ABC News: Retailers push back against Extreme Couponing

Comments

1. Janet Smiles says

   May 16, 2011 at 10:21 am

   Congratulations to you, Jill. You were wonderful last evening on ABC World News with David Muir, it was awesome seeing you! I also liked how they mentioned in the segment that TLC featured people who may not have been using coupons as they should and “it was being looked into”… Thank you Jill for helping so many people and teaching us how it can be done honestly.

2. someonehastobethegoodguy says

   May 16, 2011 at 10:45 am

   Jill, I wish you would start addressing the dirty little secrets that keep your average customer from getting a single item much less actually using their coupons.

   The special orders for only special people and the illegal activities that go on to gain thousands of free inserts a week.
   These shelf clearers are not only wiping shelves but they are wiping out warehouses. This causes other stores not to be able to receive even basic amounts of product. Often times the store managers are in on this because it’s boost their store sales.
   Employees of newspapers have strict guidelines that are being ignored for financial gain. Where do the thousands of free inserts come from each week? I can assure you it’s not GPS, Gods Postal Service!
   This is a mutli step scam that starts with improperly gaining inserts and ending with flea market and stockpile sales.
   These folks brag that they are making thousands upon thousands a year and not reporting this to the IRS.
   They brag on their tax free high lifestyle and even bragging on vacations, designer clothes, and even private school, all gained by shady dealings that involve everything from shelf clearing to reselling.

   There is a new TV add stating that P&G is a “Proud Sponsor Of Moms”.
   My foot! They are proud sponsors of flea market booths. The little mom coupon shopper gets nothing but empty shelves!
   The notes on the bottom of P&G coupons have done nothing to help.
   Customers simply do multiple transactions or ignore the wording.
   The only way to atop this is to stop the newspaper employees from getting thousands of free insets each week.

   There are so many issues that are not deeply being covered in the media such as major overage, cash back from coupons at Walmart, and even so me customers hiding merchandise in the store in stashes!
   Even coupon sites need to be investigated. Any members who point out abuse and fraud are banned secretly behind the scenes. These mods clean up the mess, delete the posts, and leave the shady coaching for the world to see. It’s time these sites were held accountable for the shady they do behind the scenes.

   The shady things that go on are too many to list here.

3. CpnGuerrilla says

   May 16, 2011 at 4:04 pm

   Only been Super-couponing for about a month and although I find this all very interesting sometimes I wonder if we’ve come to couponing too late. It really does feel like the rug will be pulled out from under us just as we’re finally learning to do it the right way. The more success we’ve had makes me realize of couponing on an extreme level isn’t needed to make a big impact on your budget. I’ll be the first to admit that we we’re always doing it the right way. Early on before we understood how to work coupons we did shady things like give the cashier one too many or try to slip in an expired one. We did those things out of sheer frustration and miseducation. Now, after learning more from Jill and other common sense ethical couponers in a few short weeks we’ve bought enough soap and deodorant to last the better part of the year for little more than sales tax and after only buying two or three papers a week. Us new Qers are excited about the future and I sure hope opportunities to do things like like this don’t disappear.

4. sabbyinsuburbia says

   May 18, 2011 at 8:53 am

   Just watched your Nightline video. Loved your approach to the challenge!

5. nurse2448 says

   June 1, 2011 at 6:47 pm

   I was wondering if anyone else is getting flack from cashiers about their coupon use? I can’t believe how many people are just plain out rude to me just because I am using coupons, as if the money I save was coming out of their pockets personally. I have resisted the urge to yell or be rude back but I have to tell you I have really gotten tired of the attitudes.

   I just today went in to get 4 half gallon’s of ice cream, on sale for 1.99, with my coupon it came to 1.00. I forgot there is a limit of 2, so I just asked if I could split up my order. You would have thought I was asking her to cover up a murder..I wasnt clearing the shelves…should I have bought 2 then drove home and came back for 2 more later?

   A friend of mine gave her 2 sons money and they each got 2 (for a total of 6) she has a family of 6 and I am sure that ice cream did not last very long. We weren’t in the store at the same time or even the same day, just happened to both of us..the cashier said to her “I suppose these are all going to the same house?” And she wasn’t being cute or funny.

   I have gotten to the point where I use the self check out whenever possible so I can be left alone. I LOVE using coupons and saving money, but my shopping takes longer, I feel like there will soon be a picture of me like a most wanted poster up in the stores. I feel like the general attitude of the stores is they really put the sales out to draw you in to the store and really don’t want to save you money at all.

   Has anyone else experienced this?

   Gina

6. ranchqueen says

   June 3, 2011 at 11:43 am

   Something that you can remind your cashier’s that are giving you a hard time is that the manufacturer’s do reimburse the store the face value of the coupon plus a few cents. So in essence the store is not loosing any money they are making a little for each coupon. If it is a store that doubles and triples the coupon they have that cost built into their profits somewhere.

   If you are clearing the shelves in a store because you are donating the items to a homeless shelter or food pantry let the manager know what you are doing beforehand. More times than not they will appreciate what you are doing AND you won’t be building a bad rep in the store.

   Remember to smile and be courteous to the cashier’s and the other patrons of the store.

7. beckyngary says

   June 19, 2011 at 11:28 am

   You reminded me when you said “Even our favorite ones”. That was one of the reasons I was upset, I am not talking about a huge chain of stored here, this is a local store with about 5 stores in the state. I live in a town 1 mile by 1 mile, and I have shopped in this store my entire life, most of these cashiers know me and my children by name. They know I have been using coupons now for about 2 years, and have seen me stop shoppers to offer coupons for things I have seen in the carts. I as mostly upset because it almost feels like being shamed by a close friend in public.

8. enana says

   June 28, 2011 at 6:17 am

   I have noticed the retailers changing their policies for the past few months since the program Extreme Couponers came on. Unfortunately the couponers featured were the most obnoxious people I’ve seen outside the Housewives reality shows. They portrayed this attitude of entitlement – a them against the store. I was appalled and wondered if I was the only one who immediately thought well, wonder how long before these things many of us have been doing for years in a reasonable way will no longer work because these folks had to get on tv and act like jerks. The woman who has this whole corner of cat stuff and gleefully says “and I don’t even have a cat” How ridiculous is the person who dumps the whole display of toothbrushes in their cart. Like how many do you need in your lifetime. Or the woman who looked at her kid and says something like should I get all these on the shelf or are the 40 I have at home enough. I so resent those who come in and totally clean out the shelves. Do you know how many times I have had to return to the store with my rain check before I could finally get the four of whatever item I wanted? The extreme couponers are not only ruining it for the rest of us who are struggling to survive in this economy and who are being reasonable and purchasing what we need til the next time the items go on sale but in fact the way they do it is a hoarding behavior. Who in the world needs 30 or was it 40 years of paper towels. And the guy who is “hoarding” many cases of toothpaste not to mention his whole garage is full of “stock”. I bought 10 tubes of toothpaste for about 15 cents apiece with coupons and store sale and I figure I have enough for a year! Anyway, please take a look at what this program is doing to the rest of us and please please don’t support it. Thank you.

9. JCHALFORD says

   July 22, 2011 at 12:49 pm

   This story claims mis-use and tactic the TLC wants to look at.. Like what? The question I have is if you purchase the paper, or you get the coupons by legitimate means then why are they questioning the use of the coupons.

   Are they not using the coupons as a lost leader to get you to purchase things not on sale or to come to their store? So because you have developed a strategy to win the coupon game – the retailers and manufactures have started they want to shut it off?

   I have rarely ever used coupons – do they want to send me a check for everything I have never used? Or was that my fault for not taking the time to cut them out and redeem them?

   If they print it and don’t have the details on the coupons – it is on them. The catch is they want to put the disclaimer and restriction they reduce the redemption rate – cannot have it both ways.

   Interested in your thoughts?