In order to save big with coupons, you need to understand the general rules pertaining to coupons and exactly what information is contained on that piece of paper.
TYPES OF COUPONS
There are two types of coupons: manufacturer’s coupons and store coupons. You can tell the difference by looking in the box to the left of the expiration date.
Manufacturer’s coupons:
- Are released by the manufacturer.
- Can be used at any store that accepts manufacturer’s coupons unless the coupon specifically states “Use at ___ store ONLY.” The store will be reimbursed by the manufacturer even if the coupon states “Use at Safeway” or “Available at Walmart.” That is just a marketing ploy — Safeway and Walmart paid the manufacturer to include that verbiage on the coupon. This applies also to Catalina coupons. “Redeem at Fred Meyer” is a just a suggestion. Catalina coupons can be redeemed at any store that accepts manufacturer’s coupons and the store will be reimbursed by the manufacturer. The issue will be if a particular chooses to accept these coupons, which they may not.
- Are funded by the manufacturer. When you redeem a Glade manufacturer’s coupon at Target, for example, Glade will reimburse Target for the amount you saved. Target IS NOT losing out on that amount, the manufacturer is.
- Are tender, meaning it is a form of payment, just like cash.
Store coupons:
- Are released by a particular store or chain of stores and can only be redeemed at said store.
- Can be used along with a manufacturer’s coupon (more on this later).
- Are funded by the store, not a particular manufacturer. When you redeem a $10/$50 Safeway store coupon, Safeway takes the $10 hit.
GENERAL COUPON RULES
You can only use one manufacturer’s coupon on each item. Think of a manufacturer’s coupon as a sticky note. Each product can only have one note attached to it. You cannot double up manufacturer’s coupons. Likewise, each coupon must “stick” to an item. A “$1/1 coupon” sticks to 1 item. A “$1/2 coupon” sticks to 2 items. A “$.60/3” coupon sticks to 3 items.
Let’s say you purchase 4 boxes of Kellogg’s cereal. You may use a $1/1 Kellogg’s coupon and a $1/3 Kellogg’s coupon. No more.
Please note that a “peelie” coupon (a manufacturer’s coupon attached to an item in the store) is a manufacturer’s coupon and cannot be used in conjunction with, say, a Sunday insert manufacturer’s coupon.
This rule does not apply to store coupons. You can use a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon on one item (this is called stacking).
You may use a manufacturer’s coupon only once. Once you redeem the coupon, the store keeps it and sends it to the manufacturer for reimbursement. You cannot use the coupon again on another transaction.
You cannot photocopy a manufacturer’s coupon, INCLUDING internet printable coupons. Each internet printable coupon, unless it is a PDF coupon, has a unique barcode. If you use a photocopied coupon, the store may not be reimbursed and you are stealing the money you did not pay. Copying coupons is illegal and beyond shady.
You must abide by the wording on the coupon, not necessarily the picture. Manufacturers usually picture the newest or most expensive product in the line to “encourage” you to buy that item. Read the coupon and ignore the picture — oftentimes the coupon will state “Save $1 on ANY package/variety/size.”
You can usually use a manufacturer’s coupon on a sale or clearance item, even if the coupon will make the item free. The only exception I’ve run encountered is when a grocery store hand-tags their clearance and the cashier punches in the clearance price under “general merchandise” and does not scan the item. In this case, the coupon will not go through since the corresponding item was not scanned.
You can use multiple manufacturer’s coupons in one transaction. As long as the number of items matches the number of manufacturer’s coupons and you’ve followed the rules above, you can use more than one coupon in each transaction, including duplicates. If you purchase 3 Colgate toothbrushes, you can use 3 Colgate toothbrush coupons.
Cashiers, and some couponers, get hung up on the “one coupon per item purchased” or “one coupon per purchase” wording on most manufacturer’s coupons. “Purchase” refers to item — you can only use one coupon per item. If the coupon states “one coupon per customer” or “one coupon per transaction,” then you can only use one of that particular coupon per transaction.
Read more from The Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the Northwest here.
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When I print from my iPad it allows me to set how many times I want the coupon printed. If the coupon has the same barcodes but I use them at different stores, is that alright?
Unless it’s a PDF it’s not okay. The stores may not get reimbursed after the first coupon is submitted for redemption by the store.
Store has a B1G1 sale. Can I use a Save $1 off two (2) coupon that reads not to be combined with any other coupons.
What if the store coupon says “May not be used in combination with any other offer.”? Does this mean I can’t use a manufacturer’s coupon with the store coupon?
What does it mean if it says “the retailer will reimburse you for face value plus 8 cents handling if the coupon is submitted in compliance with this offer and redemption policy?”
That is for the store. The coupon is saying they will reimburse the store for handling if the coupon is in compliance with the correct redemption of hte coupon. As a customer we can ignore that part.
If I had a manufacturers coupon that says free (1) item, etc up to the value of lets say $1.29. However, the store has a deal of 2 for $1 that day or $89 for 1. Does that mean I can pick up 2 items for that $1 since it’s a max value of $1.29 and still be free? or only 1?
You would only get one item for free.
Can you use multiple manufacturer’s coupons on the same item if it does NOT say “1 coupon per item,” “1 coupon per purchase,” “1 coupon per person,” “cannot be combined with other offers” or anything like that? The only fine print on the coupon says that they can not be replicated and are not redeemable for cash.
No- only one manufacturer coupon per item, always.
I have a question… I’m really new at this. From what I have read I know you can stack manufacturer coupons as long as you have the correct amount of items to back it up. My question thought is for example can you use a Target Store Coupon for $1.50/2 Ziploc food storage bags and use (2) $0.55 off coupons for the two items?
Yes, this is a correct example of stacking….keep in mind you can’t use more than 1 manufacture coupon per item; the correct way to stack most coupons is by using a manufacture coupon and a store coupon. At target you can stack 3 times if you have a mf coupon, store coupon and a cartwheel for the same item:-)
This happens less frequently but I have done it.
Albertson’s and Winco have both refused to take my catalina manufacturer’s from Fred Meyer. What can I do? They don’t believe me!
That is their policy. I believe Safeway and Fred Meyer will, so that’s all you can do.
Hi, I recently had the assistant manager at my local safeway refuse several of my printed coupons because it didn’t have a “third” bar code at the top right hand corner of the coupon. These were coupons that I had printed from the manufacturer’s website or smart source. Any thoughts? Is there a way to question or grieve something like this? Thanks for all the great info!
Ok… a bit confused. Your help is greatly appreciated for this newbie. If a coupon states $1 when you purchase TWO. Does that mean $1 off each item only when TWO are purchased or $1 off the total of the TWO items? Forgive my ignorance.
No problem and this is what we are here for. The coupon means $1 off 2 items. The same with a coupon that states $1 off 3. You must buy 3 items to use the $1 coupon. You can also use a store coupon with this as well. The store coupon can be for $1 off 1 item. It does not have to be off 3 items. Does that help?
Yes. It helps. Thank you. I am glad that I stubled upon this website. It is ver helpful.
PC question. You said that photo copying the coupons means they have the same bar code and you can’t use the copy. Is it also the same bar code if you print more than one straight from the computer?
No, each coupon has a different bar code; for example if you print 2 of the same coupons from one computer. This is completely acceptable, most of us do this. Photo copying is cheating and should not be done.
What about the gold coupons found at Fred Meyer? Thhey hand from a little hook next to the price and say manufacturer’s bot has Fred Meyer to the right and don’t look like a lot of other manufacturer’s. Can you use these anywhere?
You can use them at Walmart and technically if they say manufacture you should be able to use them anywhere, but some stores will put up a stink.
I have used them at Target and Safeway no problem:)
I just wanted to say a huge “Thank You” for putting this together. I, too, was alerted to this way of shopping due to “Extreme Hoarding of Dry Goods”…er…I mean “Extreme Couponing” on TLC and wanted to learn more as our income was just reduced dramatically. This site has explained everything more clearly than I could have EVER learned on my own. I have two school aged children and one babysitting child and blow through bread, cereal, paper products and juice like nothing else so I can’t wait to start stockpiling.
I was able to use a peelie with a manufacturer’s coupon at Fred Meyer’s this week. I didn’t think I could, but the checker said you just can’t use two of the EXACT same coupon on one item. It went through so …needless to say, she’s my new favorite checker!
Marcie, has to be $1/1, not 2.
or should I say… a bogo + $ any dollar amount/1.
Had a quick ? This week Walgreens had there Herbal Essence & Aussie hair products on sale to which one of you coupon ladies(this site or another) said I should buy 2 and use B1G1 free coupon plus a $1/2 coupon. The cashier said I could onlys use one of them because the $1/2 went with the two items. I could only argue that I was new to this & had seen this deal listed with at least two of u coupon ladies. To which she told me that she’d been doing coupons for years & this deal doesn’t work. What did I do wrong? Thanks for the help!
Winco will not take catalina coupons. They said they do not take competitor coupons. I tried to explain that they are manufacturer coupons, but they said they’re not. ???
Also want to say excellent article-I am teaching/enticing some of my friends to coupon and will share it with them (as well as recommend your site, as I have already!).
I recently learned that at Rite Aid-the coupons in their weekly ads -even though they say “manufactures” on the top really are store coupons & can be used (stacked) with a manufactures coupon. I had read that in blogs recently and didn’t think that was right, but my favorite clerk there showed me the numbers on the bar code-the first two are coded for their store, and confirmed that is correct.
That’s extremely good info…I had wondered about that myself just the other day. Thanks for the clarification. I’m new at this.
I didn’t know where to post this–I just wanted to let you know there’s a good deal on Cottonelle at Bales this week. 12 big rolls are $4.99 with store coupon (weekly ad) and they triple your coupon. I had $.50 off coupon printed (thanks to your database) so the final price was $3.49. I think it’s a pretty good price for this brand.
Oh, by the way, I read the title, “Know your coupons” and saw the picture at the top. I immediately identified it as the Ken’s Salad Dressing coupon. Is that sad or what??
I did too!
Another awesome post in this series!! Thank you!
Jenny G– from my experience, YES you would need to find a tiny priced item to take your total purchase above $5 in order to use the $5 RR. Single pencils are a good ‘filler’ , as are the single pieces of candy/taffy that are up near the cash register, or any item you find that might be on clearance that is low in price.
Hope that helps.
I know you are probably getting to RR’=-0, but I have a quick question. Let’s say you have a $5 RR and an item is 4.99, do I need another item for that .01?
I just started this whole couponing business, and it has changed our bottom line already. Thank you for all the work you put in to this. My family thanks you.
Yes, your total must be at least $5 to use a $5 RR (or other catalina).