It is not illegal for me to use a store coupon + a manufacturer coupon on an item.
It may be against your store’s policy, but it is not illegal.
It is not illegal for me to use two manufacturer coupons on B1G1 sale items.
It may be against your store’s policy, but it is not illegal.
It is not illegal for me to stack a B1G1 manufacturer coupon with a XX/1 cents-off coupon.
It may be against your store’s policy, but it is not illegal.
It is not illegal for me to use a manufacturer coupon on a sale item.
If it against your store’s policy, please let me know so I don’t ever shop at your store again.
So what is “illegal” in the coupon world?
First, let me say I am not an attorney and I do not play one on the internet. This is not meant to be real legal advice, just mussing on what I have seen over the years. For more in-depth details, consult a real attorney.
Second, let me say that there are local laws that make things that are generally not “illegal” in 99.9% of the US, indeed illegal. You can check local ordinances to be certain.
What most people are actually saying when they bring out the “illegal” card is, “That does not seem right to me”, or “That is against my brand of ethics” or “I don’t understand what you are doing, I will not admit it under pain of death, so I am going to call it “illegal” and hope you don’t call my bluff.”
That last one is what I have found is being pulled by most cashiers. They just can’t understand how you can be getting something so cheap or so free, so they brand it “illegal”. And they do not mean the nice “legal stealing” term many couponers toss around to describe this wonderful hobby.
So what do I know of that people have been arrested and prosecuted for over the last 25 years? First know that there is no federal law that specifically covers coupon redemption. People are usually (but not always) prosecuted under fraud statues.
Making counterfeit coupons and redeeming them. This has been happening since Xerox made the first color copier and it is a prosecutable offense, and people HAVE gone to jail for doing it. So don’t do it. Period.
Do not try and mis-redeem coupons ie pass off a coupon for an item you aren’t buying.
I am not going into decoding because, well, that is a grey area. No one has ever definitively said what supersedes what… the printed wording or the barcode. With extended barcodes this should be a moot point very soon.
There are a few (very few) localities in the US where it is illegal to remove something from the product even a hang tag or peel off without buying the product. That is VERY, VERY local though and not state or country-wide. Consult your local municipality to find out if you are one of the three places I read about years ago. Normally taking a hang tag is NOT a problem, and tear pad coupons are always up for grabs.
Sometimes people will open a container, take out the coupon and not purchase that product. Because you are removing something from a product you are not purchasing, people have been arrested (although I have not read of a conviction but I do not pour over lexis nexus either, so who knows) for damaging goods in store. Don’t do it unless you are buying the product on that shopping trip.
I have yet to see a law anywhere that makes selling coupons “illegal”. It may void the contract between you and the manufacturer. I personally have never seen a settled court case that covers this. You will see many coupon suppliers selling their time, but that is because no one wants to be the first prosecuted for selling. Even if you win said case, it still costs time, energy and money to go to court, and let’s face it, every corporation has more money to sue than the average person has to defend. The “selling time” is a CYA for just-in-case.
In conclusion, I would personally advise you to follow your conscious. If you know it is wrong to do A or B, simply don’t do it. If you aren’t sure, ask at corporate level for a written coupon policy. A written policy will help you at store level in case a clerk or manager decide today is “illegal” day at the cash register.
And when all else fails, consult an attorney. 
It is funny you have this post bc the other day at Rite Aid the cashier I generally avoid rang me up and started throwing around the illegal word bc she was ticked that there was a long line behind me and didn’t want to manually put in the wellness coupons since they weren’t scanning and she was saying they were illegal (even though they almost always scan and I am in the test area) to try and embrass me into saying fine don’t worry about it but I asked her to call the manager instead and he confirmed I wasn’t doing anything illegal! She was just flustered but I soooo don’t like being accused of being a criminal! Sheesh!
I hear about 100 excuse a day for not taking coupons, store coupons, both coupons blah blah. And I don’t push it… I don’t use wellness cpns in my area (not a test area), I only started using target q & mfg q together with the signs at their registers and still got the you can only use one or the other line from the cashiers.
My parents had a RA cashier tell them that she can’t take their 5/20 cpn because she can’t read english. HUH???
Not knowing their own policies and throwing around terms like “it’s illegal” and being blatantly wrong, in my opinion, is not knowing how to do part of their job. If I didn’t know how to do part of my job… I doubt I’d be working here still.
My parents had a RA cashier tell them that she can’t take their 5/20 cpn because she can’t read english. HUH???
OMG Liz! That is one for the books!
Ann
If a Rite Aid cashier told me that she can’t take a $5/$20 coupon because she can’t read English, I would use the “Contact Us” feature of the Rite Aid web site to tell them about it. I am sure they would like to know what kind of people they employ. My experience with Rite Aid has been that they are very responsive to comments and complaints. If I have a problem, I always complain. Not all stores are responsive. I never heard from A&P about my complaint but Rite Aid has always had excellent customer service.
By the way, many Rite Aid receipts have instructions on filling out a customer questionaire online (at least they do in my area). If you get hassled using coupons and your receipt has this feature, definitely take advantage of it to tell them what you think. I believe that the cashiers get rated based on these questionaires.
My parents had a RA cashier tell them that she can’t take their 5/20 cpn because she can’t read english. HUH???
Maybe SHE was illegal…. seriously how the heck do you hire someone to work with the public in America who cannot read English?????
But, to the point, I have literally had to tell cashiers basically what you have written here. Just because you don’t understand, does not make it illegal.
My sister used to work at walgreens and she said that they WARNED her in her training about ‘people like us’ and she said sometimes she would just make stuff up because she didn’t FEEL like it. i told her i hated cashiers like her
she has since changed her view now that she has seen why i coupon my butt off and the results.
Sorry i should have reread what i wrote. when i said my sister didn’t feel like it, i was referring to dealing with coupons when bashing people out.
Hi Amanda,
I knew exactly what you meant the first time.
And YAY! You converted one… now you need to expand outside the family.
Ann
Maybe, I am just blessed or dang lucky. So, far all of my cashiers aren’t too bad. I have even won over the lady who looks down her glasses at me. It is probably a good thing too. I went to the grocery store today – had multiple transactions and tons of free product coupons. No issues. Spent $29 for $246 of food (including choice cuts of meat, etc.).
Rhonda
I don’t like that any store would warn their employees about coupon users. I wish people would understand the concept of couponing and stop thinking that it is wrong! No one should be treated as if they are TRYING to do something wrong just b/c they use coupons and combine w/ sales.
I had an issue once at BJs using a manufacturer coupon with a Target logo, the girl did not want to take it, I told her that is absolutely fine but she kept wanting the last word saying “we don’t take Target coupons” after I told her it isn’t a Target coupon, it stated manufacturer, and told her “but that is fine if you don’t want to take it.” She kept replying “We don’t take Target coupons.” LOL. So irritating.
I have never been told I’m doing something illegal, if I did, I would be shocked… I don’t know what I’d say. I have, however, been told “if we let you use coupons on that, you’d be getting free Register Rewards!”
I also don’t think many people (including those who work at these stores) understand that the manufacturer pays the store the coupons worth. They just think, you’re getting free stuff–must not be right!
When I first started couponing, some things were really hard for me as the “couponer” to grasp. Using a manufacturers B1G1 and a store B1G1 to get both free was one of them. I think the stores should train their employees better. If the cashier hasn’t heard of this she would be just as confused as I was (this happened to me at Rite Aid, the manager came and explained it to the employee).
The register rewards at Walgreens are another topic that alot of cashiers don’t understand. If the store would explain to the cashiers that they are a coupon that the store is reimbursed for, and that you can’t have more coupons then the number of items you are buying…. this would help them alot. I have heard so many wrong statements from cashiers about register rewards just because they dont understand it.
And finally, once at Target I had a cashier who wouldn’t allow a coupon because the picture didn’t match the product I was buying. I knew it was correct so I asked her for the manager. After the manager went away, the cashier confided in me that her daughter had ran off with her boyfriend leaving the grandbaby with the cashier. She told me “we are just making it, and I can’t afford to loose my job so I have to make sure I dont do anything wrong”. I went from feeling like “See I was right!” to “here take these groceries….”
Hi Dawn,
Using a manufacturers B1G1 and a store B1G1 to get both free was one of them.
Not all stores allow this. Rite Aid and CVS seem to be the exception in my area, not the rule.
Ann
i haven’t to many problems with coupons. once the guy at target said he couldn’t accept them. i just asked him to scan it, because of course if wasn’t ok, then it would have beeped. went through like melted butter. i’ve had a couple of run in’s with coupons, but if they won’t take them, then i just dont buy the product.
the other day my hubs told me when he worked at kmart he didn’t like the people who had tons of coupons, he always wondered why they couldn’t pay full retail, well now we are on the other end of the spectrum, kinda funny, but he sees how important it is to save money.
forgot to say thanks for posting the articles. they are very interesting reads, but a must for every couponer.
Ann,
“Using a manufacturers B1G1 and a store B1G1 to get both free was one of them”
I was at Rite Aid doing the transaction, and you would think that if I knew what the stores coupon policy was, the cashier should as well.
I agree Dawn! Too bad it does not always work that way.
Ann
Our CVS will not take the coupon’s with the Target logo on them. The cashier would not even try to scan it. They have one lady that I avoid because she uses the illegal word every time.This post really hit home with me.
Good Afternoon, I enjoyed your article about cashiers and coupons. When I shop in PUBLIX,WINN DIXIE I have no problem, but WAL MART CASHIERS always have a attitude when I give them coupons or do a price match from other supermarkets. Always acting like I am trying to get something for nothing, I work hard to bring my food bill down since I am a Senior Citizen on a fixed income. Thank you for your site and have a wonderful day, Peggy
Rhodna, How do you do such great savings with so many free coupons?I spent $144.64 in walmarts and only saved $32.43 in coupons. Any ideas will be great since I am on a tight budget only on Social Security. Thanks and have a wonderful day
Peggy,
Please contact me. Ann will provide I email address. Please respond to me and we can set something up.
Rhonda
Hi,At WAL MART I had 3 wrinkle remover trial size cpns @1.00 ea WAL MART cost .97 ea 1 cpn for tide trail size cpn @1.00 ea WAL MART cost .97 each. The cashier rang up the 3 for $1.00 each but refused the tide cpn. No reason the Manager agreeded with her not to ring up the tide cpn. Another tme WAL MART would not take Internet Coupons with redemention address in DEL RIO, TX, Says they are COUNTERFIT.
Hi,When I print coupons I always print 2 copies. Yesterday in Wal Mart they said I can only use ONE COUPON, second coupon the same as if I printed this coupon on a copier machine.
Peggy,
You need to give WalMart corporate a call. Ask for the district manager to call you back as you want to know EXACTLY what is allowed/not allowed in your area stores, and you want to know why the differences from corporate.
Ann