Ethics of couponing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Melancholic
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Melancholic said:
Continuing on about winetags…

I found this, which has the rules for coupon usage on alcohol in my state of IL:
abdi.org/gov/documents/TradePracticePolicies.pdf

It says on p. 18:

So alcohol companies cannot, by law, tell me to purchase their products to use their coupons on non-alcohol items. Does that change anything?

Edit: I have seen other boards mention that these particular coupon laws only apply for hard liquor in IL, and wine and beer are allowed to have coupons which would require their purchase (which I have seen many times, “buy this bottle and a frozen pizza and get $3 off etc”) - although like my scan above, some wine and beer companies choose to issue winetags that state no purchase necessary anyway.
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I’ve never seen a coupon have that wording. What do you think the point of putting it on a wine bottle is? Is it the same thing as a hanger on a store shelf? I still think the implication is that it is a bonus for the purchaser of the bottle but the law doesn’t want any third party influencing anyone to buy alcohol. I suppose if you follow the letter of the law the coupon says no purchase necessary so you could take it. I myself would not.
 
atassina said:
This forum continues to become more interesting. Just think: The ethics and morality of coupon clipping. Now, back to Melancholic. My Father uses coupons from my brother’s area. These coupons in my Father’s area are normally 25 cents but are $1 in my brother’s area. Is it ethical to use them? This seems to be one of the gray areas, still undefined. The companies must know that this is happening. At least you are buying their product. Write a company and ask them.

Have a piece of cake and think about it.
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Ok , now I’m hungry for chocolate cake. 😦 You do realize this is lent, right? 😉

I think that as long as the coupon doesn’t specifically say for use in a certain area they may be used elsewhere. The manufacturers know about coupon trains and so on. They have been going on for years. I’m sure they would have started wording the coupons with restrictions if it was a problem.
 
This is an area in which we need more thinking tools: ideas are tools with which we think. Perhaps one of the Catholic Answers apologists could add some meat to the stew.

Have a piece of cake. Go ahead. Have one.
 
Seatuck said:
Ok , now I’m hungry for chocolate cake. 😦 You do realize this is lent, right? 😉

I think that as long as the coupon doesn’t specifically say for use in a certain area they may be used elsewhere. The manufacturers know about coupon trains and so on. They have been going on for years. I’m sure they would have started wording the coupons with restrictions if it was a problem.
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This is a brilliant answer. And as your reward, have another piece of cake. Perhaps with ice cream and some delicious coffee.
 
Melancholic said:
Ok, new question.

This one is about “overage.” Sometimes people use a coupon that has a higher value than the price of an item, like $1.50 off salad that is on sale for 0.99. Then they make a profit (overages are never given back as cash but they discount the price of other items being bought). This is obviously fraud. Now, if there is a store-only coupon for item x which can be used along with a manufacturer’s coupon for item x (most stores allow them to be combined), and the result is overage, is that morally acceptable? Is there anything intrinsically wrong with making money by buying an item?
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Stores set their own policies about this. Most stores that I know of, will not give you back more money than the price of the item you use the coupon on.
Personally, I think that if a store is willing to let you do this, it is OK. Why? Becasue they obviously are getting enough sales from couponers, that they can afford to give store credit this way.🤷 When they start losing money, they will stop this practice.
Melancholic said:
Ok, new question.

Is it wrong to trade coupons with another person who lives in a different region of the country, or buy coupons from a clipping service outside my region? They receive different coupons than I do. I think that it is wrong to misrepresent my personal information in order to receive coupons (such as typing in a zip code I don’t live in to access a coupon I couldn’t get under my own zip code), but I don’t think that it is wrong to trade or buy them from another person who lives in a different part of the country. On the other hand, companies probably issue regional coupons to bolster sales in those regions, while my region may be doing well. They’re not “intended” for me to use in my area.

[NOT speaking about coupons which clearly state they are restricted to a particular area]
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Perfectly fine. Companies have to mark their coupons as regional for them to be limited to one area or another. After all, if the coupon were in your purse while you were visiting a relative, & you were shopping while there, you could use it. So, I see nothing wrong with this.

The peelie thing is complicated, & I think it is a system that is asking for abuse…but that doesn’t make it OK to take advantage of this loophole. They should be used only as intended.
However, when it comes to those little machines that dispense coupons in stores, I don’t think it is wrong to take 2 or 3. If you stand there & empty the machine, that is selfish & therefore wrong.

My:) 2 cents.
 
Don’t coupons have bar codes on them, and aren’t cash registers able to read them? It seems to me that the expiration dates and regional restrictions and overages would show up and the coupon would be rejected if unacceptable. I figure, if the computer takes it, it must be OK. Back in the “dark ages,” when checkers actually had to read and enter the coupons, these ethical problems would be applicable. Nowadays the considerations are more about things like peelies, wine tags, and the like.

Betsy
 
No, computers do not read the expiration date. I am a cashier, I know. I got in trouble because I thought that the computer would recognize an expired coupon, so I wound up taking an expired one. Computers only read maximum amount allowed and if the item matches. They don’t read what store, expiration date, region, or anything like that.
 
The problem with our ethics of couponing is that we are not eating enough cake. Look at this delicious piece. Try to eat it. And by the way, does anybody know what the coupon companies say? If they encourage or do not mind us using the coupons in the various ways discussed, what is the ethical problem?
 
If you don’t obey the coupon rules the coupon companies don’t reimburse the store. So they say don’t use them that way.
 
Are we responsible for enforcing the coupon rules or are the stores? If the companies know the rules, why don’t the stores? Our ethical questions involve the complexity of the rules regarding coupons, tear-offs, peelies, and other discount markers.
 
angelerulastiel said:
No, computers do not read the expiration date. I am a cashier, I know. I got in trouble because I thought that the computer would recognize an expired coupon, so I wound up taking an expired one. Computers only read maximum amount allowed and if the item matches. They don’t read what store, expiration date, region, or anything like that.
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I trust that you did take an expired coupon. My guess is that your store needs to update its software. I have been to stores that have rejected coupons because they are out of date or not within the parameters of the coupon.
 
atassina said:
Are we responsible for enforcing the coupon rules or are the stores? If the companies know the rules, why don’t the stores? Our ethical questions involve the complexity of the rules regarding coupons, tear-offs, peelies, and other discount markers.
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You are not responsible for enforcing coupon rules, but you are responsible for behaving in a moral and ethical manner. Why do you think you should try to get away with things? Is it moral to submit an expired coupon because the system won’t reject it and the cashier might not notice? No. You are stealing there. Fine, you are saving 50 cents, but at someone else’s expense.

What is wrong with using the coupons as they are intended to be used? Why do you have to try to manipulate the system? If a coupon is attached to a product it is intended to be used with the purchase of that product, even if it says no purchase necessary. Tear-offs are meant to be one per person as anyone with any amount of etiquette knows without them having to print it. Coupons are meant to be used on the exact product stated, before the expiration date, usually not in combination with any other coupon for that product. I understood this all when I was 10.

If you don’t want to pay the price the store/manufacturer is charging DON’T BUY IT.
 
Makes sense to me. This is just like going to a hotel. Do not harvest the shampoos, the soaps, the mouthwash, the toothpaste, or any other product they have for your use in the hotel. The point is use the product at the hotel, not at home. The intended use is at the hotel-- only. The intended use of coupons is with the product.
 
atassina said:
This forum continues to become more interesting. Just think: The ethics and morality of coupon clipping. Now, back to Melancholic. My Father uses coupons from my brother’s area. These coupons in my Father’s area are normally 25 cents but are $1 in my brother’s area. Is it ethical to use them? This seems to be one of the gray areas, still undefined. The companies must know that this is happening. At least you are buying their product. Write a company and ask them.

Have a piece of cake and think about it.
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:)Excuse me please but i was reading and i wondered how a coupon can be of differnt values in differnt areas? Also i use coupons and i never get the realy good ones because i do not get the news paper on Sundays.But i went to a store and seen this guy use Coupons for his order, the order came to over 150 dollars, and after he gave all his coupons he even got change> The whole store was flabagasted and all the woman felt betrayed by a man. He knew how to use these things, and about 2 years the store went out of business.😦
 
atassina said:
This is an area in which we need more thinking tools: ideas are tools with which we think. Perhaps one of the Catholic Answers apologists could add some meat to the stew.

Have a piece of cake. Go ahead. Have one.
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:oHe or she is right You are a tease! Besides it will taste alot better with out the guilt trip after lent.😦 Do you have it with cool whip?
 
Are there coupons for chocolate cake with real whipped cream? How many of you are going to have chocolate cake for Easter?
 
atassina said:
Are there coupons for chocolate cake with real whipped cream? How many of you are going to have chocolate cake for Easter?
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I just thought of something, i get coupons for cat food and it makes you buy 12 cans and get one free, you figure the tax and i paid for that can.Not all coupons are alike!
You never did tell me how you can get coupons and they are differnt value in another area?
 
Boxie said:
You never did tell me how you can get coupons and they are differnt value in another area?
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There are coupon clipping services out there or people sell coupons on ebay. Does that answer your question?
 
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