After reading my local paper this morning, I flipped through the coupons to see if there were any I’d use.
On one set of coupons (P&G), this statement appears:
Ok, the first couple of sentences, I understand. It’s only good for what’s actually on the coupon and you can’t make a photocopy. The third sentence, though, seems to say that if I’m not going to use a coupon for, say, men’s deodorant, I can’t give it to a friend or relative who will use it.
I guess I don’t understand why passing the coupon to someone who will use it would be a problem - the company still gets the sales, they’ve already paid to have these coupons printed/distributed, so why wouldn’t they want them actually used?
Or is there an element that I’m not seeing? (I’m sure there is.)
I don’t think it’s one-off transfer of coupons that the company has a problem with. It’s probably multiple redemptions they want to prevent.
Say, Habib the store owner gets a coupon for $2 off deodorant. That’s cheaper than his cost. So, he collects 200 hundred coupons from friends and family and buys 200 deodorants at the discounted price, then sells them at his store.
A loose example, but I think you see what I’m getting at.
The primary problem, and it is real, is store owner “coupon swap clubs”.
They collect coupons and give them to the retailers without purchase to apply to mdse already sold at full price.
And worse, coupon counterfeiting is quite real. Many high ticket ones can be printed. If a store turns in a bundle of fakes, they don’t want him to point the finger at some swap club. They want a way to lock him out directly from collecting.
BTW, the reason a lot of coupons have a notice “cash value 1/20 cent” is to enable counterfeiters to be prosecuted as thieves, even if you can’t prove any were turned in.