Have you ever used ecoupons? Here are the ins and outs of how to use ecoupons properly.
First of all, what is an ecoupon?
Ecoupon stands for electronic coupons. Typically, you set up an online account for these coupons, link your store card to your account and then save these coupons to the store card.
No clipping, sorting or filing is necessary! Ecoupons are very convenient. Plus, for those of you who always forget to bring your coupons to the store, this is the perfect coupon for you!
Ecoupons do not double and they can only be used once on the products indicated. That means if you have a $0.50/1 Cheerios ecoupon and you purchase 2 boxes of Cheerios for $2 each, you will pay $3.50 because you can only use these coupons once!
Ecoupons can reach their limit, so I recommend that you save them to your store card before they are gone. Now, here is the thing.
Types of ecoupons:
- cellfire
- SavingStar
- store ecoupons – like Shoprite ecoupons
Can you use an ecoupon and a paper coupon?
The answer is, you shouldn’t. Most ecoupons are manufacturer coupons. When you are using ecoupons in conjunction with a paper manufacturer coupon you are violating the terms on the paper coupon that state only 1 coupon per purchase. Will ecoupons work with a paper coupon? Yes, typically, these coupons will work in conjunction with a paper coupon. However, just because they work, doesn’t mean it is right!
So, if you are able to use an ecoupon and a paper coupon together it is just because there is a glitch in the system, not because it is ok to do. This goes for Savingstar, cellfire and Shoprite ecoupons. I even called Shoprite, and they said that ecoupons won’t work with paper coupons. (Now part of me wonders why a company like Shoprite can figure out how to make it not work, but the big ecoupon companies, can’t figure this out).
So basically, when you stack a cellfire coupon and a savingstar coupon and a paper coupon on an item to get it free or super cheap, you are not following the rules stated on the paper coupons. This is a wrong and unethical way to use coupons. This could probably also be considered a form of coupon fraud.
Now, that being said, I am a very busy and forgetful girl. I might save an ecoupon to my card today and 8 days from now, go buy that item with a paper coupon. I will most likely have no memory of the fact that I saved an ecoupon to my card. I am sure many of you may make the same mistake. If it is an honest mistake or oversight, there is no use fretting about it. Honest mistakes happen, and if the ecoupon companies can’t make a better system to enforce their policies, mistakes will continue to happen because nobody can remember everything.
However, I would like to go on record saying that it is wrong to use an ecoupon and a paper manufacturer coupon together. I will not promote deals and freebies with the combining of these coupons any longer. I am so sorry for the times when I gave you incorrect information about ecoupons. I honestly did not realize that stacking them with a paper coupon was wrong.
Ecoupons are convenient, give me more opportunities to use coupons, plus they sometimes have some very rare coupons available. It would be a shame if these ecoupons went away because people used them incorrectly. If we want to do what is right, and want to see ecoupons stick around, then we should not take advantage of the ecoupon system. In the future, I will not use a paper manufacturer coupon and an ecoupon for the same item. I hope you will join me in doing the right thing!
I find this to be a huge grey area because it is simply too easy to forget that you ‘clipped’ an ecoupon. I highly doubt that I am the only one who selects an ecoupon and within 5 minutes (never mind 8 days!) has forgotten which items I selected on the ecoupon site. It is a simple case of ‘out of sight/out of mind.’
If stores do not want people to use ecoupons and paper coupons on the same item, then they will have to make it easier for people to remember what ecoupons they have and allow the customer to choose which coupon they want to use.
I see this as similar to the DND coupons. A coupon says Do Not Double on the front of it but it is not coded that way. The cashier scans it and it will automatically double. Is it unethical for the shopper to take the savings from that doubled coupon? The manufacturer could easily code the coupon to not double, but for some reason does not.
Thanks for posting Stephanie. I think it is good to be able to discuss these things.
thanks for commenting Mary. I totally agree with you. Here is the thing, I think it is more than a grey area. I think it is wrong to intentionally use both, to try and cheat the store or the system. But I totally agree, there should be a better system for knowing what you have, and honestly, the ecoupon companies, should make it impossible for the ecoupon to work with a paper coupon. I mean, if shoprite can figure it out why can’t they figure it out? Am I going to fret if both come off accidentally? Personally, I am not going to fret about an honest mistake. I am going to clip my ecoupons when I remember and coupon as usual. BUT what I am not going to do, is intentionally stack them to get a great deal, and I am not going to post the deals in a stacking scenario on my shoprite matchups. I am not going to encourage or endorse it and I am going to educate people on the proper way to do it, since I am a coupon class instructor and blogger. But yeah, the coupon companies and stores have to figure out a better way, we are way too busy as a society (especially in NJ) to keep track of such things.
So bottom line is, it is wrong to do (which I didn’t realize), try not to do it, but I am not going to beat someone up for a mistake, and I realize mistakes will happen. Ya know?
If it is really so wrong to use both and if companies really do not want people to do it, then they will have to figure out a way to make it know that it can not be done. And there will need to be an easier way for people to know what ecoupons they have. Also there will need to be a way for people to select which coupon they want to use (paper or ecoupon).
It seems to me that manufacturers did not carefully think out the practicalities of using ecoupons.