Honesty and Coupon Rules

1- Be honest. Never use a coupon that you know or even suspect is fake.

2- Use coupons for items you are buying. This sounds straightforward, but I often hear stories from cashiers about people using coupons for something like tampons, and no feminine products were even purchased. This is fraud, btw and punishable by law if the store really wanted to go after you.

3- You do not have to buy what is pictured on the coupon, but do follow the rules dictated for each coupon. My favorite coupon is the Knox coupon. You can register and get it off their site, good for $4 off any of their products. They make a Joint Juice item, but they also make a gelatin package, which is only $1.39 at Publix. So thats lots of overage! The picture is the Joint Juice, and of course they prefer you buy that at $8+, but the wording states any Knox product.

4- Know and follow the rules of your store. Do not try to 'sneak' something in. If they don't take a certain competitor or allow overage, and you get caught trying to use it, your credibility goes out the window.

5- Get to know the staff. Not just the cashiers, but especially the managers. These are the people who will help you should you need it.

6- Be polite! Couponers already have a tough time at many stores, do not make it worse.

7- Don't steal a ton of coupons when they are at the store. Many times there are booklets or flyers with coupons and there will be people who take them all to sell them on Ebay. This is unfair to other shoppers. There is nothing wrong with taking a couple for you and a friend or two, but its another to take all 50 to trade or sell.

8- If you printed a coupon offline using a coupon printing site, you can usually only print one or two of each per computer. Do NOT copy these. They are barcoded and the store only gets reimbursed for ones with unique barcodes. Stores that have had problems with this have in the past temporarily suspended internet printed coupons, which hurts all couponers.

9- If you plan on getting a LOT of an item on sale, say 20+, call ahead and order them. Talk to someone in stocking. They may have more in the back so you don't wipe out the front stock, or may just order more for you. Or you can just get a raincheck for a future date when the item is low or out of stock so you don't wipe out all the item.

10- At almost any store, if the item is out, ask for a rain check. Don't make a fuss, its not a big deal.

11- Have a coupon problem that the manager wont fix? Just politely walk out and call corporate. Never ever fight about it. You will have to go back eventually. Just ask to take off the disputed items and get it fixed. And to be honest, corporate HATES these calls. They don't want unhappy customers or bad reputations. They almost always fix this and will also get you something to make it 'better', be it a gift card, thank you note, reusable tote, etc.

Following these guidelines will make it better for all couponers. I can assure you that there will be nasty cashiers, rude people who do not want to wait behind you, employees who will not know what to do or argue the wrong thing, etc. But if you are honest, you will eventually get to be known and there will be less hassles and you will reap more benefits! I often have customer service give me coupons they found or coupon books that were out and I missed. Or a manager will come over and override my transaction when I have more coupons than items. Etc.