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:

  1. Is Publix policy to double all coupons 50 cents & under (even if they say do not double)?
  2. Can I use two BOGO coupons on two items (so the product works out to be free)?
  3. Is it ok to leave coupons I won’t use on or near the item at my Publix?
  4. 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?
  5. 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?
  6. 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!
  7. Why do certain zip codes on Coupons.com get better coupons, and how do I know which zip to use?
  8. What do you think about coupon hoarding?
  9. 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?
  10. 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!

  1. 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??
  2. 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!

  3. Robin wants to know: Can I use two BOGO coupons on two items (so the product works out to be free)?
  4. 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.

  5. 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?
  6. 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!

  7. 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?
  8. 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.

  9. 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?
  10. 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!!

  11. 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.
  12. 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 🙂

  13. 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.
  14. 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 🙂

  15. 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?
  16. 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 🙂

  17. 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??
  18. 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!

  19. 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?
  20. 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.