Disgusted and discouraged!

[couponcrazy5950]

There are really only 2 coupon sites I follow- here and one other (and I've slacked off on being a participant on both over the past year). Both sites teach 'ethical' couponing & posting (though on the other site, some 'questionable' posts get past the admin but I think it's a one woman show over there).

A few days ago, a friend suggested I join another coupon site. The site has a great forum for a local (to me) store, and seems to have deals that are mostly for the area I live in. As of right now, I can only view posts- I cannot comment, or even view 'Today's Posts' yet, until the site 'allows' me to. That is not my issue, since I can still at least see the forums.

My issue is the rampant 'questionable' coupon practices & posts that appear to be going on over at this site. For example-

1) openly posting about using more than one coupon per transaction that SAYS 'limit one per transaction' (or similar wording)

2) Telling cashiers that it is NOT ok to mark down their coupons to meet the product price, when it is in the store's policy to do so (or it is in their policy that it is at the store's discretion to do so)

3) Sharing links of where to find (what I assume are) PDFs or similar files of a certain store's coupons that actually DO have a print limit

4) Openly bragging about shelf clearing (and no, I am not talking about taking the last 2 or 3 of an item-I MEAN shelf clearing)

These are just the things I've seen in the course of ONE DAY of viewing some threads. This bothers me on SO many levels. In addition to being bothered by the unethicality (is that a word? Did I just make that word up!? LOL) of it all, these people (no, I will NOT call them couponers!) seem to live in my area & shop at my store(s). Don't get me wrong-I realize that there are plenty of peeps out there who coupon the 'wrong' way-whether intentionally or unintentionally. To see it so BLATANTLY out in the open, even to the point of BRAGGING about it, was just...astounding. IDK-maybe I've just been spoiled in that I have been following 2 *AWESOME* coupon sites for a few years and this is my first 'taste' outside of those sites.

On one hand, I'm quite glad that I cannot post comments yet, as I had a TON of things I wanted to spew off about on that site this morning. On the other hand, I wish I could post JUST to see the comments & backlash I would get over it. The site has the right to remove me (or not finish the 'approval' process) &, truthfully, I wouldn't lose sleep over it & I may even beat them to it.

I'd love to hear anything you guys might have to say about this subject!

[mom23teens]

If it was me who stumbled upon this other site I wouldn't want to be asscoiated with that "other" site as it does truly give us honest couponers a bad rep. We all have been in a situation where we come to the cashiers with our stack of coupons only to be looked at like we are wrongdoing by either the person behind us in line, the cashier, or the manager after they've been called over by the cashier even though we are using our coupons correctly. However i might want to finish up the approval process so that i can contact someone in regards to the unethical coupon pactices that is being advertised on their website. Maybe they can learn a thing or two that way about honest couponers. HTH and of course this is just my opinion.

[CW&M Mom]

We try really hard to only have ethical things posted here, we go to great lengths, from calling stores, corporate, manufactures, ect to keep it that way.

You will see shelf clearing here though..it is allowed, it's not breaking the law, or unethical.....but can be considered rude by some I have never purchased 40 boxes of anything before..okay I have most definiitly never purchased 40 bottles of mustard that is the honest truth (I don't even have 1 extra bottle).

As for the site you have found, whatever it is, believe me it could even be worse

[couponcrazy5950]

If it was me who stumbled upon this other site I wouldn't want to be asscoiated with that "other" site as it does truly give us honest couponers a bad rep. We all have been in a situation where we come to the cashiers with our stack of coupons only to be looked at like we are wrongdoing by either the person behind us in line, the cashier, or the manager after they've been called over by the cashier even though we are using our coupons correctly. However i might want to finish up the approval process so that i can contact someone in regards to the unethical coupon pactices that is being advertised on their website. Maybe they can learn a thing or two that way about honest couponers. HTH and of course this is just my opinion.

Agreed-I don't really want to be associated with that site, either. I like your thought on the finishing the approval process, though, it appears that mods don't seem to care.

[couponcrazy5950]

We try really hard to only have ethical things posted here, we go to great lengths, from calling stores, corporate, manufactures, ect to keep it that way.

You will see shelf clearing here though..it is allowed, it's not breaking the law, or unethical.....but can be considered rude by some I have never purchased 40 boxes of anything before..okay I have most definiitly never purchased 40 bottles of mustard that is the honest truth (I don't even have 1 extra bottle).

As for the site you have found, whatever it is, believe me it could even be worse

I haven't really noticed shelf clearing stories here, but I HAVE been absent for a while so..LOL Maybe it bothers me because at least some of the shelf clearing posts were because people were using coupons incorrectly to begin with.

[CW&M Mom]

I haven't really noticed shelf clearing stories here, but I HAVE been absent for a while so..LOL Maybe it bothers me because at least some of the shelf clearing posts were because people were using coupons incorrectly to begin with.

If that happens here, the post gets pulled down and they get in trouble

[bigsweetie]

I'm going to preface my response by saying these are NOT excuses, just a different perspective:

When I first began couponing I joined this site and a few others (can't even remember them now). I often saw things posted (on other sites) about how you can get away with this, that, and the other.

I can truly say I'm probably one of the most honest people you'll ever meet... even to a fault. But for some strange reason, not following the rules of a coupon 100% (i.e.- using more than one in a transaction,etc.) wouldn't have registered as a horrific, horrible, unethical thing. I would've ranked it up along with throwing an apple core on the ground. Yes, it's littering, but the birds will eat it, right?

It wasn't until I posted here about a coupon that would still go through even it you purchased one of the "exclusions" on the bottom of the coupon and got reprimanded that I realized what a bad thing wrong couponing is. As I read more discussion here (in HUTC) I realized what a big problem this is and how wrong it really is. Now I'm very anal about making sure I'm doing things correctly.

The point is, there ARE truly unethical shady people out there, and there are also those like myself, who just didn't realize how BAD it is to do something like that. It took this site for me to see that coupons are like money and myself and stores can get into real trouble if not done correctly.

[bigsweetie]

BTW, I've only ever thrown ONE apple core on the ground. My daughter dropped it in the dirt and tried to pick it up and eat it again and I chucked it. There wasn't a garbage anywhere. Other than that, I've never littered. Just sayin'

[mom23teens]

I'm going to preface my response by saying these are NOT excuses, just a different perspective:

When I first began couponing I joined this site and a few others (can't even remember them now). I often saw things posted (on other sites) about how you can get away with this, that, and the other.

I can truly say I'm probably one of the most honest people you'll ever meet... even to a fault. But for some strange reason, not following the rules of a coupon 100% (i.e.- using more than one in a transaction,etc.) wouldn't have registered as a horrific, horrible, unethical thing. I would've ranked it up along with throwing an apple core on the ground. Yes, it's littering, but the birds will eat it, right?

It wasn't until I posted here about a coupon that would still go through even it you purchased one of the "exclusions" on the bottom of the coupon and got reprimanded that I realized what a bad thing wrong couponing is. As I read more discussion here (in HUTC) I realized what a big problem this is and how wrong it really is. Now I'm very anal about making sure I'm doing things correctly.

The point is, there ARE truly unethical shady people out there, and there are also those like myself, who just didn't realize how BAD it is to do something like that. It took this site for me to see that coupons are like money and myself and stores can get into real trouble if not done correctly.

That is a good point we all learn from our mistakes and then we teach others:)

[ldregallo]

I have always had to be around people that are dishonest. Some of them are my family (I say this in shame). I have realized over the years that more and more people are going through life caring of nothing but themselves. This idea of entitlement bred into our children and passed along over time, causes people to do whatever they can get away with! It's not just the in the coupon world.

If people are doing it knowing that it is the wrong thing, there is nothing you can say or do to change it. In general, people who see life that way cannot be argued with.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It's not meant to. I'm not talking about making mistakes or going through a learning process. Everyone makes mistakes. I believe there is a huge different between a mistake and fraud!!!