckily it seems to do it more on the Food lion and Target sites. I also would not want my IP address to get banned. Hopefully I haven’t used any of these coupons. I don’t think I have as it just started doing it this last week and all my coupons scanned last trip to Publix.
Thank you so much for this post. Now if only I can figure out what the heck is up with my printer. It actually printed a 42 page document twice. Talk about a waste of ink!
Okay, but if I use bettycrocker.com or pillsbury.com or any of the recent ones in which you’ve had to submit e-mail address and/or name and/or address, it limits you to one or two prints no matter how many different computers you do it from.
I guess if you used a bunch of different names and/or e-mail addresses, you could “get around” it, but that WOULD be cheating the system.
This is definitely a topic worth discussing…I recently touched on the topic on our blog recently when a fellow cashier came across the same issue with another shopper.
What we can all agree on is that copying IPs is wrong, and thus should not be done. However, it seems unlikely that we will agree on how many coupons, whether IP or coupons obtained from inserts and/or other sources an individual(s) should use at one time.
Personally, my family size dictates the quantity of items I need to purchase at a given time. What pp Kay stated about sticking to her limit of 2, works for her and her family…the same goes for another who requires additional items to feed his/her household…neither individual is wrong in his/her beliefs/values as (s)he is simply being guided by what fills the need.
We would be at the store way too much and out of food extremely fast if I was to only purchase two of an item, as, for an example, we use two jars of Ragu when preparing a meal that requires said sauce. Thus, I purchase more than two, and need access to more than two coupons. So, again, if the coupons are obtained in the manner in which the manufacturer laid out, then it should not matter if a person has to purchase 4-6 jars of sauce compared to 2…but, in our world something of everything matters to everyone, for one reason or another…I say, simply make sure it’s all legal.
Reaping In Abundance,
Kay
How is my mom giving me her 2 IP coupons from her computer any different than her giving me coupons she clipped from her paper? It’s not different. If that were the case then anyone who bought more than one paper would be wrong because they should of only had 1 coupon for something. Is trading coupons wrong because you should only have 2 of each? No! And what about when the delivery person accidently adds an extra insert every now and then. DO you call the newspaper and give it back? NO. I get one paper delivered to my house. I clean 2 homes where the home owner leaves me their coupons because they have no use for them. If I didn’t use them, they would go straight to the trash for nobody to use. That is not stealing. My mom also coupons, but she doesn’t use all the coupons she has access too, but if it is something I would use, she gives them to me and I do the same. I never would make copies. and have never been accused of making copies. Manufactures have to set a limit or everybody would print 20 of each and they would loose money. Most of the time I don’t have more than 4 of any coupon, and that is plenty for my size family. Manufactures want us to use coupons because it stimulates business to their product. The majority of people that use coupons will save $1.00 on something at full retail just to give it a try and then will continue to buy it regardless of whether or not they have a coupon because they like the product. That is what Manufactures count on. They offer an incentive hoping you will add their product to your list every week. I get my coupons legally. Let’s just all play by the rules when it comes to making copies. IT IS WRONG! If you are upset because someone has 2 more extra coupons that you didn’t get it’s probably because you don’t have a way to get them, and probably not because the print limit has been reached. Out of all the coupons I print, I would say only about 5% come back Print Limit reached. There really is enough for everyone out there. Let’s hope a few don’t spoil it for the rest of us.
I am new to this so forgive me if it’s a silly question but I noticed while printing the target coupons today that when you print more then one the same number is under the bar code(ie I printed 4 of the Kellogs coupons and they are all the same). So is this okay? I am following the link provided on this site. I appreciate any input.
Allison, If that ever happens again just show them that the codes are different on each coupon. Look at the top of the post to see where they are located for each coupon.
I too am glad this has been brought up. It fires me up to see folks abusing the system! Those people are and will ruin it for the rest of us who are doing things the honest way. I also get peeved and this just happened the other day and the cashiers were hot about it, and that is someone wiping out a fully stocked shelf of an item because they have 20 coupons. Please consider the rest of those shopping who would like to have some. You can shop differnt times of the week to give others a chance or shop a different stores. Those individuals will also ruin how many of a coupon we can use as people are getting tired of it. Thanks
Coup – Store coupons (Target, Publix, etc.) usually come up in a PDF file and you can choose how many you want to print. Yes, the bar codes are all the same for that coupon, and that’s okay. The actual manufacturer Qs that you print from the internet are the ones that should have a unique ID number on each one of them. Hope that helps.
Anyone who views printing more than two (using different computers) coupons is stealing from others….Do you also feel that printing just two from one computer is stealing from others since that also depletes the total supply available to others vs. printing just one? How about printing one? If you print one, that also depletes the supply. There are a lot of these gray areas in couponing….things that are perfectly legal and legit but different people’s morals drive different views. Other examples include:
+ “Shopping” for Rain Checks….meaning looking for out of stock sale items with no intention to buy but instead use for trading or just a future great deal.
+ Using rain checks beyond a certain timeframe (when they have no limits on expiration)
+ Selling coupons or coupon books (like on ebay)
+ Using “Try Me Free” promos for products you’ve already tried (hence, not in the spirit of the promo)
+ Pulling peelies off products you aren’t buying at the time
+ Shelf clearing
+ Taking more than one coupon from a tearpad or more than one coupon booklet from a display
+ etc.
There are many things that are legal but some folks feel are wrong and others don’t feel are wrong. Likewise, I don’t expect my religious beliefs, political affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. to work for you. The best thing we can do is to respect eachother’s views, even if they don’t match ours.
To all…lets all work together and be honest, so we can all continue to get great deals from a great store for a long time to come!!! Great work Michelle….Thanks for all you do!!
Also, I would like to add that just about all the FLIP’s and Target coupons say right on them limit on per person or transaction. I can’t remember the exact verbiage, but it is clear from the wording that you can only use one at a time. However, I have seen many many times people using more than one. I personally don’t because to me this isn’t legit couponing. Now, if you want to print 10 FLIP’s and go to Publix 10 times, that is your prerogative I suppose.
As for those of you with inkjet printers, I understand that your coupons may look questionable as your ink starts to fade–lol, but those of us with laser printers have an entirely different problem. They print nice and dark and look like copies even when they aren’t! lol
My two cents on PDF’s is that a lot of stores are going to be leery of these right from the start because the differ from the IP’s they are accustomed to. I say here you should only print what you would normally use. (2, 4, etc.) I also think that this is going to vary depending on your own personal convictions.
I still think that we, who use IP’s correctly, need to contact our managers and provided examples and, in a sense, “train” them so that they don’t continue to loose money on people how are cheating the system and fraudulently couponing!
The border of ‘bricks’ coupons prints out EXACTLY who you are, you can view your isp, your computer’s registration number and your zip code in the fine print. If you were to get caught photo copying them and redeeming them in multiple quantities, you could be fined or sent to jail for fraud! The processing plants catch these things, not all the time…but they do.
I have access to several computers so I can print tons of coupons. I once ran into a person who made copies of her coupons and know she is no longer allowed to print certain coupons from her computer. When we register to print coupons we give them our info. The coupons get scanned when they go through the clearing house and can be traced back to the computer they were printed from. Be careful about giving IP’s away as well.
I get embarassed sometimes because I print my coupons on a black ink printer (no color at all) and I feel like cashier’s feel like I made copies of the coupon, when really it’s just my ancient printer. I don’t but too many of one item just because of the clear fact that most of the time I go to publix for a good deal, the deal on that shelf is usually completely gone…literally, zilch. Completely out. So I try to stay in only my family’s means.
I know not all printers will do this, but sometimes you can smudge the ink to see if it’s a copy or not. I can spot a copy a mile away, it loses the clearness of the watermark in the background. It irritates me to see copies, but I do use 4 different computers to print up to 8 coupons, and if its something I use alot, I will ask hubby to go to the link and print 2 more. Why would that be wrong? I dont’ think it is, I’m certainly not making copies of the stuff, that will definately put an end to the online coupons!
I just wanted to add to this discussion that because of fraud my grocery trip took me an extra 45 minutes at the checkout today. Someone else had been copying coupons (IN THE PUBLIX AT THEIR COPIER EVEN!!!!) and also using more coupons than what they actually purchased… so they now have to take the coupons at the beginning of the trip, run them as they run my items, count EVERYTHING I purchase, and then take the $/$ coupons in groups. So instead of the money coming of my bill before coupons which saves me more, they run them in pieces: every time i spend $30, then they will deduct $10 AFTER they have run the coupons for the items. I am now saving less because someone decided to cheat. It’s very confusing, very time consuming, and very difficult and I was met with a bunch of hostility today. By the grace of God, the cheater (whom I know because she works in the same plaza as the Publix) walked in while I was there and I happily pointed her out and also explained about internet coupons, IP addresses, and how we only get 2 per computer. The workers there appreciated my honesty and took my $10/$30 coupons even though they have now stopped the policy thanks to her cheating.
Cheaters never win. Thanks Michelle (of this blog) for this great info and helping my family get through me being laid off and times being difficult.
John — I have never even heard of, or thought of all the things you listed that people do to cheat the system. I must be naive because I was shocked.
Great post. I appreciate the effort to educate people on proper use of IP’s. If you have access to multiple computers then you have the right to print multiple IP’s. If you photocopy a coupon it is just plain WRONG. It hurts all of us to try to do things legitimately.