Keep sending in those questions – we love to answer them! Just remember if we didn’t get to your question this week…we will do our best to cover it another week!! As always a big thanks to my buddy Christy over at Haphazardly Hobbying who gives me so much help to get the questions answered.
Remember–there is a tab at the top of the site called “Q & A” where I organize the questions and answers from this feature so that it can serve as a quick reference!
Here are this week’s questions:
- Is Publix policy to double all coupons 50 cents & under (even if they say do not double)?
- Can I use two BOGO coupons on two items (so the product works out to be free)?
- Is it ok to leave coupons I won’t use on or near the item at my Publix?
- If I buy 3 of Item A and have 3 coupons that offer me $x/Item B wyb Item A, do I have to buy 3 of Item B or can I use all three coupons towards 1 Item B?
- Is there a good way to determine whether a coupon on the Target website is a store coupon or a manufacturer coupon without having to print it out?
- I am a first-time reader and I’m confused – What do all these abbreviations mean? Some of them I can guess like B1G1 but $X/1MQ stumps me, as does $X/$XX. Help!
- Why do certain zip codes on Coupons.com get better coupons, and how do I know which zip to use?
- What do you think about coupon hoarding?
- I understand why some areas get coupons and others don’t, but why do they give some areas the same coupons with higher values and other areas with lower values?
- Where do you draw the line between sucking up a price difference you didn’t expect and returning an item?
And here are the answers!
- Michelle wants to know: I have some manufacturer’s coupons for 50 cents that start with a 9, so they didn’t automatically double. When I looked at my receipt and saw this, I went to customer service. They pulled the coupons, and they said “do not double” on them, so they would not double them manually for me. Is Publix policy to double all coupons 50 cents & under (even if they say do not double)? I’m trying to figure out if this is a store specific policy, because I have several Publix stores near me, and I thought about trying to see if they would double them at another store. And, should I ask at customer service or ask the cashier to double them??
- Robin wants to know: Can I use two BOGO coupons on two items (so the product works out to be free)?
- Amanda wants to know: Often I will leave a coupon on the shelf next to the item if I am not going to use the coupon and it is nearing the expiration date. This way someone else can take advantage of the savings. My husband and I call this “leaving a happy” because it makes me happy when I find a surprise coupon and we hope someone else will be happy to get the coupon we left. I’m curious about your take on this – I often wonder if I am really helping anyone or if the Publix employees get annoyed to see them and they just throw them out. What do you think?
- Michelle wants to know: I have a question concerning the quantity of coupons you can use in a particular scenario in the Q&A from a few weeks ago. Your post said: “$1 off milk when you buy Nabisco Cookies – here you are getting a $1 discount on milk when you buy a qualifying product. The coupon does not discount the cookies so you may use an addtional coupon to “discount” the cookies.” My question is this: If I buy 3 Nabisco Cookies and have 3 coupons with this wording, do I have to buy 3 milks or can I use all three coupons towards 1 milk?
- Lavonna wants to know: Is there a good way to determine whether a coupon on the Target website is a store coupon or a manufacturer coupon without having to print it out?
- den1mar6@ wants to know: I am a first-time reader and I’m confused – What do all these abbreviations mean? Some of them I can guess like B1G1 but $X/1MQ stumps me, as does $X/$XX. Help!
- MQ – manufacturer’s coupon
PQ – publix coupon
$X/X, $X/1, $X/2, etc – we use this abbreviation as a way to talk about coupons in general rather than to identify a specific coupon. For example, I used the phrase $X/1 in my answer to Question 2 above – I’m saying that you can use any coupon that is good for an amount off the purchase of ONE item – because a specific coupon amount just isn’t necessary here.
$X/$XX – we use this abbreviation to talk about total purchase coupons in general – for example, a $X/$XX coupon could be a $5/$25 Rite Aid coupon, or a $5/$30 Publix coupon, etc. Basically, we use this phrase when we’re indicating that you can use a total purchase coupon for a deal if you have one. - Marla wants to know: Can you please tell me how to figure out which zip code to use on sites like Coupons.com if my own zip doesn’t work and one isn’t listed with the link? Is there a place on your site that has zip codes that are usually successful? I’ve read that it is a good idea to try 90210, but don’t know many others, or why certain zip codes are better.
- Linda wants to know: My Publix used to be very good at having a bunch of different booklets, etc, but not so much anymore. I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with people who coupon hoard. There are a lot of people on the site who apparently have more of these booklets than they can use and want to trade them. Given the limited supply of some of these items, why don’t people just take what they need of a booklet, tearpad etc, so more people have an opportunity to use them?
- Stacey wants to know: I have noticed for the past few months, most markets receive $1 off toothpaste or toothbrush (or floss) coupons in their monthly P&G ad. But, in my area in north Alabama, we always get $.75 cents off coupons instead for those items. I understand why some areas get coupons and others don’t, but why do they give some areas the same coupons with higher values and other areas with lower values? Does that mean we have too many couponers in this area or people that are using coupons??
- Dana wants to know: Have you ever returned anything that you overpaid for (or the price on your receipt was different than what you thought the shelf stated)? Sometimes I am in a big rush, there are long lines, or I have a crying baby with me and so I can’t watch the screen carefully enough. Then I get home and see that something didn’t get priced right on my receipt. For instance, I bought Stayfree pads a couple of weeks ago that I thought was on sale for $5.99 and when I got home it was $10.99 on my receipt. I grabbed the ones on that shelf but I guess didn’t pay close attention. Another time I mistakenly paid $1.29 for a jar of baby food that I thought was supposed to be $ 0.49. Where do you draw the line between sucking up a price difference you didn’t expect and returning an item?
Christy: I’m going to hand this one off to Michelle – I live in the land of no doubles and am a doubling idiot 🙂
Michelle: Definitely ask your store as this will vary. My store will manually double coupons those coupons that begin with a 9. When I spoke to my store, they said that it would be up to me to let the cashier know since they might miss it while scanning!
Christy: When you use a BOGO coupon, the coupon attaches to the free item, but you must actually “purchase” 1 item in order to get the freebie. You can use a $X/1 coupon to reduce the price of the item you’re paying for, but you can’t use two BOGO coupons on two items to get both for free.
Michelle: I do the same and call it being a coupon fairy 🙂 I love to be the fairy and also have jumped for joy when a perfectly timed surprise has been left by another coupon fairy!! I have seen coupons taped to items, so I think as long as you are not throwing coupons on the floor then it is a nice thing to do!
Christy: In my opinion, if the coupon just says “milk” and not “off of 1 milk” then I think you can use all three on 1 milk – but the final say rests with your store, so if I were you I’d ask my customer service desk for their ruling!
Michelle: I am going to have to disagree as I would say that you can only use one coupon per milk purchased. I assume the coupon to mean it is discounting only one item even if not specifically stated.
Michelle: You know I have yet to find a way to determine that. I usually pop over to my friend Kerry’s site over at Totally Target. She ALWAYS has the coupons up to date. All I have to do is open a search box (control F) and type what I am looking for and lickity split I can find the item. Kerry indicates whether the coupon is a store coupon or a manufacturer’s coupon! Saves me time and ink!!
Christy: I remember back when I was first getting into couponing last year that I had a hard time figuring out some of the lingo, too, so you’re not alone The good news is that it’s pretty easy once you’ve got the basics down. Feel free to ask/answer about other lingo you’re confused about in the comments!
Michelle: I have a list of the common abbreviations used on the site under the Basics tab. I will get that one added 🙂
Christy: If there’s a specific zip that we know of which works for a particular coupons.com coupon, we’ll note it, but otherwise you may have to try a few to find what you’re looking for. The zip codes are a way for coupons.com to give you coupons that are specific to your region. 90210 is always good because that part of California gets some great coupons (perhaps because people in that area do not use as many coupons? that’s just my guess). Personally, I just try all the zip codes I know if I’m looking for a coupon and can’t find it. Tell us which zips you’ve had good luck with in the comments!
Michelle: There is way to know what zip particular coupons may be listed (at least as far as I know) I try to list the ones as they are sent in by readers. I usually look under my own zip and 90210 🙂
Christy: To address your first question – why your Publix doesn’t seem to have as many booklets lately – I’d ask your store manager if they’ve seen any change in the amount of booklets lately. If your store is older it may not be as high a priority for the marketing companies as it used to be.
To address your second question about coupon hoarders – I’m sure that as long as there have been blinkies, tearpads, and in-store coupon booklets, there have been a few people who take more than they need. But I’m also sure that the majority of couponers take what they need and leave the rest – in my experience, 95% of couponers are a friendly bunch who are always trying to help out other deal-seekers – like we discuss above, we leave coupons on the shelf for others to use, we offer up coupons we don’t need for RAOK on the forums, and, personally, I’ve even been known to accost random strangers in the store to ask if they need a particular coupon (yup, I’m THAT girl. Also, in case you were wondering, I usually only accost the strangers who already have a small coupon envelope in-hand 🙂 ). Though there are, in fact, plenty of people on the forums who are trading booklets along with other coupons, many of them get extra booklets by making other trades or by visiting a number of stores rather than by cleaning out a display at their Publix – and I know this because I’m one of them :).
Michelle: I know this is a hot topic and everyone has an opinion ab0ut how many coupons you should take. I have said it before…I try my best not to judge or assume the worst. There is no way of knowing how and where people get their coupons. It is fair that someone travels to 10 different stores to get a total of 20 booklets? Is it fair that one person gets 4 booklets at one store? Is it fair that one person takes 25 booklets in one trip?? We can’t know another person’s situation or level of need. I have had people say that because I get coupons from Ebay, that I am perpetuating the cycle of coupon hoarding (encouraging the seller to hoard coupons for selling) I know that a few can spoil it for many but I also choose to stay positive. I figure those people who take massive quantities at once must need them more than me 🙂
Christy: It all has to do with the marketing and sales area you live in – if a company is trying to improve sales in one area, they might offer a better coupon there than they would in another area. Here’s where I stop, because that’s about all I know about this! Michelle, commenters, feel free to take it away!
Michelle: I will be honest, I don’t know enough about marketing to give a qualified answer! I know that it has to do with a whole realm of demographics specific to the area…I am not sure about the specifics of who, why or where 🙂 If we have a marketing guru out there–give us the scoop!
Christy: I’ve said this before, but I’m really in awe of those of you who manage to be super couponers with kids in tow. I think I’d be too scattered and wouldn’t be able to juggle everything! Since I shop by myself and am generally not on a specific time restriction when I do so, I can watch the register pretty carefully and I check my receipt when I get to the car if I think there’s been an error. That said, though, I’ve still missed stuff before and I’ll absolutely take something back if its more than $1 more than I expected to pay per item, and/or if I’m heading back to the store anyway.
Michelle: It depends on when I catch the mistake and how big the error in price might be. If I catch the error in the store, I will usually go to the customer service desk to get it corrected. I get home and notice that I grabbed the wrong can of corn and overpaid by 20¢ then I will just blow it off! But, if I accidentally picked up an item and overpaid by $5 on something I was only getting because I thought I was getting a really good deal —then I would likely take it back and explain my mistake. Often it will depend on the item. I accidentally picked up a frozen pizza which I was only buying because I was going to pay 50¢. When I checked my receipt, I noticed that the pizza was $3 more than I expected. I just had to suck it up as I made the mistake. The store would have had to throw that item out if I returned it and I am not going to make them take a loss for my mistake! I guess you just have to go with what feels right to you 🙂
I hope our answers to these questions were helpful! Make sure you ‘tune in’ next week for even more Q&A with I Heart Publix. If you have a question you’d like to see answered, email me at contactiheartpublix@gmail.com.
@ question #8…The worst is when you see losers selling them on Ebay! I see it all the time! There are several sellers that have large quantities listed for SALE??? They are FREE to the public, but some abuse that, and profit from it!? This is a subject that gets me ticked off big time! There is NO reason to take THAT many of a FREE coupon book to make MONEY on!!! That is why so many of us can’t ever get any of the booklets!!! UGH!
By law, they cannot profit off of coupons. What you are paying for is their time and effort to collect them, clip them and postage. In essence, you are covering their costs. In fact, they explicitly state on the Ebay store front exactly what you are paying for – the coupons are a ‘free gift’ included in the envelope, so I don’t judge these people.
They are enterprising, and they provide a service to those of us who do not get certain types of coupons in our area.
Coupon clipping services are no different to this. Ebay are just private people doing it, while coupon services are ‘companies’.
I can see you’re frustrated from the large amount of ALL CAPS you are using. 🙂 However, the issue may be one of your Publix not obtaining a sufficient amount of booklets, and you could speak to the manager about that. I have often looked for something and not found it, but after inquiring I found out they kept several behind the counter and were happy to give me one or two.
There is no “Clipping” involved in shipping a booklet. And the shipping is a separate charge. So, I disagree with your take on selling free booklets. I purchase coupons from Ebay sellers ALL the time. They ARE clipping the coupons that they PURCHASED, so, IMO, it’s not the same thing at all.
Yes, however calling people ‘losers’ is generally counter-productive.
If the person spends their time and money to get the booklet, ie gas and postage, and asked to be reimbursed for that, what’s the big deal?
Personally, I don’t ship the booklets for money, but I don’t really pay much attention to what others do. I don’t think they’re cheating me.
Thanks for your input, Lori. I appreciate hearing a different take.
You didn’t strike a nerve with me as much as I feel you came on quite strong and opinionated on the matter and I wanted to give you an alternative perspective to consider. However, it seems you have determined that your point of view is the only one you wish to consider, so I’ll leave you to it.
Name calling, in my opinion, says more about the name caller, than the person being called names.
One other thing, the shipping is a separate charge, but if you Ebay you know that an item can be free ($0 value) and you just charge for shipping, ie $.99. I just checked Ebay and that’s generally how most people are doing it…
I have been Ebaying for over 7 years, selling and buying, so, I am aware of what you described. Still, in MY experience, the sellers that *I* have dealt with that do what I described are losers. There is no justification for taking large amounts of “Free” coupon books, and selling them for a few dollars each. Plus shipping, of course. There is no “clipping service” involved in that. These are more than likely the same people that “sell” blinkies and peelies, too. It’s wrong and it is MY opinion.
So very sorry if I struck a nerve with you.
How clever of you to basically insult me for calling out those who are doing this. Nice. 😉
And anyone who keeps coming back to defend this behavior tells me a lot about the one defending…it does appear to hit home to you, i.e., “Strike a nerve”.
Please don’t pretend to, “Appreciate hearing my take”. You aren’t any more open minded on this subject than I am, so, please don’t pretend to be.
Can I use a publix coupon and a Target coupon on an item, for example I have a publix coupon for pledge and a target coupon for pledge can I use both of these since I don’t have the manufacture coupon?
Not usually. I know there are a few stores that allow a manf. q, a store q, and a comp q per item, but most only allow 1 manf. and 1 store OR comp. per item.
My store allows 1 competitor (Target, CVS, Walgreens etc) and one manufacturer. So no that would not work you would be using 2 competitor coupons.
My store does the same but I figure since it’s a publix coupon that it really isn’t a competitor coupon since I am shopping at publix so why not
The Publix coupons and the competitor coupons are all considered “store” coupons. Publix allows one store Q and one MQ, so you would have to choose either the Publix Q or the competitor Q.
Because they don’t get reimbursed for the store/competitor coupons. The manufacturers pay the store face value plus a small handling fee for their coupons. They lose the money on store and competitor coupons.
Thanks, do you know where I can find a mfg coupon for the pledge that is b1g1 this week for some reason I don’t have it
9/26 smart source insert $2 off/2 pledge items
why would publix have to throw out the pizza?? one time, i bought grapefruit juice for my hubby & he really wanted grape juice so I brought it back to switch it out & they put it rignt back on the shelf & said they do that with unopened foods??
I was wondering about this one myself – are there certain items that they are not allowed to restock? Perhaps the juice was not a refrigerated item and the pizza was?
I work at a publix and once a product that is cold leaves the store and someone brings it back we have to damage it cuz what if the person claims they had it in the fridge but actually had it in their car. YOu don’t want someone else gettin sick over that!
I worked at Kroger and anything that was cold we would have to toss, because you never know if a customer let it dethaw in their car overnight, and then froze it and brought it back. Something like a canned good can go right back on the shelf because it doesn’t matter if it sat in the car or at home.
We typically threw away produce as well because you don’t know how it was cared for or if there was no receipt, if it was actually a week old when someone says they bought it yesterday.
I know it sucks that we have to waste stuff like good food but you never know what the person did to the product while it left the store.
Yeah, I’m a CSS at Publix and anything perishable that leaves the store is instantly damaged. If you bought cheese, walked outside came back five minutes later we would still have to damage it because we don’t want to risk someone getting sick due to us not knowing.
On question #2 you said you can’t use two BOGO q’s to get two items free because you have to pay for one item. If you are using a store BOGO q and a man. BOGO q you can then get both for free right?
My store would accept this, but not 2 BOGO manf qs
Couponing with kids requires organization! I pull all of my coupons before I go shopping with my son. I also try to organize the binder with all of the new coupons before I go so I can easily find ones that I might not have in the envelope, but know I have on hand in the binder just in case I run across something I had not planned for.
Organization is the key word!
My son in 11 years old and I hand him my coupons and he hunts for the item. It teaches him how to navigate the store and soon he will be learning the finer art of couponing… My grandmother my mother, and I have hardly ever paid full price for our groceries I will be darned if he is going to break the tradtion LOL
In regards to question #10, I’m glad you mentioned about the frozen pizza and the store having to throw it out. I’m with you in that if it was something that I made the mistake on and it is a product that requires refrigeration, I won’t take it back because I know the store will have to take a loss on it. However, for the Stayfree example, I would most certainly take that back. It won’t hurt the store at all for you to return it; they will be able to re-sell it. And if it rang up wrong, they will be happy to correct the mistake.
Response to question one. Most of the coupons should double but I have noticed the 15 cent ones on the hefty bags don’t double.just watch the screen.
If the price on the shelf is different that the price that comes up on your receipt, Publix is supposed to refund you the total price of the item. This does not cover items that you accidently thought were one price, but indeed are a different price that comes up on receipt and versus shelf.
Our publix (Greater Atlanta) seems to automatically double ‘Do not double’ coupons. I tested it out yesterday without saying anything to the cashier. It didn’t look like she was pushing any extra buttons either.
Re question 9. Must be to do with marketing. My mother in law lives in the same city but the NEXT zip code (5 miles away) and sometimes her inserts and q values are different than mine. Especially Bounty paper towels 🙂
I just have a question. If I have a coupon for $1.00 of 2 and a coupon for $.55 off 1 can I use them both at the same time?
no. You’re double dipping on one of the items.
Only if you purchase 3 items
In regards to question #5, I wrote Target and asked them how I could tell the difference between Target coupons and Manufacturer coupons. They claimed they were not allowed to show the difference due to security reasons. Glad to know of a place I can go look now.
I would like to add a comment to Question 10.
It has been my experience that if a product rings up incorrectly it is Publix policy to refund you the full price on ONE of those items. So if you bought 2…they will refund you full price for one of them and then refund you the difference on the second one. I have had this happen a few times so here are examples….
1. I bought a few items that were on clearance….they rang up full price….I noticed on the screen that they rang up wrong before I even paid. The cashier adjusted the price to ZERO on one of each of the items and then corrected the prices on the duplicates. This is great that Publix will even offer this guarantee before you even pay for the item.
2. A few weeks ago I went into Publix on a Wednesday night (the new ad starts on Thursday). I bought a salad kit that had a sign in from of it saying B1G1. After I paid I looked at my receipt and it listed both full price. I went to customer service and they refunded me the full amount…apparently they had started to put out the signs for the next week sales….the customer service rep said that since its Publix policy to offer one of the items for free and because it also said it was BOGO…..I got them BOTH for free! Publix is GREAT! In my opinion its worth it to go back and get your money if it rang up wrong.
I do agree that if its my mistake and it would be something that the store would have to take a loss on I would suck it up and keep the item…but if it was for something non-perishable I would return it.
I have purchased items realized it rang up wrong and was given item for free on more than one occasion. In my store there is a big sign when you walk in that states if something rings up wrong they will refund the full amount. I have a toddler to deal with so when I can’t run back in the store or wait for customer service, I will call the store when I get home. The store tells me to bring the item with receipt the next time I come in and they fix it. This also has worked when the penny item is charged full price. I love customer service at my Publix store in Pelham AL!
If the product has a “clearance” price on it like the orange sticker you are not supposed to get that product for free. Apparently the the cashier did it wrong. On the clearance ones you are suppose to get it for the price that it says because after 30 days if the product is not bought it goes back up to normal price and the cashier has to put it in as a “rain check”. I work at CS in my store.
For #5 I have the printer set up now where it has to show me a preview before printing. So I will see which one is a target or manufacture and just cancel the printing…
I have been wondering, if I have a BOGO Q and a free item Q for the same item, will I get both free? Not that I have any right now, but in case it comes up!
If they are all manufacture coupons, you could buy 3 and get 2 free. Or wait for a store BOGO & get 4 free.
Coupon fairy, that’s what I call it too! As a couponer and an employee, I tend to leave the coupons there if still in date (unless it’s something I want!) but some people will see them as trash and toss them. Depends on the employee, and also the manager of the store. But it really isn’t nice to clean out your binder and leave all the expireds on a shelf (happens all the time.. we do have trash cans folks!)