Proper Coupon Usage

[Sally Nevermind]

I keep seeing this question being asked, but I'm confused because it seems to get answered differently every time. There must be one right answer to it, and I want to make sure I am doing things right. Be good to the coupons and they will be good to you lol.

Is this right? I can have 1 store discount coupon, and 1 manufacturer discount coupon per item purchased, UNLESS the coupon or the store states differently.

In the case of a get X free when you buy Y manufacturer coupon, does the coupon attach to both items? Or just X?

I know this is wrong:
Buy X and Y
use coupon for get X free wyb Y
use $off coupon for X
as X is attached to both coupons

But is this right?
Buy X and Y
use coupon for get X free wyb Y
use $off coupon on Y
one coupon discount attached to each item?

I'm sorry to ask this again as I know it has been asked 1000 times, but I am looking for a clear cut answer. With coupons I think everything is pretty black and white, and this one seems to fall into the gray area. I don't think just because a store will allow me to do something necessarily means it is right and I want to be sure I'm not using my coupons wrong.
Thank you so much!

[queenofthehivemomof5]

The X's and Y's have me confused. LOL

Let say you have a coupon for Buy (1) Kraft Cheese Get (1) Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs for Free.

You can use a cents off coupon on the item that you have to buy. In this case the Kraft Cheese. But not a coupon for the item that you are getting free. The Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs. The B1G1 Free coupon is attached to the free hot dogs. And the cents off coupon would be attached to the cheese.

Of course all of this is going to be YMMV because some stores allow it and some do not. Additionally some coupons that are worded as B1G1 Free coupons are actually bar coded to take a certain value off one of the products.

I have seen B1G1 Free coupons that actual are bar coded to just take the "up to value" off of the Kraft Cheese. In that case a register would not accept an additional cents off coupon on the cheese. So you sort of have to know how the coupons are going to work at the register, what you store will allow. But in theory if the coupon is coded as a true B1G1 free coupon it should work just fine and is perfectly OK to do that.

And while I am not an advocate of decoding in order to use coupons fraudulantly for products other than what is stated in the wording of the coupon I think knowing what the coupon values are for and what you coupon is going to do at the register is good info to know.

If you coupon is bar coded like this 5 92850 13000 2 this type of coupon will ask for cashier intervention for them to input the "up to" value of the coupon. Meaning that the coupon is indeed a true B1G1 free coupon. However if instead of a 00 you have something like 76 in that place the coupon is coded to take $1.00 off 1. In that instance you need to look at the 92850 and 130 part of the bar code which tells you which product the coupon is going to take the dollar off. It can get a bit more complicated than that but that sort of explains how to tell if your coupon is coded as a true B1G1 free coupon or a cents off coupon. 00 or 01 are codes that beep for cashier intervention requiring the cashier to input the up to value. Most B1G1 free coupons are coded this way but there are some sneeky ones that just are coded for money off one of the products.

the 92850 part of the bar code is the family code (in this case I think it is the family code for Burt's Bees since that is what coupon I had sitting on my desk as I typed this. While the 130 part of the code is for the specific product within the Burt's Bee's family.

[Sally Nevermind]

Awesome! Thank you so much, I finally get it!

[Cin42382]

It can get confusing so don't be afraid to ask questions. :)

[cpnmaniac44]

Originally Posted by Sally Nevermind I keep seeing this question being asked, but I'm confused because it seems to get answered differently every time. There must be one right answer to it, and I want to make sure I am doing things right. Be good to the coupons and they will be good to you lol. Is this right? I can have 1 store discount coupon, and 1 manufacturer discount coupon per item purchased, UNLESS the coupon or the store states differently. In the case of a get X free when you buy Y manufacturer coupon, does the coupon attach to both items? Or just X? I know this is wrong: Buy X and Y use coupon for get X free wyb Y use $off coupon for X as X is attached to both coupons But is this right? Buy X and Y use coupon for get X free wyb Y use $off coupon on Y one coupon discount attached to each item? I'm sorry to ask this again as I know it has been asked 1000 times, but I am looking for a clear cut answer. With coupons I think everything is pretty black and white, and this one seems to fall into the gray area. I don't think just because a store will allow me to do something necessarily means it is right and I want to be sure I'm not using my coupons wrong. Thank you so much!

Another question you may need to ask is for a VERY detailed definition of YMMV. So, you are prepared for anything at the checkout line.