If It’s Too Good to be True…
Yes, there are fake coupons. And second, lots of people buy them, unintentionally. There are clipping services, eBay and even other creative ways to get more coupons, but how do you know if you’re getting a fake?
Last week America saw the biggest counterfeit coupon operation get busted in Phoenix. Police confiscated more than 25 million worth of fake coupons. 40 major manufacturers are out hundreds of millions of dollars in merchandise because of all the phony FREE product coupons the three suspects were selling on eBay.
How to Use Coupons Correctly?
In my 10 Step Couponing course I highlight the ethics of couponing and stress what not to do. In light of this major scandal, let’s go over ways to spot a counterfeit coupon and keep everything clean..shall we?
PDF Coupons with unlimited prints, are suspicious. Manufacturers will tell you to come to their site to print a coupon and it’s generally not as many as you like. Be wary!
No expiration date is a big sign you are dealing with a fake. I do have some coupons in my binder that say the words NO EXPIRATION on them, but they were mailed to me directly from the manufacturer. If you find one online or for sale anywhere, be wary.
FREE product coupons not mailed directly from the manufacturer are usually too good to be true. I have never seen a totally free online printable coupon that was legitimate. If you are unsure, stick to the Sunday inserts and the ones mailed directly from the company.
High value coupons that can be bought in seemingly unlimited quantities online is very suspicious. By high value, I mean, it’s making the product practically free, usually $3 and higher.
Contact CIC if you are unsure. You can go to the Coupon Information Corporation website and send them the info of a coupon you have. They also have an ongoing index of current counterfeits in circulation.
We want coupons to stay around for a long time. Treat them like cash and make sure the ones you are using are legit!
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Hi! I'm Isra, aka The Frugalette. I took my family from fancy to frugal in 3 years, with 3 kids and 1 income, oh and found the meaning of life too! To read more about my fancy life gone frugal, 
Wow, I had no idea that such things existed. I had a "free product" coupon mailed to me from the manufacturer, and Wally world did not want to accept it. They said, "We just don't accept free product coupons. We don't think yours is valid." I was quite upset and angry because hello, the company had just sent me the coupon so I could review the product and blog about it. Walmart was the only place that carried the product.
Now I can see why they may have been weary. I was however able to go to the next town over and their Walmart allowed me to use the coupon. But it is good to know understand why there was caution.
This exact thing happened to me also! I had to review a product and was using a free product coupon the company sent me, the store thought it was a fake. I showed them my business card and said I was a blogger and they let it go…it is their call though!
Thanks for the tips!
I would be mortified if i tried to unknowingly use a fake coupon! Eek! Thanks for the tips:)
Thanks for the tips. You definitely have to be careful.
Oh wow. I had no idea. Thanks for posting about this. I'll proceed with caution next time a coupon is too good to be true.
Great tips! I'm new to couponing so I'll keep these in mind.