“Dear Jill,
I want to warn your audience about a tricky coupon offer I received last week. It was via a drugstore’s coupon app, and it gave me 40 percent off one item.
I went to the store to buy hair color, which was $9.29. I thought that with the 40 percent off coupon, I would pay $5.57. That’s not what happened though.
While standing in line, I also bought a chocolate that was on sale for 88 cents. I told the cashier I wanted to use the app coupon on the hair color, but when he scanned my store loyalty card, the total was $9.82!
I added it up on my phone and tried to explain to the cashier that the coupon had applied itself to the candy instead of the hair color, making the chocolate 53 cents.
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The cashier said there was nothing he could do because the register decides to which item to apply it!
I looked at the terms of the coupon in the app, and it does not say anywhere that it will be applied to the lowest priced item.
I ended up cancelling that order and only buying the hair color to ensure the 40 percent off coupon applied only to that.
I have shopped at this store for years and never had an issue like this. You can bet the next time I get a nice coupon like that, I will separate my transactions to make sure it goes applies to the item on which I want to save the most money.”
Caren C.
This is an interesting issue!
I too would expect to be able to specify on which product a “40 percent off one item” coupon would apply.
Coupons like these usually carry a number of restrictions. I’ve seen coupons that only apply to non-sale items that are at regular price, excluding other store promotions or clearances. However, from the store’s perspective, they’re likely looking to save money and give as little discount as possible. (Don’t get me wrong – I find this tactic beyond sneaky!)
This reader’s experience is certainly one I’ll remember the next time I encounter a percent-off-one-item coupon, just in case this becomes a more common practice at stores.
It’s slightly inconvenient to split items into multiple transactions, but it may be the best way to ensure this kind of coupon applies exactly to the item of your choosing.
“Dear Jill,
I’m fed up with a local department store’s coupons.
It seems once a month they issue coupons like $15 off any one item, but the list of items you are restricted to using them on is so lengthy, it seems nearly impossible.
I have resorted to only taking these to the store when I am headed in that direction anyway, and I take multiple items to the register so I can substitute something else if the coupon doesn’t scan on the first item.
This is the only way you can tell if something is not a ‘special buy’ or ‘best value’ and so on. But some days I just don’t even bother to go to that store due to the hassle.”
Dawn G.
I continue to wonder if retailers ever consider the negative repercussions of having a barrage of restrictions on coupons like these.
In many cases, these kinds of high-value store coupons may be the single reason a shopper chooses to visit the store that day.
Before he or she even sets foot in the store, the shopper has “paid” to make the trip there in both the time devoted to the shopping trip, and the transportation expense of making the trip to the store.
The last thing the store should want is a disappointing experience that leaves a negative connotation in the shopper’s mind the next time that person thinks about making a subsequent trip to that store.
In the best-case scenarios, coupons should benefit both the store and the manufacturer equally, and less-than-ethical tactics like these simply don’t instill confidence in consumers.
Email your own couponing victories and questions to jill@supercouponing.com.
