I had a fun experience at Dollar General recently. I got a bunch of Campbells products, shampoo, cleaners all ready to go for the cashier. I bought no more than two of each item, matched it with a coupon, and got in line.
All my coupons were from Coupons.com or SmartSource. Uh oh. Surprise! Dollar General does not accept internet printables. That isn’t just a cashier, or an individual store. They don’t accept any at all anywhere.
Well, I should take my own advice – check the policy of the store on coupon redemption BEFORE you get in line.
Dollar General DOES accept manufacturer coupons – the kind you cut out of the paper, or a magazine, or the kind that are in blinkie dispensers or tearpads. But they don’t accept the kind that are printed from a computer. Too much possibility of fraud.
Now I was ready to argue this policy, but I really can’t after the latest round of counterfeits that have so effectively duplicated the watermarks on Smart Source coupons. This is what fraud does to all of us who are honest.
Family Dollar, on the other hand, does accept internet printables as well as other manufacturer coupons. It’s possible to do some really great deals with them, as internet printed coupons tend to be high value.
Many dollar stores do not accept coupons at all. The idea is that you are getting a rock bottom price already. No you’re not! They have to make money too- and by not accepting coupons they are cutting you out of the additional savings. Stores do not lose money on coupons – they get reimbursed, and they get a handling fee. The only reason a store should have for not accepting coupons is to avoid the problems of people redeeming counterfeits. Small stores and franchise owners cannot afford to absorb the losses that come with fraud.
So a big thank you to both Family Dollar and Dollar General for accepting coupons and being shopper friendly. We can join in encouraging Dollar General to re-think its position on not accepting internet printables. Placing limits on the number of internet coupons accepted, the number of like items that can be purchased with them, and not allowing cashiers to override the register to accept a coupon that does not go through will cut back greatly on risk, while allowing shoppers additional savings.