Counterfeit Coupon Operation Busted in Phoenix
“Authorities took three women into custody, raided three homes and seized valuable property on Tuesday as part of what police are calling a ‘first of its kind’ case in the United States. Police seized boxes of coupons…saying those coupons are worth about $25 million dollars. We’re talking about anywhere from $400 to $600 million in loss.” -AZFamily.com
News like this is so disappointing. It’s no wonder many stores are really cracking down on coupon use and paying much more attention to details of coupons. Unfortunately, coupon fraud has become a very serious crime in the United States. Because fraud is on the rise, we have to expect manufacturer’s as well as stores who redeem coupons, to be more much more weary in accepting and issuing coupons. It’s unfortunate that those of us who are honest coupon users have to feel the affects of those who are abusing the system, but sadly, this is how things like this work.
I hope this disappointing news will challenge you to remain honest when using coupons. I know LRWC readers don’t need to be reminded but every coupon used illegally is one more reason for companies to issue less coupons and for redeemers to scrutinize use of coupons even more.
Also, be very careful of where you are getting your coupons from. Selling coupons is on the rise and has become quite a business. If a coupon appears to be out of the ordinary, such as an extra high value, unusual restrictions, etc, be sure to check to see if the coupon is legitimate. You can determine if a coupon is legitimate by checking the Veri-fi code on the coupon. This code is located under the expiration date on the coupon. You can check those codes at Veri-fi.com. Also you can check for counterfeit coupons by going to the CIC (Coupon Information Center) website.
If you are new to couponing, please read the Important Facts You Should Know Before Using Coupons.
Please read the rest of the “Huge Counterfeit Coupon Operation Busted in Phoenix” article.
First and last time, I bought coupons on E-bay was about 2 years ago. Purchased just a variety pack that was advertised as more then $50 worth of coupons. There was a coupon in the pile-that looked just like what is in that picture above, for a free bag of doritos chips. I went to the store several wks later, tried to use it and they called the manager over and he said LOUDLY “this is fraud, its a fake coupon”….. I felt awful, as I shop there a few times a week. I never again bought OR got coupons through the mail, I was so upset.
how ’bout we just agree to not buy coupons from ebay, etc? it is illegal to sell them, so if we don’t buy them, we stay honest and use our coupons ethically. I’m not trying to ride a high horse here, just saying that I love what coupons has allowed me to do for my family, and don’t want to lose that opportunity. 🙂
It’s kind of hard to not buy coupons from either ebay or a coupon clipping service because not all areas get the same coupons. And, if there is something I know my family would use a lot of, such as coffee and chips & snacks, I will buy coupons off ebay so I can stock up on those items when they go on sale.
Yes, I agree to Kathie. I buy what my family needs off of Ebay. As for the coupon clipping I must know know of a site cause the one i had before my anti-virus to me it was not safe. So I must not know a good one. But, some people just blow it for all. Which SUCKS!!
It is NOT prohibited on eBay to sell coupons. Let’s just make that clear.
Is not prohibited on eBay but it is prohibited to sell coupons period. I also assume that when certain areas don;t get the coupons is because the manufacturers are not interested in the use of those coupons in that certain area. IMO
Weather it is a clipping charge per coupon or whatever charge, its selling coupons. Just my two cents.
When I see people selling 100’s of coupons I wonder where they came from, obviously not from buying the papers.
Whats the difference if i order coupons online of the ones i didn’t get in my paper or had a friend send them to me?
Its not illegal to use coupons from say Ohio in NJ. If it was, all coupons would say only valid in Ohio or wherevr.
Kathie,
Please note I did not use the word illegal in any of my post, I actually said In My Opinion, and I am entitled to mine as you are entitled to yours
If the Manu wanted you to use te coupon in Ohio, I can assure you, it would be in your paper. You think is not just because they ran out of prints or ink? Coupons are because products are not selling the same in certain areas, or because thy are trying to reach certain public, or to introduce a new product to certain market..,I dont think one needs a degree in advertising or marketing to figure that out, but if it helps, I have one, meaning that I know how promotions (in this case coupons) work. If a coupon runs in NY and not in OH is because you are not the target they are tryingi to reach.
Or that you live in a part of the country that is inhabited by higher incomes (or in our case in lower fairfield county, CT… the richest). That doesn’t mean that people in that area deserve lower value coupons if they don’t have the same income as those who live in Greenwich, say.
Many coupons we get here in CT are $1 off of 2 products yet other areas with a lower cost of living get the .75 cent off one item coupons (which double). We pay more for just about everything here ….gas, rent, groceries, etc…The money I save using coupons means I don’t have to roll my coins this week to put gas in the car.
The difference is that no one isakig a profit from it, is it hard to understand? $$$ is not involved
Making a profit**
If u r cheating, stop! Look how fast this little cheating got so out of control!
I find it so sad that people will work so hard to do what is wrong….can you imagine what they could accomplish if they were doing things legal? I guess the lure of money is too great. 🙁
Unfortunately, we will pay the price for this type of crime.
My common kindness pepsi coupons were scrutinized at Shoprite in Middletown NJ this week. The cashier called the manager over and said they had to verify that they weren’t counterfeit. The manager took them and came back ten minutes later and said they were fine and apologized. I’m not even sure what they were looking for. That’s never happened to me before.
I refuse to use Common Kindness coupons, because I think they do look counterfeit. Or just very unprofessional at the least. So I don’t use them, because I don’t need the hassle at the store.
Good point. I used them for my FIRST time 2 weeks ago. Not only did they not double, the cashier looked at them a few times. I don’t need the hassle either. Hope ppl from common kindness takes our ‘advice’!!
they do look unprofessional, and often time the pics don’t print, but my stores comment they they look weird, but know they are good.
Tried to use it at Pathmark but would not take them because it did not have a bar code on the other side… and the coupons just seem to good to be true sometimes..
I read the article and followed the link to the website that they were selling the coupons from. It is extremely suspicious looking and nothing like a typical coupon clipping site. All the coupons are for free stuff, they charge in the dollars for a coupon as opposed to cents, like a real coupon clipping service. And they all have an expiration of 12/31/12 or some time in 2013, which we all know is impossible! Very strange. No one who knows anything about couponing would mistakenly buy from that site.
i have several coupons right now that do not expire until sometime in 2013…they came from the manufacture so i know theyre not fake…not trying to argue but that doesn’t make a fake coupon…
Agreed Jen. I have coupons that don’t expire til 2014. Sent directly from the manufacturer themselves. Though I have had issues using them at times, extra scutiny and all because of the crazy dates.
What you didn’t pay attention to is that I said ALL their coupons expire on the same exact day!!! ALL of them even though it’s all different manufacturers and they are all for Free products or high dollar amounts! C’mon, we all know that is not possible! Why would we need to argue, they’ve been arrested!!!
12/31 is a common exp date. I know, what are the odds that every q will have the same exp date, but I don’t think buyers notice the exp date for q’s their not interested in, they probably don’t notice.
I was looking at travel trailers on ebay, found one that didn’t seem right, followed the links to what the seller has sold before and there were many for coupons for free tampons, 4 coupons sold for $12.00 and the person buying them thought they were getting a great deal because they were going to get free stuff. The sales happened back in Jan so I wasn’t able to look at the actual listing.
Really, really sad and this is exactly why store policies are being tightened. Makes it bad for legit couponers! 🙁
I also looked on their website and the ironic thing is that at the bottom of the page they had a “wall of shame” listing people’s names and addresses that had obtained coupons and services from them and had not paid them. As I mentioned on another site I guess that they should be on the top of this list.
News like this is BEYOND dissappointing… I’m disgusted. People always want to take a good thing and ruin it for the rest of us. What happened to integrity & ethics?
SMHH
I’m definitely suspicioius of high-value coupons and those for Free products. There are an awful lot of them on ebay, but I would never get any of those. I do feel okay about getting low-value ones that post a picture of the coupon, which was clearly clipped from the Sunday paper insert. But it’s crazy to think that all those $5 off and FREE are really legitimate. It’s great that these bad guys were caught!
i wonder if someone has a free coupon, why aren’t they just getting the item for free? Granted it could be something like it’s for dog food and you don’t have a dog, or it’s for allergy medicine and you don’t have allergies. But I don’t know, it stikes me as odd, especially when they have a lot of a free q that wasn’t from an insert.
I thought it was suspicious that you needed a referral to order from them. It’s people like them who make my shopping trips more difficult! Urgh!
omg i cannot believe they had the gall to post a “wall of shame” are you kidding me?!
I use a b/w printer and one store I used to buy from always thought I was using a copied coupon, I don’t have access to a copy machine and if I did I would not use it for that purpose but I hate being called a thief because of other people’s dishonesty.
I was also accused of copying a coupon because it was black and white. Next time, show them that the ID # on the coupons are different on each coupon. Most of them will print a different ID> That’s how they can tell it’s not a copy.
I have the same problem at a local wal greens. (its a certain cashier only ) I use black and white ink because its cheaper. If im trying to save money why am i gonna use color ink, which costs more?
I have this same problem, and it’s even worse since I bought a new computer. I kept my old comp. because, hey–two computers, you can print out twice the number of coupons! But the new computer doesn’t change my print settings no matter how hard I try, so it prints in color. The old computer still prints in B&W. So sometimes it really looks like I have Xeroxed my coupons on a copy machine!
Fortunately those Verify ID numbers are different on every coupon. I had 4 of the Suave body wash coupons yesterday at ShopRite–two color, two B&W–and because the ID #s were all different they all scanned correctly.
don’t y0u love when they ask “did you print this yourself”?
Lady J: When I’ve been questioned about a coupon being legit, they are never that polite. It’s happened to me 3 times total in the last 2 years (once it was even about a sunday paper coupon, not a print out!). A few days ago a manager at Acme looked at a few coupons I had and flat out said, ‘Ma’am, you photocopied these’. It’s extremely embarrassing, insulting, and infuriating being accused of a FEDERAL crime so flippantly.
Please explain to me because I have struggled with this question–If coupons clearly say “void if sold, purchased…” how is it okay to sell and buy them on ebay or other clipping service? Wouldn’t the clause make doing so illegal?
When you order coupons through a clipping service or ebay you aren’t actually passing for the coupons. You are paying for the persons time and effort to collect, clip, and send those coupons. I personally think it’s abuse of a loophole (sorry guys), but its technically not illegal if done that way.
Paying*
Sorry, auto-correct.
You could say the same for any product. I don’t think that’s a valid loop-hole. I think if ever pursued, they could all be charged as well.
I agree, I don’t think is correct to charge for coupons. I have missed tons of great deals because I live on Long Island, NY. still, have never occurred to me to buy or order any coupons, people are always using this loop holes at their convenience.
I read the wordings in the coupons, and it clearly specifies they should not be transferred, purchased, or sold… Which means, is not correct to buy 20 coupons (because you are just paying someone for their time, are they still making a profit? YES)
It’s not a profit if they are charging you for what the shipping costs only, which is all I have ever done. I don’t have kids and don’t need any baby coupons, etc so I put them on ebay. I charge what a stamp costs. Its an easy way to trade coupons. I have never seen coupons up on ebay for enough money to “make a profit”. Please $.50 is not a profit.
It is NOT illegal! There are NO LAWS about that. It is the manufacturer who states that the coupon may not be sold or transferred and if it is, it VOIDS the coupon, that’s it!!!
And then you would be using a VOID coupon. Which would then technically amount to fraud. Right?
In my eyes, purchasing a coupon voids it. And then turning around and using that coupon (which the store will not be reimbursed for) is a fraudulent use of coupons, and therefore illegal. Using a coupon that is void is like using a bad check. The store will not get the money they are owed. You are, in essence, stealing.
Under the “FAQ” section on LRWC, it states to get multiple coupons, you can use clipping services such as Coupon Dede and e-bay.
I don’t really care what the LRWC FAQ says… I’m stating my personal views of couponing legality.
Then maybe you shouldn’t be on this site if you don’t believe in what the site says and are going to infer that any of us members that use coupon clipping services are stealing. Those are big words to back up and very derogatory.
the store gets it’s money, what are you talking about???????? It’s a regular manufacturer coupon that somebody doesn’t want and gives to you. If your friend gave you a coupon, you can “technically” say she” transferred” it to you and that makes it void. If you went to the store with the coupon from your friend, a red light and siren would not go off when they scan it and it doesn’t come up VOID! It’s just a coupon. The manufacturer does not want people to collect coupons and then transfer them to other people, but as of now, they can’t really prevent that. But by no means is it against the law or in any Penal Codes.
And I don’t appreciate you telling me I am stealing. I absolutely do not steal and am a 100% honest couponer.. Like I said, it was this site that educated me and directed me to coupon dede which is where I get coupons from when I need to stock up on something. The store GETS REIMBURSED!!! I am not giving them invalid coupons like you are implying.
I am not accusing anyone of stealing in the slightest. It’s a hypothetical meandering of thought. Also this is the internet, take a step back and breath.
“you are in essence, stealing”
And I did not mean YOU. I guess I should have worded all of this with the term “One” and not “You”. Then it would be a less threatening, more intellectual: “One, is in essence, stealing.”
I agree with you on the fact that transferring a coupon wont activate an alarm when you enter the store, if a friend wants to give me their coupons, so I would take it, but again, someone making profit out of ‘clipping’ coupons is not right. I used to be a door to door furniture seller and I had many costumers that are in the clipping services business…and I cant tell you the amount of money they make from ‘clipping’ coupons. That is their full time job, the manufacturers do not offer coupons for people to make a living out of it. It might not be illegal but I would say is ethically incorrect.
I also understand to buy or not to buy is a personal decision so if you feel is right to do it, keep it on.
Thank you Sobeida. A major part of my stance is ethics. You purchase a coupon, you know it’s technically now void. But you use it anyway. Not very ethically sound. And as you go further down the slippery slope of hypotheticals you could ultimately reach coupon fraud depending on usage and subsequent chain of events.
OMG, I use coupon clipping services, which were recommended by this very site and now I’m on a slippery slope………and next I might commit coupon fraud!!! OMG!!!, is coupon clipping sites the equivalent to the gateway drug? Please, you sound very self righteous. I am an ethical person, don’t you worry about me slipping, I’ll hold on!
It’s a hypothetical…not a personal attack. Please stop taking my entire entry personally. I apologize for using the term ‘You’. I did not mean you specifically or any of these good coupon ladies on this site. Merely theorizing, philosophizing, spouting ideas. I don’t think anyone purchasing coupons should be locked up and tossed in jail. But the further down the rabbit hole you go, the more possibilities occur.
Kim, do you ever trade coupons with anyone or get coupons from friends or neighbors or family? If so, then in essence you are voiding the coupon because you are transferring the ownership from one person to another.
No, I don’t trade coupons. Normally if I know something is a good deal and I know a friend, family member, or donation drive could use it I just get it myself and give them the product.
going with Jill on this one. the company has no way of telling if the coupon was transferred. they WILL ALWAYS get the money! heck most stores get reimbursed for every single coupon turned in w/o even having proof of the item being sold or not!
OMG!! Thank you Jen. That’s what I’m trying to say. I know the store gets reimbursed for any coupon I give them. They don’t know whether I clipped it or someone in Ohio clipped it and mailed it to me! They are legitimate coupons. And they are not duplicated, they are originals that are not being used and given to me. It’s fine if someone doesn’t feel right doing that, but don’t say all of us who choose to use coupon clipping services are stealing!! That’s nuts!!
Trading is NOT transferring. And is not what I am speaking of at all, Strawman.
If you purchase and use “gang cut” coupons from a clipping service the manufacturer will, can, and DOES refuse to refund the stores the coupons were used in.
Chill out a bit ladies, Kim B, Jill is not going to stop using clipping services because you don’t think is right. So just let it be.
We humans use and abuse the system, is the way it has been for ever and is not going to change in a minute, do affect others that someone walks into the store with 50 of one coupon? I believe in long term yes it does, but again, we just have to coupon while we can. I am sure there will be more limitations, I am not mad my stop & shop has a limit of 4 of a kind coupon, maybe all stores should do that!
I’m not saying that she should stop what she is doing, she can do whatever she pleases… I’m merely throwing out a viewpoint about the legal implications of proper coupon usage.
……and again you need to be told that what I and others do, has no legal implications and I don’t need you to “throw out your viewpoint” I use coupons properly and always have. Please keep your opinions to yourself. This article was about a criminal organization who counterfeited coupons and sold them. Maybe you can lend your legal advice to them
Kim B, I understand what you are saying. Yours is a “big picture, long term” perspective. The origin of couponing was to encourage consumers to buy certain products and to shop at certain stores. It was to increase profits and productivity for manufacturers and stores. But if the opposite begins to happen, if coupon use actually starts to cut into profits of manufacturers or becomes a pain for stores to redeem, then why would they continue to produce and accept them? I think we will continue to see more and more oversight, regulations, restrictions, and fewer deals. I should start saving my grocery store savings now so that I can afford to buy groceries in the future without coupons! : )
Trading, did I say trading, didn’t think I did…
Gang cut…….wow never heard this lingo, but you make it sound so criminal…..
And again Ms. Kim B, you have no idea what you’re saying, you are absolutely incorrect if you think that if i go down the block to my local supermarket and buy some toilet paper with a coupon that I happened to have gotten from coupon dede in the mail last week, that somehow the store or the manufacturer knows and they are not going to get reimbursed for it!!!! Where do you get your information from?
I agree “gang cutting” sounds criminal. But it isn’t an unusual term. It’s actually making it’s way into many coupon policies.
Again, on a large scale (multiple usuage in a short time frame), the manufacturer WILL notice. On a small scale, no no one will notice, but ethically that doesn’t make it ok.
And I’ll state it again, none of this was a personal attack. Do what you do, girl. I was setting out a hypothetical for one side of the argument. With the fast changes occuring in the couponing world it all up in the air right now. Debating on the issue will occur.
Kim, when the manufacturer receives all the coupons, they don’t know how many I used that week and then say wow, Jill used 20 identical coupons this week, she must have gotten them from dede, let’s not reimburse for these 20 to Target. They can’t, there’s no possible way to track. You are really not being reasonable. I understand you don’t want to do it, I’m not arguing that. But your comment about them not getting reimbursed is just plain “wrong”
Jill, I think you are getting confused. I use clipping services (and will continue to use them) but I understand what Kim is saying. Regardless of whether a manufacturer can track where a coupon came from or whether you purchased it or clipped it yourself, is not relevant to Kim’s point.
I can’t believe this. First of all I don’t think I’d order from them their site looks I don’t know just off plus they have a wall of shame. I’d be worried I might piss them off and they would put my info on there. Second one of the first things I’ve learned in couponing is if it’s too good to be true it is. I would wonder how they got so many of these free coupons. I’m glad they got caught but I wonder what impact it will have on couponing.
they didn’t get the coupons, they had them made. some of the coupons were made from “free item coupons” and then just edited and duplicated. the authorities even found the machine that printed the foil or whatever it is to authenticate a coupon…type in Huge Counterfeit Coupon Operation in Phoenix and you can read the different articles and see how they were doing it.
I know now how they got so many coupons but I was saying I wouldn’t have bought from them before all of this because I would be wondering where they got all of the coupons from.
sorry read it wrong 🙁
It’s ok. 🙂
the website says ……This section has been created and reserved especially for
Bad Check Writers, Con Artists and Scammers. Make no mistake, these people have taken items and not paid for them
I never order from sites. I actually got free product coupons from a few companies and they look nothing like the ones in the pictures. Like a few of them didn’t have a picture of the product. My full name was on them. Even ones that weren’t free items put my name on them.
At my family christmas party, my mother-in-laws foster family one of their daughters were there and we began talking about LRWC, she told me that she and her co-workers print the coupons and then they make copies for each other so that they dont each have any of the same barcode numbers. I then shouted at her telling her that is FRAUD, and that this is the reason why ALL the stores are changing the coupon rules so frequently and giving us a harder time using them. I did raise my voice a couple of times telling her its wrong while she tried to justify herself. Well lets just say I didnt talk to her the rest of the night, and I would be surprised if she came to my next party 🙂 Perhaps we can say the post office lost her invite 🙂
i just had something similar happen at CVS the other day. a lady was telling me how she bought the physicians formula, spent basically nothing and got the gas card…she did this 5 times! i asked where she got the coupons from…she told me she went to target and pulled off all the bogo coupons she could find! i didn’t yell but i wasn’t very nice to her about it. whether its wrong or not i hate going to a product looking for a peelie and seeing its been removed! it makes me irate!!!!
Amen. Amen. And Amen.
OMG, I am not critical of many things when it comes to coupons because my theory is as long as I do the right thing, that is all that I can account for BUT, when people take the peelies or hangtags off of items that they don’t purchase for some reason it annoys me to no end. So in dollar general they had hangtags for the orange soda recently that would have made them free at most supermarkets. So I said I was going to buy 5 with the hangtag, well when I get there OFF COURSE there is a lady taking the hangtags off the soda, now I know she didn’t work there. So I started to get my sodas and said to her as she was about to grab another one off the next one I was going to take now I know you are not about to take that without buying it. Her face got so red and she just left. My Husband came around the isle and ask what what was wrong! Needless to say I only bought 4 as I am assuming she had swiped the rest. I told my lady at family dollar who knows me from couponing, that they need to check that because I don’t want to have to get off on someone in this store!
lol you go girl!
Thats like the time someone took all the peelies off the u kotex that were 2.00 off any kotext product. & they used them on the small boxes because it was a moneymaker at walmart. When I went to walmart they were all taken off. I just wanted one to get an actual big box of pads.
I follow the coupon information center also on its twitter page:
@CIC_HQ
We all pay for coupons if we get the paper. They are part of the purchase price and not free just because they are included. Second of all coupons.com is charging for membership to get different or higher value coupons. How is that different from buying or trading from a legit source? Why is that not illegal?
Yes, it would seem that selling a membership to print better coupons would fall under illegal if it is illegal to buy or sell coupons (or the infamous excues for a loophole – cutting, handling and time).
It is not illegal to but or sell coupons, there are NO LAWS. The manufacturer prohibits it.
Don’t know. The CIC seems to say you shouldn’t do it. Do they say not to do it b.c it is illegal, or b/c you don’t know what you’re going to get (as in you may end up buying a counterfit and getting in trouble when you use it). I don’t know, but it just seems too fine a line.
It is a fine line and they (CIC) say not to do it because you don’t know what you are getting at times. Trading, exchanging, paying someone to clip and mail them to you all fall into the same category. The fine line is, it’s not against the law but you could be getting something that is not legit. So, you have to be extremely careful of what you are getting.
While some people have a pet peeve about ordering from coupon clipping sites, I have a pet peeve about trading internet printed coupons. My feeling is that if you print a coupon from the internet and trade it with someone you don’t know, you have no idea where that coupon will wind up. They could copy it and sell it on ebay for all you know. If the “production” of it is large enough and the manufacturer has to trace it, ultimately it will be traced back to the original printers IP address. But, as with buying coupons from a clipping service, it’s not illegal to trade printed coupons, it’s just not something I suggest.
With clipping services, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them having my name/address/credit or bank/e-mail/phone or any info. If a legit service became not so legit-I’d be tied to them. (that’s what the exe. dir. of CIC said on the video-Yikes)!
Yes, and I wouldn’t trade IPs either. You don’t know if the person is just sending you a copy. Thanks for the clarification on the CIC standing.
I mean, I wouldn’t have someone send me IPs.
But if you are paying a site for access to printable coupons, they probably have permission from the manufacturer who provides that coupon to them.
Watch the video re the arrests on CIC twitter page -Wow.
and pics of the three suspects.
All this is just crazy what people do to get rich thinking just about themselves and not the consequences they do to those honest cuponers is so dissapointing and it makes me upset. .I just checked the site and what you needed a referenced from some one else in order for you to get coupons from their site and how the coupons are so high. ..is true sometimes you need to order coupons because we in central nj don’t really get the $.75/1 or $.50/1 ..Cindy you should post one more time of sites we can order from that you thrust because if is good for you is great for us!
Good thing none of my ‘shipping from’ zip code was Phoenix Arizona! Jeeeeze! Awful!
Wow, that explains the hard time that I had at Shoprite today.
Hi Cindy:
Thanks so much with keeping the Living Rich community up to date with great deals and news like this. It is great to know that you are a very honest site. This is why I always check your postings. You help us with the great deals. Not the great steals. (I know, bad joke)
Thanks again for the information.
Their site is SO suspicious looking – I’m surprised it took as long as it did to catch these people!
Exactly what I think!!!!
I don’t know why people do things like this. It’s people like that who ruin it for us honest people. Not only have manufacturer’s lost money, now we could see a cost increase on product, less coupons, and maybe less sales. Who knows.
People who “pay for clipping services” aka “buying coupons” will always insist it is not illegal. People who dont do this will always insist that it is. The ones who do this are probably the same ones who pull peelies off of all produts and clear shelves so they can have 50 of each item in their “stockpile”.
That’s a very immature and unfair thing to say. And it’s absolutely not true
I have never purchased coupons, will never pay their “clipping fee”, because I can see clearly that it is really buying them. I also never go on the supermarket and get the entire pile of products on sale, if I have extra coupons I would go in different days so to make sure we all get some products… so Annabelle might be right.
i use ebay and clipping services…but i sure do not take peelies off products unless im buying them! we get higher value coupons here (i.e. $1.00 off 1 colgate instead of 2) but then we miss out on any revlon, loreal, physicans fomula coupons…things like that you just don’t get in this area…as long as ive been getting the paper ive never once seen a physicans formula coupon! also we have a house full of rescues so we NEED to stock up on some items and im not afraid to take advantage of a good deal! and the only time ive ever been guilty of shelf clearing…is saturday nights when the sales end!
i use ebay and clipping services…but i sure do not take peelies off products unless im buying them! we get higher value coupons here (i.e. $1.00 off 1 colgate instead of 2) but then we miss out on any revlon, loreal, physicans fomula coupons…things like that you just don’t get in this area…as long as ive been getting the paper ive never once seen a physicans formula coupon! also we have a house full of rescues so we NEED to stock up on some items and im not afraid to take advantage of a good deal! and the only time ive ever been guilty of shelf clearing…is saturday nights when the sales end!
Sorry to burst your bubble Annabelle, but I don’t clear shelves nor steal all the peelies. And I don’t have 50 of anything in my stockpile. I have no roon for it and even if I did, I wouldn’t keep that much of any one product in my stockpile because to me it’s not worth it since things go on sale all the time
I agree with Cindy..very disappointing news but this is big business so it is highly unlikely to be stopped…I know that when I have purchased coupons from Ebay in the past, I have had to open cases with Ebay because I purchased coupons for free diapers from sellers and when I received them- I was advised they were fakes by the supermarkets…Here I spent $60 on coupons I thought I could use for my son…
the look authentic. this is bad. bad.
I am a 100% honest couponer. I honestly search and cut and never buy or use expired coupons. I save at least half of my grocery bill and am satisfied with that. The more people do illegal or wrongful couponing….the harder it will be for us all.
I don’t understand – what’s a big deal about this. If you compare to Bernie Madoff and Stanford fraud – this is nothing.
In a bigger or smaller scale, scam is scam, is that what you can’t understand?
Yes, watch the video it affects the economy (big companies/major and small supermarkets/stores) ,employees , employees 401k’s, this was huge.
This is something because it hurts people like us ..decent couponing people.. When something like this happens.. stores start to crack down and stop doubling or don’t even accept coupons at all… They start to give us decent couponing people a hard time…
So I wonder if they’ll finally look into the extreme couponing show… One person had 260 free coupons for red baron pizza… Really!!! 260 free product coupons
Right and one episode a person had a coupon for free 12 pack of toliet paper.. like 20 of them.. How in the world does that happen????..
I hate that show. It is so unrealistic and gives regular couponers a really bad image. Some people really do just use coupons to support themselves…and don’t need 200 of anything…and they don’t have half their house made unuseable because its been turned into stockpile storage. Next show: Hoarders. : )
Wow I didn’t think my earlier question would spawn all the drama. Oops. Anywho I’ll throw my 2 cents in
A. Gang cutting is not a new term. It means like coupons are stacked and cut at one time. (hmmm sounds maybe like something a coupon service that cuts hundreds of coupons would do????). Stores can will and do reject gang cut coupons because the manufacturers will refuse to pay the store for them if they are believed to be gang cut.
B. IMO based on my education and experience of the law (I work in the system but not an attorney) I believe there is a reasonable argument for clipping services (running or purchasing from) to be in violation of the terms stated on most coupons to not sell, purchase or transfer. Doing so makes the coupon void and you would end up with a scrap piece of paper which you then fraudulent present to a store as a valid coupon. It might be compared to counterfeit money. It looks real and the store will likely accept it but it’s still fraud. The store then turns around and submits it to the manufacturer for reimbursement. They will likely be reimbursed as it is not easily detected as a void coupon. But ethically, it’s wrong from the point of sale/purchase of the coupon and in reality is fraud. IMO. But continue as you may. However, don’t be surprised when the coupon clipping services (and even purchasers) are gone after by the powers that be.
C. eBay technically has rules against selling coupons. eBay is not a “service” distributor. Don’t be mislead. They are selling coupons not a service. Which makes them void and ….. (see point B)
Thank you, you said exactly what I meant to. I could have worded what I said much better than I did (and maybe would have avoided any drama :/).
If you contact a manufacturer with some favorable comments a lot of times they will send you coupons for freebies or high value coupons…just saying
also you can check where to donate expired coupons (up to 6 months) they send them to the military overseas and they can use them (check dear Abby)