Counterfeit coupons on the rise

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 11:43 — Coupon Maven

Today's Wall Street Journal has a story on coupon fraud, particularly with regard to internet coupons, is on the rise:

In January 2008, Nestlé Purina Petcare Co. issued 250 coupons for a free bag of its adult dry dog food. As of May 5, 2,754 coupons for the product have been redeemed, the company said, but declined to comment further on coupon fraud.

It's always sad when people try to beat the system and make photocopies, scans, or fraudulent copies of internet coupons, thinking if one free coupons is good, ten free coupons would be better. I've always tried to stress being as ethical as we can as coupon shoppers - we already get so many things inexpensively that we truly don't need to push things even further. Unfortunately, some people do, which ultimately does hurt us all as coupon shoppers, as we may be faced with even more scrutiny (even though we're couponing legitimately) as stores try to reduce their losses.

Comments

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 14:27 — maggie

How much longer?

I have been wondering for a while now how long these great deals can last. Not just because after reading about fraud (which is really wrong and hurting all of us), but also because of the economy. How long can companies like Conagra, Kraft etc. keep offering deals like they have done so many times? If they can't make it in this economy, we will also end up losing that way.
And how will a company like Catalina be effected by the economy?

As I was updating my prefered card a while back, one of the guys helping me mentioned that Jewel eventually wants to go to on-line offers only. So I guess uploading your card at home and then go shop (like Dominicks started doing)... It makes sense, especially with all the fraud going on, to get rid of the paperstuff.

So I just have a feeling that I should enjoy these offers while they last, not knowing how much longer it will be available!

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 14:36 — Coupon Maven

Longer :)

While it seems a lot of us are doing this, the reality is (statistically speaking) that we're still in the minority.

Last year, only 4-6% of coupons made available in newspaper inserts or on the net were redeemed. That's over 90% of coupons being tossed or recycled. NINETY percent.

I've been following redemption rates for 2008-2009, and so far I've read coupon use is up 17% over last year -- but that's still not nearly as many people using them as there are coupons being issued.

Consider too that manufacturers also issue coupons for the marketing aspect. Many people will peruse the inserts, forget their coupons at home (gasp! but true!) and STILL buy those items, because they saw them in the ad and were thinking about them. Those kinds of sales are golden to the store, because the ad influenced a person to buy the product without a coupon involved.

I think that we're going to see coupons for a long, long time. Will things change? Perhaps - but often it's for the better too. Look at all the electronics out now which were unheard of about five years ago.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 13:28 — JOAN CASTILLO

COUNTERFIET COUPONS

Just read your post ,Didn't see it earlier . Feel really bad about this going on . I can't imagine with all the great deals why people would stoop to this level. Their sure are some other ways of making money you would think . . This in time could ruin the coupon world for all us :(

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 19:26 — Bargain Babe

Most "regular" couponers not doing this

I don't think the "regular" coupon folk are the ones doing this. Sure, there are some bad apples, but I think there are more who really -aren't- couponers preying on those who are. By that I mean eBayers and others who copy and sell coupons like these for their own profit. They have no interest in couponing except as it provides a stream of income to them from those who want to bulk up their Q inventory for the next big sale by "trading" stamps or depositing $ in a PayPal account in exchange for the coupons they desire. I'm sure it won't be a popular idea with some, but it seems to me that if we couponers stopped buying - I mean "trading" - coupons, then the market for selling fraudulent copies would dry up and the number of "bad" coupons stores are stuck with would go down.

To be clear, I'm not speaking of people on this board (and others) who generously offer extra copies of coupons they have and/or Qs they won't use with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Nor am I talking about people who get extra copies of IPs from friends and/or family members. I'm sure those of us who do - including myself - are using them for purchases for our individual use and/or to donate or share with friends & family - and NOT to make a buck. Even swapping Qs with fellow couponers you "know" seems okay. But to buy - oops, there goes that word again - I mean "trade" them online with people you don't know only serves to encourage this sort of behavior from people who don't give a darn or simply don't think about the ethics of it all.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is beyond me why anyone would "trade" IPs when we know this is happening. I'm not against trading coupons, but if the "Next Great Sale" comes and I don't have the number of coupons I would like for it and have to either cough up an extra few bucks to get the best return on the deal or "trade" for some of the IP's online, then I'll pay the extra $ to the store, knowing I'm not contributing to the problem and that another "Next Great Sale" will be just around the corner and I'll get in on it then - legitimately.