…grocers, product makers and coupon publishers gear up a full-fledged anti-corruption drive just as American families are couponing more than ever.
New bar code technologies and anti-fraud software systems are starting to appear in stores, all meant to patch a gaping hole in the grocery market. Many cash registers can’t scan a coupon and tell whether the customer even bought that item, much less whether the coupon is expired or not. Customers at some stores could buy dog food using a Pepsi coupon without raising a red flag on the register.
That’s fertile ground for those on the far end of couponing ethics.
Coupon publishers, for instance, consider the buying and selling of coupons online a scourge on the industry.
“It’s a violation of the terms and conditions printed right there on the coupon,” said Bud Miller, director of the Coupon Information Corp., an umbrella group of product makers trying to police for fraud. Yet scores of websites now sell coupons…
Still, those who push the coupon limits likely make up less than 1 percent of shoppers, Tingle said, and that presents the industry with a quandary. Why even bother chasing such a small segment? Because there’s a ripple effect, Tingle said.
…shows like “Extreme Couponing” create a false impression of what’s legitimately attainable with couponing, Tingle said, at a time when people who seldom or never redeemed coupons before are ratcheting up their use of them.
DealJunkie says
“Kirlew still teaches seminars on couponing, but she’s taken a full-time job as a paralegal in Washington.”
What law firm would hire someone with such questionable ethics?
Flag1 says
Thank you for another interesting article. I do smile at anyone mentioning Kirlew and what a storm it brews.
I’ve been couponing for over 30 years off and on and enjoy the extra coupons that I can print on-line these days. I have never purchased a coupon. That always seemed ridiculous to me anyway. We have a few shelf clearers here that are annoying when you cannot purchase something within a month’s time (before coupon expires). Instead of donating 40 mustards, how about leaving a few for those of us that could use the savings but don’t need/qualify for a food pantry.