Back in March, All You magazine caused a stir when its April 2015 cover story recommended readers purchase manufacturer coupons on Ebay.
This week, brands and retailers have been gathered at the Association for Coupon Professionals conference, the coupon industry’s largest annual conference. All You magazine has been an ACP conference partner for quite a few years now, presenting an annual panel on consumer shopping insights at the conference.
This morning, ACP conference attendees were greeted with the following announcement:
INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENT
We at the Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) and the Association for Coupon Professionals (ACP) have jointly communicated our deep disappointment and concern to All You magazine, as the magazine recently published an article advocating that its readers purchase manufacturers’ cents-off coupons from Ebay auctioneers. This situation was particularly discomforting in that All You magazine has been known as having been active in the industry and knowledgeable about coupon issues.
As is widely recognized in the industry, the sale of manufacturer’s cents-off coupons violates the terms and conditions printed on virtually every coupon issued in the United States. We have worked closely with Ebay over the past 18 months in order to reduce these improper auctions. This cooperation has resulted in a substantial reduction in manufacturers’ cents-off coupon auctions on Ebay. Additionally, most other well-known auction sites have either prohibited or severely restricted coupon sales.
We believe this article was a disservice to readers and the coupon issuing advertisers in the publication who prohibit the sale of their coupons. It is now our sincere hope that All You magazine will 1) remove the article from any of its online versions/website; 2) retract the article in its next print edition; and 3) make a reasonable effort to educate its editors and staff about coupons to prevent a repetition of this unfortunate situation.
In addition, we also recommended that the appropriate All You editors and staff stay connected and involved in the coupon industry by attending informative seminars and conferences offered by our longtime industry associations.
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