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I was looking thru my cpns for tomorrow and noticed that Kraft had put new wording on their cpns.
If you’re a CQ follower, you know where we stand on the buying and selling of cpns so I won’t go into that. I just thought you should be aware of how the manufacturer’s feel about it and how the new wording on the cpns says it all LOL!!
If you’ll read the top line under the expiration date you see the following: “Reproduction, alteration, transfer or sale of this cpn or it’s contents is prohibited and is a criminal offense.”
Here’s something else you might be interested in. It’s a quote from the CIC website. In case you’re not familiar with the CIC (Coupon Information Corporation), they are an organization that helps manufacturer’s build cases to prosecute the misuse of cpns.
“Coupon-sellers often include legal disclaimers stating that they are selling their time, a service, or even envelopes that just happen to contain cpns instead of the cpns themselves. Such statements are invalid and do not offer any legal protection. Rather, such statements suggest that the sellers know that their cpn sales are inappropriate and wrong.”
CLICK for more information from the CIC about the proper use of cpns.
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Queen Mum has written 10013 posts on ConsumerQueen.com.
Queen Mum does all of our store matchups and misc deals.She also Helps Melissa with Coupon Classes.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow.
I would think then that Coupon trains, coupon trading, leaving a coupon for a product on a store shelf-aka coupon fairy- would be illegal as well. Also it mentions on the CIC site about peelies-and in store coupons-”Please do not take every on-pack, peelie, blinky, or tear pad coupon you find.” I was told by a sales rep that taking more then 1 coupon for a product-like taking a stack of tear pad coupons and only buying 1 product or not buying any but holding them and using at another store-is illegal and taking peelies or the ones on packages like the wine tag kind, and not using for purchasing that product right then and there is illegal and stores can prosecute. Guess grocery stores and manufacturers are getting tired of extreme couponers! Yeah!
Darlene…we have talked to many manufacturers about coupon swaps and being “coupon fairies” They have no problem with those kinds of things because the cpns are kept in the area they were intended to be used in and are not being sold.
~ Queen Mum
Kristi Barber Johnston Lorie Curtis Johnston…Wow!
so by all rights then if you follow the wording .. that means you can’t even give the coupon to someone else.. or you are in violation
Again….we have talked with many manufacturer’s about having coupon swaps and leaving coupons for others at the store. As long as the coupon is not being sold or transfered out of the area it was intended to be used in it’s ok. ~ Queen Mum
Manufacturer’s are tired of spending enormous amounts of money producing coupons to increase sales in certain areas only to have people sell them or send them out of state to places they don’t need sales to be increased in. It wastes their advertising dollar and causes their product to be removed from stores ~ Queen Mum
How do you feel about people using coupons to get free or cheap merchandise then trying to sell it at yard sales??
I think is perfectly ok to sell coupons or to buy them.. as long as they were obtained legally in the first place.. As for Betsys comment that makes me huffy, i saw a lady on a facebook yardsale site with boxes upon boxes of airwick sprayers, i know she got them very cheap or for free and she is asking i think 20 per case….
Betsy, in the past there has been no law against reselling except for certain medications. However, clearing a shelf just to resell it for money I believe is being greedy and is ethically wrong. If you have some items that you got for free but don’t need any more then I have no problem with that. HOWEVER, on the CIC it has this posted:
Reselling Stockpiles. Coupons are intended to give individual consumers a good deal, not provide a method for people to set up unauthorized grocery stores or flea markets in their garages, basements or backyards. Such sales usually violate the terms and conditions of the coupons themselves and may be in violation of local health codes. As a consumer, do you really want to buy a product that has been stored in a stranger’s basement for weeks, months or even years? ~ Queen Mum
http://www.couponinformationcenter.com/consideratecouponswebsite.php
What about the companies on facebook selling whole inserts?
Same thing…if the coupons state it’s a criminal offense to sell them it doesn’t matter if they are in an insert or cut out. ~ Queen Mum
I agree 100%! It makes me mad when I see people trying to sell things that I KNOW they got using coupons and are selling (or rather trying) to sell it for the same price it is in the store. If I get more of something than I need I’ll give it away or I might sell it for what I paid…..No profit.
If the coupon states it’s a criminal offense to sell it, it doesn’t matter how you obtained it, it’s still a criminal offense to sell it.
~ Queen Mum
This is all because of that show, I have been using coupons for years and I have never seen it change so much in such a short amount of time!!
I contacted the CIC shortly after I started couponing. I had purchased some coupons off Ebay, without realizing it was wrong to buy them. They contacted me back via Email and stated that there was nothing they could do about coupon sales via the internet. I know lots of people that purchase coupons via Ebay, but I’ve been afraid to ever since I read that it was an offense. There are SO MANY sellers/buyers, that it would take alot of time and manpower to stop them all.