I have had quite a few emails lately and comments about the coupons printing with one bar code. Do NOT worry nothing is wrong with them!
I printed this one off today and this is what I got, 1 with both bar codes and the Sally Hansen with only 1.
** First, I want to say that this was my first attempt at photoshop above…. I think my ability to use a text box and a writing tool could use some improvement, but my color choice in the red circles and the blue font are right on don’t you think?
Back to the coupon lesson:
We are accustomed to seeing 2 barcodes on all our coupons, well by the end of December that will be coming to an end. That short barcode like the one you see above will be gone. It is being replaced by the longer Databar Barcode.
According to Frugal Finders (thank you for the all the good info!), the DataBar barcode contains much more information than a UPC code does. For example, it accommodates longer manufacturer identification numbers, which check to see if you purchased the correct item. Also, since there is minimal human readable text, this means the end of barcode decoding!
Retailers that utilize DataBar will experience automatic expiration date checking, reduced cashier intervention and improved scan rates. This means your checkout experience should be much less painful and will be faster.
Of course, in order for these coupons to scan, the retailer would need to update their POS system to accommodate the new barcode. Most major retailers like Target and Walgreens already support DataBar barcodes, with other retailers soon to come.
** I am thrilled with the changes, it will be MUCH harder for people (like J’amie from TLC) to commit coupon fraud and use coupons in a way they should not be used. It will also make checkout easier and faster… hopefully!
*** If these coupons do NOT scan at your store all they have to do is use the HANDHELD scanner and it should work. NOT just scan them over the regular scanner. If they try and tell you they can’t take it because it didn’t scan, nicely ask them to please try the handheld scanner and it should work.
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Our Walmart has stopped honoring anything over the purchase price of the item. Have never had a problem until last week. So..my question is..do they get paid the full face value of that coupon from the manufacturer or vendor? If so, they are making money that we should be making.
They get paid what they key the coupon in as. So if you had the $3 q’s from the Schick packs and used them on the 1.97 razors, and instead of the overage, they key in the 1.97, that is what they are reimbursed for.
Cheryl that is actually not correct. Register receipts are not sent in with coupons to the clearing house. That is the whole reason Walmart started paying the overage. There are cases pending that are charging retailers that do this with coupon fraud because they are getting reimbursed for the face value of the coupon. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/11/target_shorts_customers_on_cou.html
When I went to Target the other nite a shift mgr wouldnt let the cashier give me full credit for my coupon I told her all the other cashiers always did she told me well they were not doing their job,,I said something to the effect well you guys get paid face value of it,,and she told me some crap about ohh we dont wesend them off and get paid by the pound for them!!!!
I had the same problem at walmart. I was told they had to have 2 barcodes and if it didnt scan they wouldnt take them! UUghh….I pitched a fit because this came in the mail from manufacturer…clearly wasnt a copied. Finally, they keyed it in. Very frustrating!
Yeah… we printed the jello q’s from two computers. Some of them came out only with the old upc barcode. Unfortunately, those were the ones printed in black and white too! We used them after price matching to get cgeap jello. When they scanned, it said they could only take off $0.75 since it exceeded the value. Huh? We asked for a csm on that one. She looked at the ones that were black and white and did not have the GS1 barcode and asked us if they were copies. Gasp! WE were about to say no, as you can see each one has a unique number in the right upper hand corner, and they will verify at veri-fi.com. But before we got out any more than no… they had just manually entered the coupons and went on. Allowed us to get the jello for $0.33 a box, down from $0.92 cents WM price. Just had some anxiety with the process. But we knew we were in the right… at least it worked out.
great, but not so great… i have had to pass up a few dollar stores & heb cus they didn’t want to take them
Lets hope change comes sooner than later!
Can you contact HEB (texas grocery store) to ask them?
I get some of my coupons from a coworker & for some reason the area he lives in gets the Red Plum Sunday insert the Wednesday before. In this Sunday’s Red Plum you will notice that several of the coupons will have only the long barcode:
Maybelline $2 on any face product exp 01-06-12
Whiskas $1-1 on any bag exp 12-31-11
Whiskas B1G1 tray exp 12-31-11
Garnier Moisturizer $1-1 exp 12-17-11
Garnier Cleanser $1-1 exp 12-17-11
Eucerin $1.50-1 exp 11-26-11
Francesco Pasta Sauce $0.35-1 exp 12-06-11
Bona Hard Wood Mop $10-1 exp 12-31-11
…possibly more. I hope the stores update their scanners soon or at least educate their employees.
At Neighborhood Walmart on Hillcroft in Houston they have examples of coupons that they consider to be fraudulent TAPED TO EVERY REGISTER so that the cashiers will remember NOT to accept them, and the examples are coupons with ONE BARCODE! I was at the checkout for 30 minutes with my cashier, the CSM, and assistant manager because I wanted to use a Palmer’s coupon (emailed to me from manufacturer, one barcode). I had the Walmart Coupon Policy with me and clearly explained everything about couponing to each of the 3 employees. They were all scared to death that they were going to get fired for accepting my coupon. I knew that my coupon was legitimate and I wanted to use it. I felt sorry for them because obviously they are getting threatened about taking coupons, so they are scared to death. The cashier asked me if she could keep my copy of the coupon policy, since she’d never seen one but just has been threatened with what NOT to accept! I gave it to her gladly, telling her it’s on walmart.com and anyone can print it!
I wish I would have known this earlier, I was down in that area today.
If you come back to the area please do check in at that Walmart! Neighborhood Walmart at Hillcroft/S. Braeswood. Thanks, Paul.
Wow. I don’t have any trouble like this. If I can’t scan a coupon the cashier puts it in by hand for me. Kudos to my Walmart! I haven’t had any trouble anywhere actually: Target will use the hand scanner or type in the numbers and if a clerk is confused I don’t have to say anything – like magic a manager seems to appear and say it’s good and how to take care of the coupon. Even my local Meijer store is great after initially having some struggles with wondering if they were getting fake coupons. Thanks for all the helpful info, Paul.
Just remembered that what they’re actually doing is taking off the amount of the coupon when it won’t scan.
Paul-
Thanks for this information! Wondering, has anyone figured out how to determine if the coupon will double…since there will be no 5 or 9 printed on it.
Thanks, LOVE YOUR SITE!!!
I haven’t had any luck at my wal-mart either with these type of coupons, they refuse to accept them if they don’t scan. The hand held scanner would not work either.l
I see these new bar codes being a huge hassle. They never want to scan. Many small stores I shop in out here in the sticks haven’t upgraded and can’t even use the coupons that have 1 bar code. Walmart will not accept any coupons that do not scan. I was there like 3 days ago and a csm was telling the cashier to scan the old bar code, not the new one. She said, “This is the one you want to scan!” So if this is going to be the standard, no one is telling the store employees.
I realize this was to “cut down on fraud”.. but it seems like all it’s doing is causing problems for those of us who use coupons legitimately.
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