As of September 1 Walmart has made some changes to their internal coupon policy and to the register systems. I will tell you about what the changes are and why. I will also tell you about what to expect and what you can do to avoid problems. You will not see any changes to the Public Walmart Coupon Policy, the changes are more procedural and clarifying then they are a change in policy.
Walmart Coupon Policy Changes:
1. All Walmart Register systems were updated to accept the GS1 Date bar Codes that most coupons have switched to and all eventually will go to.
2. All coupons must be scanned on the flatbed scanners, the handheld scanners are not supposed to be used any longer.
3. The coupon must scan (not a new change) . Cashiers/CSM’s or Managers are not allowed to override or manually enter coupons.
4. If a coupon does not scan they are instructed to return the coupon to you. This applies to Printable Coupons and newspaper insert coupons.
Here are a few major reasons for these changes:
1. Coupon Fraud- My local Walmart took a hit of over $6,000.00 in August of fraudulent/counterfeit coupon. The highest month they had exceeded over $20,000 and are consistently over $10,000. The average dollar amount of coupon fraud per Walmart location has been as high as $10,00 per month. This number doesn’t seem like a huge number for a store that does millions of dollars in sales, but this number comes right off of the profit margin. There are nearly 4,000 Walmart Stores in the US, if you take the number of stores by the average amount of fraud the numbers get as high as $40,000,000 per month.
2.Employee Coupon Fraud- There have been several stories about massive scale coupon fraud being perpetrated on Walmart stores by there own employees.
3. Coupon Bar Decoding- Yes, another form of coupon fraud. The old bar codes had a lot of info that could be deciphered and used on products that they were not intended for. The new GS1 bar codes will eliminate that.
How Does This Affect You?
1. This can be a negative and a positive- The decisions have been taken out of cashiers hands, the computer knows all and determines all. If the coupons scan they take it, if not they don’t.
2. All Printable Coupons should be printed at the highest quality, it doesn’t have to be color but it should be the best quality available.
3. This will hopefully severely reduce the amount of fraud and eventually lead to the return of higher value coupons.
I think there are going to be some growing pains in the fusion between the GS1 Databar and the systems that accept them. One would hope that all of the kinks would have been worked out prior to their launch, but I also realize that the absurd amount of coupon fraud led to some knee jerk reactions.
I know that many people are going to have similar knee jerk reactions in who they will blame for the changes. The number one scape goat will be TLC’s Extreme Couponing. We were on Extreme Couponing with one of the biggest culprits of Coupon Fraud/ Bar Decoders in the industry. I do think that TLC is culpable in as much as they didn’t screen the people or the process nearly well enough. I can also be sure that there isn’t enough info on the show for people to be able to figure it out. The people that deciphered the fraud and explained it step by step have just as much responsibility as anyone. The bottom line is that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Coupon Fraud is the same, people make their own choices an unfortunately we all have to live with them.
It’s been the last few weeks since my Walmart has been making things more difficult when it comes to coupons. The part that seems odd to me is they aren’t allowed to use the handheld scanner? Their system has ALWAYS been testy at accepting coupons, even earlier this week. I don’t see that problem changing over night. Instead of price matching at Walmart, I will just go to the local stores in my area where my coupons will be accepted. I HATE coupon fraud. It really does ruin it for us all. Most people are honest, but the few dishonest people make it harder for everyone else.
Where did you get this information? I called my local store and they don’t know anything about any “internal” store changes.
I have a copy of the internal memo and saw the instructions that cashiers are supposed to follow.
Since Walmart price matches their house brand and Aldi’s sells all house brands, will they price match all Aldi ad prices ? Thank you.
I don’t know the official policy but my local Wal-Mart (Columbia, MO) doesn’t price match store to store brands anymore!
That is the actual policy. They do match meat and dairy.
That last paragraph is spot on. Thanks for putting this info out there!
Thanks so much for this… I was wondering why it had been a bit slower and more difficult to use the coupons at Walmart recently… I had patience before…lol..but it is good to know what the new changes are and how they effect the checkout experience.. Once again… the people who can’t follow rules have made things more difficult for the vast majority who do, still, I don’t mind the wait when I know it evens the playing field for the rest of us 🙂
WOW, i am new to couponing and feel so stupid, I had no idea people would cheap on coupons. I wondered why most stores no longer offer double coupons, now it makes since, Thank you for this info, I will be sure and follow instructions so I don’t run into trouble.
Thank you for the information Paul. I don’t understand not being able to use the handheld scanner either but my biggest complaint with the policy of the store not accepting the coupon if it doesn’t scan is that I have no way of knowing if the coupon will scan. A lot of times I’m only purchasing an item because it’s free or almost free, otherwise I would have left it on the shelf. There have been a few times I have had to dig through my bags to find the item matching the coupon that didn’t scan to have the cashier void it (I always feel bad for the people behind me!). I’ve asked the cashier if the want to scan the coupons at the same time as the items but I’m always told no, they’ll take care of that at the end. I guess I need to be more persistent that this is how we need to handle the transaction!
Lori, I don’t think you should worry about that. It will actually take longer to scan each one individually that to scan them fast all at the end. Don’t worry about the people in line, the time just seems like forever but it is quick!
As for people in line behind me …. my check out usually take an hour or more, I tell the cashier when I get there I have comps and coupons and its going to take a LONG time…. then ask her/him if I can put up the closed sign until we get close to done so people don’t get in line behind me… usually the cashier understand and give me the sign… once in a while they say no and I have to tell everyone as they get in line that I am going to be a while time so they might want to try another lane…
I agree with the move to the new coupon policy. There are a majority of good honest couponers and then there are some who will use them fraudulently and it ends up hurting us honest couponers! Well done Walmart!
I went to walmart last wk, they wouldnt take some of my manuf coupons bc they wouldn’t scan. I asked the CSM if it was the change in systems they had just did, she said yes that they weren’t to override anything anymore if it didn’t scan! 🙁
The main problem I see with this is some newspaper coupons don’t scan. The post cereal coupons almost never scan so thats not fair
What mean GS1 code?
it is the new bar codes that many coupons have on them now. http://www.iheartthemart.com/2011/11/04/are-your-coupons-printing-with-1-bar-code/
I’m a cashier at Walmart and we haven’t been told anything! We manually enter coupons all the time.
I have an HP Photosmart printer and it never scans my coupons!
Trust me I have seen it all as far as coupon fraud! For the most part it is hard to tell if the printable coupon is photo copied or just a bad printer. The last thing i want to do is be the one to accuse someone of a photo copy so this might very well help weed out some of the coupon fraud.
BTW I would like to share my best coupon fraud moment….A lady photo copied actual Redplum coupons and was trying to use them. When I said you can’t do that she said she does it all the time!
there is a people of Walmart site for a reason.
Every coupon that is printed has a unique serial number, usually in the top right corner. If someone tries to use more than one coupon with the SAME serial number in a transaction you will KNOW they have made illegal copies.
It’s like money…all $1.00 bills look alike but they have different serial numbers. Also, if multiple copies of the same coupon (same serial number) are used, manufacturer’s can request from coupon sites the IP address the coupons were printed from originally and trace them directly to the person that printed them 🙂
I’m also a Cashier at Walmart, and we were just informed of this today at out Cashier’s meeting. It doesn’t matter if it is internet or those from the paper, if it doesn’t scan We can “attempt” to use the hand scanner, but again if it doesn’t scan We can’t take it. I’m a big couponer and price matcher.
One of the Walmarts in our area has decided to only accept printable coupons if they are in color, as they say people have been photocopying them and using them. I tried to explain that they won’t have the proper watermark, etc. if they are copied, but they still won’t take black and white coupons. I forgot to mention to them that people have access to color copiers. Unfortunately, those people who have committed coupon fraud in the past are probably not going to be deterred by them not accepting black and white coupons. It just hurts the rest of us that now have to spend more on ink to print color coupons.
I guess that’s fine for anyone who can afford to pay for all that extra ink – whether it be adding color and/or printing in high quality … but I’m not one of them.
I rarely have a problem at Walmart now, but if problems start because of this new policy, I’ll take my business elsewhere. It’s not worth the frustration to spend my money at stores that are very coupon-unfriendly. I sure hope it won’t be an issue though.
Why the difference in the flat scanner and handheld tho? they have item bar codes that often wont scan on the flatbed but will on the handheld.
Id love to make an arguement that if it wont scan on teh flat scanner then either i get it for free or they cant sell it…but i dont see that happening.
I understand the ‘if it doesnt scan, dont take it’ on printed coupons, but on newspaper ones too? its not our fault if the coupons arent printed correctly, ive had some that were cut off or squiggly because of printing issues.
I know you cant answer these questions, but this is what came to mind reading this. Thx for sharing!!
I couldn’t agree with you more why the difference in the scanners. Way I see they both read the barcodes the same just one can narrow the scan better than the other making it easier for a coupon to scan threw. If they would teach the cashiers to look at the right hand corner of the coupons when they are printed they all have barcodes there with a bunch of numbers. If the last 4 are different then they are two individually printed coupons for the same item. I have up to 5 computers in my house so I can get up to 10 printed coupons of the same item but they all have different barcode numbers on them, so I should be able to use them. I have a toner printer so I don’t have color, and mine come out as clear as the company that produced them so if its faded in color it isn’t our fault it’s the company that made them’s fault. I have times where mine won’t scan on flat scanner but the handheld will, and I have also had times were the flat scanner after fighting it for several times will finally scan it, and had times where the first one will scan but not the second one. Now who’s fault is that? Not mine!!
and one more thing to add, they need to teach the cashiers to not sit there and wave the coupon back and forth like some fan going 90 miles an hour, it isn’t going to read the coupon that way!!!
lol, that is my problem, they wave my coupons like the flag at the indy 500. i have politely asked them do it slowly so the register can read them and it worked then.
I had one cashier literally destroy my coupons and then hand them back to me saying they wouldn’t work. I understand employees at Walmart are not rocket scientists by any means, but a little decency and courtesy would go along ways, especially to a single Mom who has never received any type of support and is struggling to make ends meet with coupons.
There has been an upgrade to the system. It hopefully will fix the problems you experienced in the past.
I agree with you … a scan is a scan – what difference does it make which device they use!?!
I also think they’re taking it too far by not accepting newspaper Q’s that don’t scan.
It looks like trying to shop at Walmart w/coupons is going to be a nightmare.
I have a couple of questions,so we are aloud to comp bogo prices as long it states a price and aloud to use a coupon too, and what about the Kroger ads when it states when you by 10 participating items and get $5 off and says price because it’s s loyal card price the quy at walmart said I had to by ten of the same item..
i have never had to buy 10 pf the items to get the discount i would talk to the supervisor on duty the next time you try it best of luck to ya
It states in their policy with price matching that if it is a BOGO item it has to have price for example buy one Gillette razor at $3.99 get one FREE. You can use that. As for the Kroger ad I use this as well, Kroger’s states on their ad mix or match item meaning as long as it’s 10 of those items they are advertising. Show the cashier where it is allowed to mix or match. But in the Walmart AD match policy it allows card holder ad matching too. You can find this on their website and print it out to take with you when you go shopping. But if its a loyalty card like at Krogers and they are offering a sale with $$ amounts then yes you can use that ad to PM at Walmart. See they need to teach their cashiers maybe they would have less issues with the coupons.
Thanks for posting this. I would have never known to talk to one of my cashier friends at work about this. My Walmart is one of the ones where $10,000 in coupons have gone missing, which affected our bonus big time.
I hate when cashiers. Look at you like you just handed them a fraudulent. Coupon when its not
Thank you for posting this. I heard from a family member that works at Walmart a couple weeks ago that there were changes to the policy. I emailed corporate to ask about what the change were and never got a reply.
I have a comment on the TLC show…you’re right guns don’t kill people, people do BUT don’t help give the impression it’s ok to do it! TLC has consistantly shown people being greedy, hoarding and dishonest. If no one says hey this is NOT the way to do it (and they certainly don’t on TLC) then it’s like saying go ahead, we did it on national TV and got away with and so can you. Not to mention those who have never couponed thinking this is the way it’s done.
I had a few coupons not scan months ago and they refused them.
They might as well just say they don’t accept printable coupons; most wont scan. Their systems are a crock. I buy exactly what it says and half the time register beeps for journal something or other; and makes cashier think you’re trying to pull something on them.
I so agree. You have legitimate coupons and have all the correct items to go with em and the dumb thing beeps and they treat you like you’re trying to commit a federal offense. Or my fav… the coupon beeps so just set it aside and don’t do anything with it. Don’t tell you, give back the coupon.. nothing. You know they just throw them away. What is up with their computer systems anyway? Never do I have that issue at Target.. never.
I’m so glad to hear other people have issues with WalMart….. 8 out of 10 times I present coupons, there is always some issue….and yes, the cashiers treat you as though you are trying to stick your hand in the register and steal cash from the til- I finally had it, and called the 1800 walmart number and lodged a complaint. The local store manager (ass’t) manager called me back, told him my greivances – he basically just let me vent and said OK Thank You.
I don’t have issues ANYWHERE else, not Kroger, HEB, Target, and two independent local grocers…..grrrrrrrrrr Thanks for letting me vent folks! Happy couponing!
I tried using the Gevalia BOGO coupons from last month at Wal-Mart. It took half an hour for the cashier, the front end manager, and the store manager to finally accept them. I have not been back to Wal-Mart since.
ive had many insert coupons that wouldnt scan on the flatbed but will always scan with the handheld this alone makes me think walmarts tryn to shortchange me the consumer…what is wms justification for this i wonder?
This statement came from your coupon policy change but if we print them in black and white the colored dots that let the cashier no that they are not copied will appear in black and white will they work?(All Printable Coupons should be printed at the highest quality, it doesn’t have to be color but it should be the best quality available)
yes, they will work
the question is how was this information passed out.
is there a printed notice from the home office or just a store manager
making up his own rules.
unless it came from home office in writing i have doubts.
It is from home office. It is a company wide policy.
bbbuuuutttt
has anyone seen this in writing.
home office wouldn’t call every store they would send a memo
to the store mgrs.
I am not having any problems that is why i wonder about it.
another blog i am on said a lady in front of her gave the cashier a CC number on a piece of paper she punched it in. She contacted the store mgr. and she said that was ok.
so we can’t use legitimate coupons but can give them someone elses CC number.
Dollar General is doing the same thing, if they scan it one time and it doesn’t take it then you can’t use it. I had a load of stuff to buy and she couldn’t scan half of my coupons so I just left all my stuff on the counter and left.
Yeah I’ve had coupons from the newspaper not scan. Yesterday actually. And it was from the paper I had just gotten and it was in my cart even. If they don’t have they don’t have the option of entering a coupon manually then if the scanner doesn’t accept a coupon because of a some flaw that has nothing to do with fraud, then I’m being penalized.
I’ve had too many problems shopping at Walmart and using coupons. I do understand their need to crack down on fraud and loss but maybe they should find a more realistic way of dealing with coupon issues and consider repealing their policy of not prosecuting shoplifters who are caught stealing less than $25.00 worth of products.
This really is their policy on shoplifting and has been since 2006. So it’s hard to feel sorry for their loss of money on coupon fraud when they pretty much allow people to walk in and out with whatever they want as long as it’s under $25.00.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/13/news/companies/walmart_shoplifters/index.htm
I can tell you why this policy is in place. At my store in the woodlands TX, an employee followed someone out that shoplifted something trivial and the person hit them with a car. The employee broke his back and is still recovering. It is almost every store in the country’s policy to let things walk out of the door. My BIL got fired from home depot for following a guy out that stuffed his pants with over $1500.00 worth of tools.
Power tools? lol
lol Cyndi that one made my cheeks hurt!
Went 2 Walmart last night with my daughter !! She was had baby gifts to take back that didn’t have gift receits . They tried for 30 mins to give her credit on a gift card. The new system would let them swipe their gift cards ! Seems like this may cause some problems !!
thats why i DONT shop wal mart !!! ill go to the locals first
I understand the crack down and I’m very thankful for what Walmart does allow. I used to consider myself a couponer but more or less now I’m more of a price matcher and I’m beyond thankful to Walmart for allowing my family to have an abundance of groceries that I wouldn’t have otherwise 🙂
I can tell you at my Wal-Mart last summer some people figured out how to coupon code. Since Wal-Mart pays overage people were walking out of the store with thousands of dollars every week. They even started having classes how to do it. When legit couponers complained to the managers, we were told we could do the same thing. Stopped taking my book in because I didn’t want people to think I was one of them. People ended up being fired over the whole thing. I laugh because I know how to coupon and the decoders don’t. Yes, I am mean enough to not teach them because they knew what they were doing was wrong and didn’t care.
Im curious about the method. They don’t buy the right product, or they simply modified the amount on the coupon?
I would suggest more employee training. They’re trained to spot counterfeit bills …why not counterfeit coupons?
My major problem is when I price match…my coupons almost never scan.
I don’t understand about the handheld scanner neither, make no since and don’t even get me started on the new paper ones! Never fails some people have to mess it up for the rest of us!!
I don’t under stand the whole not using the hand scanner thing. Why are they allowed to even use them at all on heavy things? If it’s not accurate enough for a coupon why would I risk getting a wrong scan on something I’ll pay cash for?
Walmart is always trying to pull a fast one on somebody. This is bull oh I can’t use the hand scanner for coupons but I can use them for heavy items. Oh come on this is really BS thats what it is for. I say just tell people hey we don’t take coupons any longer and I bet they will lose a lot of customers like that.
I just avoid Walmart whenever possible. Our walmart treats anyone with coupons and price matching like criminals.
I have always had a problem couponing at Walmart. I really only shop there if I have a giftcard, or if I really need something and target isn’t open yet (wal mart here is 24hrs). I have learned which cashiers are coupon friendly and which are not- sometimes I get stuck with a non coupon friendly cashier becuase its the only lane open. I feel like I’m always being scrutinized, my coupons always questioned, and I always have to defend my purchase vs. coupon. It’s not a good feeling. I have found that the local Target is much more coupon friendly.
Just not shopping there ! Walmart never treated their customer right with or without coupons ~~ i will coupon shop else where !
I shop at 4 different WalMarts in San Diego area, always get my coupons honored, unless they are internet copies that don’t scan at the register. Handheld scanners have not been used on internet coupons for quite a while, so shoppers are already aware of the limitation. What many shoppers don’t realize, when they print a coupon, be sure to make it a clean copy and don’t touch the bar-code with your hands or allow the bar-code to smear. If it does, it won’t read. I’ve been in line behind bulk couponers, and it can be a nightmare. I present coupons with the item purchased, letting the cashier know if a price match is involved. Never had a problem with this system, and I average $15.00 to $20.00 per trip in savings.
I tried presenting coupons with the item at my Walmarts and was told just give them all the coupons it is quicker and less headache for them.
I was just at Walmart and they used the hand scanner for one of my coupons.
As a cashier at Walmart I want to let everyone know that we are only doing what we are told to do by our managers. We have no control over what we are allowed to do and what we aren’t. If we go against something they tell us we are at risk of losing our jobs and I’m sorry but I have kids and bills to pay and can’t afford to lose my job. So whatever you do don’t take it out on your cashier we are doing our best to do what needs to be done.
Stopped coupon shopping at wal-mart long ago. They make you feel horrible. I only usually have 1 or 2 copies of a coupon if I printed it or bought a paper and they still make me feel bad. Gladly take my business elsewhere.
IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, I avoid Wal-mart when doing Q-pons! My mom, who is 65, wants me to show her how to Q-pon…the problem is….she lives in East Texas (the woods, country, literally) and all she has is a couple of grocery stores (which don’t take internet Q’s) and a Wal-mart, which does. I told her that I would show her but I hope as hell, they are better in the country than they are here in the city (Dickinson, Texas..Galveston County)! She laughed and said, never mind, EVERYTHING here is more difficult than the city!!!! I HATE WAL-MART WHEN I HAVE Q-PONS!!!!
Hey… I Heart The Mart Guy,
Thanks for the update. It helps to know the information you have provided. For me, knowing in advance that if it won’t scan they won’t take it, makes it less stress for me. Now, I don’t have to ask for a CSM and I will just let it roll off my back and move on to the next deal. Now that I have said that. If my coupon doesn’t work, I will certainly consider emailing the company and advising them that their coupon doesn’t work.
Thanks Paul! Good to know. Also love the “guns don’t kill people” comment major gun owners here and say that all the time!
What most people don’t realize is that most big box stores are already been doing this for a long time Wal-mart is actually the last one in the game to switch to the system before long all coupons will only have the one barcode on it and if they didn’t update now people would be complaining that Walmart was behind and that they are the biggest retailer and they should be the first.. People will always complain about something… and I love your site Paul
Most of the time the coupons I print out of the paper will not scan at Walmart. It is sad when the coupons I print scan better than the ones from the paper. I don’t agree with not being able to manually enter a coupon if the cashier verifies the item was purchased and that the coupon is valid for the purchase.
Not sure, but it sounds like they are not following their own policies. I had a coupon that did not scan just a couple days ago. The checkout girl didn’t catch it, I did and asked for it back. I took it to customer service and they gave me my $2, no questions asked. They did not try to scan it and barely looked at my receipt. It was a coupon from one of the coupon flyers they post around the store. For the most part, I have never had any more troubles using coupons at Walmart than any other store.
I realize MOST Walmarts are probably not like the ones here and near where I live but I agree with the comment I just read, gave up LONG ago on Walmart. I was told that using coupons and getting items for free or gettting money back or barely paying a total was no better than Shop lifting and they actually TARGET you if you have coupons or a binder at Pikeville, Kentucky Walmart SuperCenter. They are rude for the most part and it is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I do try my best to use my coupons properly and if I am corrected unless I knew otherwise Apologized and tossed said coupon……..a few weeks back a cashier came around the counter and scanned my bigger items, she missed one and I even offered the person at the door my receipt to double check they flagged me through and I was stopped and accused of stealing, but they would not call the cops and told me not to come in if I wanted to use coupons again, they also looked at my reciept and said they should make me return All the items I used coupons on. I asked repeatedly for the police to be phoned and they wouldn’t. I have contacted a lawyer but they say this never WALMART SUCKS and unless it is a HAVE to I don’t go near the place. I was told anyone who uses a coupon is a theif and they are tired of it and they are getting a new system so that most coupons will NOT scan. How true that is I don’t know but BEWARE you are being watched as soon as you enter with a binder at Eastern and Central Kentucky stores, and they will make sure you are treated badly and put down before you leave!!!! Hope all their registers screw up and it takes forever to check out with or without coupons and people will go elsewhere!!!
Glad I looked on your site today, we are going to walmart later today and I was doing my match ups and I am going to check my coupons that I have printed and use my smart phone UPC app to scan them first, I have found that if they don’t scan on the phone they surely won’t scan at the store. It just cuts out that akward standing there while they fight with the printed coupon LOL
Thanks again!!! love all the info you always have
Rainey, what UPC app do you use?
Mr. Rainey, which app do you use to verify your coupons before-hand, please advise, thank you.
Hi Mr.Rainey:
We are all very interested in finding out what apps you are using, so we can avoid the pain like you as well? Paul, if Mr. Rainey is not reading this post anymore, can we have his email address in private so we can email him privately to find out the info?
Thanks.
Man, people are always messing things up for the honest folks just trying to get by with every penny they earn! Thanks for the update, I don’t blame Walmart for doing that I blame the dishonest people!
Yet another reason for me to skip walmart altogether….,literally every time i’ve tried to coupon there i’ve had major issues and i’m always extremely polite and friendly but if you show up with more than one coupon you are automatically labeled basically a suspect who is to be severely scrutinized. Over the last 2 years we have gone from shopping 90% of the time at walmart to now barely 5% of the time….it’s just a bad experience all around. I only visited this article from a link a coupon buddy sent me. However, if i ever need info on walmart i always visit your site…thanks for continuing to what you do even in spite of all of the difficult setbacks 🙂
I hope this changes the way honest couponers at treated. There are so many cashiers rude to me but not just at wal-mart. I always have to find the good cashiers anywhere I go. I think everyone knows what I am talking about. I dont like when they treat me like I am taking money from thier pockets. I work hard couponing. I have the luxury of staying home with my kids and going to school online. Couponing helps me contribute to my home. Thanks for your site and all you do.
There is rumors that Walmart new policy will state u can not PM and use coupons ..Is this true ?
I haven’t heard that. why would they do that? the whole point is so that you can get an item for the exact same price you could at another store.
at my old walmart if you PM an idem they won’t let you use the coupon. so i went to a walmart 5 miles away to see if they were doing it to and they weren’t. so i go to the walmart thats a little out of the way to save money.
My question is when a coupon scans sometimes it asks if the coupon amount is a valid amount.. will my coupon be accepted because the cashier has to confirm the coupon amount?
I was wondering the same thing.
I was wondering the exact same thing. It is already hard enough to explain to people there what the Coupon says and that the product I got is valid. This mostly happens when the amount of the Coupon exceeds the amount of the product. The closest Walmart is about 20 miles from our house (We just moved from San Antonio, TX to a small town in Oregon) and I take a montly trip there and to Walgreens but if Couponing is going to get even worse because of this, I might as well save the money on gas and spend a little more at the other store here.
Wlamart SUCKS I had 5 Coupons from Coke for 20 oz Cokes and it took Me 1/2 Hr standing in line before the cashier and manager decided to take them. Now if they sell the product and the coupons came from the Coke Co not a copied coupon they shouldnt have any problems. The cashier said some days the managers decide to take them and on others they wont take them. This is stupid then they shouldnt sell coke and make all the money from Us. we all need coupons any more to help us get groceries. A lot of things we wouldnt be able to buy if it werent for coupons.
From FL
I don’t think a TV show is at all to blame and think that’s such a snotty cop-out that many bloggers love using. Things changes. It happens. It happened before a show and after a show. And honestly, the show has brought a lot of blog business to popular blogs such as this one. I don’t say this to be rude but I just think that is such a ridiculous blame game.
But I am curious to know what will happen with formula check coupons as they have to be manually entered right now. Do you know if those will no longer be accepted?
I don’t post much here but I had to come post on Walmarts crazy new coupon policy. I have been couponing now for 25 years and I have found over the years that there are some coupons that just won’t scan no matter what you do. They are legit coupons and I’m buying the right item(s).
Some examples:
Excedrin I have had trouble with that coupon scanning.
Revlon Nail Polish. The coupon is good for ANY nail polish BUT I hear it only matches up to the Colorstay kind of nail polish. BUT my CVS will push them through on ANY Revlon Nail Polish because the coupon states it’s good on ANY Revlon Nail Polish.
Another example is the Oretga coupons I get from Walmarts All You magazine. That coupon never seems to work anywhere I use it.
So I guess with this new policy Walmart will be getting less of my coupon business. I don’t know which coupons are going to scan and which aren’t. There is coding issues that they do sometimes that messes them up from scanning. So I’m suppose to be penalized because the coupons weren’t coded right.
IF and when I do go to Walmart and use coupons and if they don’t scan I will fold my order and leave. I will go somewhere were they understand that some coupons just don’t scan properly and they have to be pushed through.
This is the craziest thing I have heard. ANY other store I go to when a coupon doesn’t scan and they can clearly see I bought the right stuff they push them through.
This is just stupid of Walmart.
I have that problem too I get the coupons out of my local paper so they are legit but they just won’t scan and they always have to manually enter them!
Family Dollar did the same thing wouldn’t take a coupon if it didn’t scan. The covergirl coupon would never scan they would not take it, enough complaints were filed with covergirl to where they were going to pull there product off the shelves if they didn’t accept the coupons. They do now at least the one i go to does. Walmart has really got horrible, I don’t waste my time or money there anymore.
I can honestly say I have never, ever had a problem at Wal-Mart with coupons. They have taken ones that have not scanned and always been very gracious when I have a stack. I even had one I had printed that was very faded because my ink was running out and they still took it….
BTW I live in South Carolina and can honestly say that is one of the only positives of me shopping at Wal-Mart….other aspects I can’t stand but it is convenient and open 24 hrs :/
Oftentimes, the clerks only look at the pictures on the coupon and tell me I can’t purchase the item. I politely ask the clerk to read the coupon, go by the coupon verbage, not the picture, some listen, some don’t and usually call a supervisor. I returned a gift item purchased with a coupon at my local Walmart. The clerk at the courtesy counter asked her coworker how to reimburse me and she was told to only give me the amount I paid less the coupon. I told the clerks that did not seem right, I am returning the item, which you will resell, plus you are presenting the coupon to the manufacturer for reimbursement plus the handling fee. I told her that scenario would work if the store returned my coupons along with the difference. I asked the manager if that was not considered fraud on the store’s part. The manager told me returning an item a coupon had been used for, he called that “gouging”. I called the district marketing office and was told, if the store choses to accept the return, the the full amount (coupon amount plus amount paid out of pocket) has to be reimbursed to the consumer or the store can return the coupon(s) and the difference paid. She said the store does not have the right to make their own rule for reimbursing the consumer, however, the store can refuse to accept the return. I received a call from the store manager was advised to bring my receipt and I would be fully reimbursed for the item.
Okay Walmart, I understand and will play by the rules as I have always tried to, but you should know that King Soopers, Safeway, and even Albertsons sometimes, will all Double my coupons and they have coupon Catalinas to reward me for shopping exclusively at their store. Not to mention their prices are becoming comparable and sometimes are even better than Walmarts. I will make my purchases based on who has the best prices every time. Just something to think about…
While I understand the reasoning behind the changes and they’re viable reasons, it will most definitely cause hiccups (probably some big ones) in the next few months. It will be interesting to see how things go during my next few Walmart trips. I tend to frequent the stores that print Catalinas more, but still use some coupons at Walmart.
It’s too bad that a few shady people ruin good things for the good people, but such is life. One can ruin it for many.
I called Walmart headquarters two weeks ago to find out why some Walmarts follow the coupon policy and some don’t. I was told there is a new CEO, Mike Duke in charge of this department, and Mr. Duke is allowing each manager to set their own coupon rules per store. Some Walmarts in my area are not allowing price matching. They also have a three coupon limit per store per item. I asked to speak to Mr. Duke and was told, “Mr. Duke is not taking calls from consumers at this time”.
reading this made me cringe! You really need to proofread.
This is a free website not a newspaper with an editing staff. Remember if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all. Also capital letters belong in the front of sentences.
I love your response “dd”. People are really unbelievable sometimes! Way to stand up and bring Carol’s proof reading mistake to her attention!!
Indeed! Not to mention that the intent of this site, and this particular article, is meant to HELP the reader, to both save some money AND save some stress. Free site, free info, to help save the reader money. Anyone who is complaining about the insignificant matters should be ashamed of themselves.
I don’t shop in Walmart anymore even though I live less than 2 miles to “TWO” SuperWalmart, due to in the past each time, I bring the coupons to the cashier, she doesn’t even attempt to scan on her part, but start calling her CSM to come over, and when the CSM come over, if it is not busy hours in the store, I always have a bunch of cashiers hanging around my cashier, trying to find out what coupons I used and how I get my items cheap or nearly free. It is amazing, instead of helping other customers, I always have more than 2 walmart employees surrounding my cashier trying to be nosy and giving their 2 cents on how my cashier should or should not accept the coupons. Usually they win, as they are the majority even though I pull out the coupon policy and politely explain to them, how the coupon works.
I just showed my husband this article, he disagree I do couponing at all all the times, as he makes very good money and he doesn’t think the hassles I have to put up with is worth it. He made the comments that he thinks most of the coupon fraud are committed by the store OWN employees as the general public would not commit to that enormous extend, I have to agree with him on this. Sometimes, I had some cashiers didn’t scan my coupons, and when I asked them back, they refused to give it back, and once I even caught a SAFEWAY cashier print out a duplicate receipt of my transaction and I felt my privacy is violated and asked her back for the receipt, she said “IT WAS HER, I CAN’T HAVE IT”. I contemplated whether I should phoned in on her but I did’t.
So, I think in general the public do play by the coupon policy rules, it is mostly the store own employees that violate them in biggest scope.
I agree I did say that in the article. The good news about this policy is that they are supposed to scan every coupon now. There is not interpretation involved, if it scans they take it, if it doesn’t they don’t.
Just so everyone know’s I took a copy of this new walmart coupon policy to Wal-Mart “my work” and asked tham about it. They said this is “not” their policy and was not batched out from Wal-mart.
My husband works for Walmart and has been told this is not their policy either. Cashiers will still be able to type in the coupon.
It was an interstore email procedure update for the new registers.
Michelle, It was an inter-store email that your manager has explaining the updates as far as the registers being updated on September 1st. There is no policy change, it is a procedure change.
So after reading this if it doesn’t scan like a product cheaper then coupon they will not accept it for example j&j dental floss. So it never said anything about overages or anyrhing just trying to understand before shoppingvwith three kuds in tow and having issues. Thank you! But i do belueve after extreme couping sjow came out the people on there that were not using proper coupon etiquette really hurt the people like us that do coupon to help our squeaky thin budgets yet go by policy and read coupons to make sure no frayd is goimg to hurt the store.
Well my spelling is atrocious thanks to my droid
Not necessarily on your coupon scenario, beeping doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. It may just be prompting them to input information. Everything is supposed to be spelled out for them on how to proceed. It will probably ask them to verify amount.
I know every walmart is different but in my walmart the CSM herself said if it doesnt scan and thr items match they must manually put it in they cannot refuse a coupon.
Sweet for you guys, I would expect a change soon though. At least be ready for it!
PAUL,
I have a question. Its not concerning the new change we are speaking of here. But this happened to me at my local WM and I am confused. So would appreciate your input.
I was PM Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks to Safeway .99,the cashier asked me where the closest one was, i was looked at her puzzled. she then proceded to tell me that if it wasnt with-in 50 miles of my local store they couldnt PM . so i told her where i thought the closest one was she stood there asking me if it was 50 miles? i assumed it was within. i told her i saw sales ad on net on stores webpg. she allowed the sale to go thru because she wasnt certain of milage she said. said it had been policy for 2 or more years.
i came home called manager to discuss. i was told by him that if a store is out of a 50 mile range of local WM than you need to have sales ad to PM. i replied that isnt in your PM POLICY. it clearly states i dont need ad. he said customers have been coming in to stores with ridiculously PM and it is up to each managers discretion. i asked if i could print off the actual sales ad from stores website dated to use, he replied no.
so is this right? or do i need to contact CORP? i am not the type of person to contact but this will change my shopping trips. i have been a long-ime customer of WM.
thanx Paul for all you do
To be honest I am really surprised that they would match to 50 at all. And then to say you just need the ad is really lenient. I think your store has a great policy and I wouldn’t buck the system at all.
Thanx for your prompt response, Paul. I wasnt trying to be difficult here at all. It was just something I had never heard of. I do agree that my store is more than decent compared to stories that I have read blogs.
Thanx again.
No worries, I didn’t think you were. I just didn’t want you to accidentally mess up a good thing!
I just wanted to point out that Extreme Couponing did play a big huge roll in coupon policy, value and more. And posting about being able to read the bars only furthers the issue, because you can very easily go look that information up..I never knew anything about it until i read another article about one of the extreme couponers doing it, so being curious, i found the info in a few minutes.
Would I ever do it, no! I try to follow coupon policy for everywhere I shop, I make sure coupons are not expired ect, and very very rarely do I even bother to print
as most stores around here will just hassle ya anyway because of all the fraud, they dont even want to take IP’s..
As far as the show, I dont look for the return of high value coupons, I think due to so many people now attempting to “extreme coupon” the coupons will only
continue to get worse, and or more changes will be made to policies. I think we
will start seeing more load to card coupons to limit you as well.
Most coupons you already have to buy mulitple items now to even get cents off, which does interfere with budgets, I can’t always go buy multiples of items to save .25 cents or save .50 cents ect…and I have also seen the values of smaller coupons go down over the last months, this not on new products, but the ones that have been around forever…An example Huggies wipes used to be .50 off, now .35….and with the cost of everything thats almost a joke.
If people would not have taken advantage we would be far better off…and I do blame that show…I mean really ya gotta buy 75 mustards because ya can???
As far as walmart, just sounds like more headaches trying to coupon there.
At my local WM, They follow the limits of products for PM, like if the ads says limit of 2 boxes of green giants, and I’m buying 3 coz I got coupon off for 3 boxes. The cashier won’t allow me to take 3 boxes because the ads says limit 3, she will take the 1 box away, never cleared shelves coz I only buying 1 Sunday paper. Orher cashier when I handed my coupon, even the coupon went through she still checking the size of the product and make sure it match the picture of the item, the guy behind me got mad to the cashier, he said to the cashier you dont need to check the coupon and the product the coupon didnt beep means its ok, your holding the line. The cashiers says their been told by the manager to do that. I only had 5 coupons that day. The people behind me are so nice, coz I feel bad that they have to wait, I’d said sorry for them for waiting, they saids it wasn’t my fault. From then I don’t go to Walmart unless, I really really need something its the only store closest where I Live. Had bad experience from Walmart doing PM and using coupon.
she should just ring the last box up at regular price. It seems a little silly but it is within the right of the store to do. That is what would happen at the store you are price matching at. You would still be allowed to use your coupons.
Oh Geez. I guess I need to buy a laser printer. Paul what printer did you go with?
When I read this the other day, i was thinking, oh great, more coupon drama from Walmart. I already have enough issues with them, I hate using coupons at Walmart. However today, 9/20, I went with about 12 coupons, and I can tell you that almost all of them did NOT scan at the regular scanner, they had to use the handheld for almost all, and one did not scan at all, she had to manually enter it in as a vendor coupon. So, either my store did not get this new memo, or something, but I am quite happy that’s all I can say. I’m just glad they took my coupons!
hi Paul,
I was at Walmart bought 4 HE and I was trying to use the $3 off 2 HE and 2 Bogo, but the cashier called a supervisor and she told me that I can’t use 2 different coupons for 2 products. So i let go of my $3 off of 2 and found out that they only put 1 bogo, they were putting me in a lot of embarrasing situation, I am not going back to walmart anymore. Please enlighten me, thanks, Storm
If I am understanding the situation right they should have allowed you to use 2 coupons. Either one of the coupons you were trying to use covered two products.
Yes she could of used only TWO coupons, she by her explaination was trying to use THREE…..1 $3/2 and TWO bogo. Can’t use a 2nd bogo if you already are attaching a coupon to a product. They did however seem like in the confusion of it all not credit it her w/her second coupon. Just wish you’d of clarified that w/your readers.
I was wondering why she can’t use the three coupons? She was purchasing 4. The 3/2 would be applied to the ones she has to pay for, the BOGO can be applied as well, last thecoupon another BOGO for the last two items, correct? Please let me know, thank you.
because each coupon is for 2 items. Walmart applies BOGO coupons to the one you pay for and the free items you can’t use coupons on. I hope that helps.
I went this weekend and they would NOT take my internet printables that were in black & white. They didn’t even try to see if they would scan just said NO. The manager came over and said the same thing. I always shop at this store and have never had a problem until this weekend. I won’t be going back for a long while it was very embarrassing.
Walmarts coupon policy states that print at home internet coupons are acceptable in black and white or color. Call 1-800-walmart and file a complaint.
I went to my local Walmart today. I had a BOGO on Pledge, two $2 off coupons for Herseys Simple Pleasure candy and two other coupons. The $2 off coupons would not scan on the flatbed scanner and I was told they no longer took BOGO’s. I removed the associated items from the bags and had them taken off my receipt. I talked to customer service and was told the same thing. I came home and called 1-800-walmart. They were surprised with what had happened. I have filed a complaint. I printed off the coupon policy and all the BOGO coupons that were on the Walmart web site and I am going back tomorrow to talk to the manager. I am not backing down. I will file complaint after complaint if necessary. Why should I have to drive 20 minutes to another store to use my coupons when Walmart is 5 minutes away?
I went back to Walmart this morning with a copy of the corporate coupon policy in my purse. I had 5 BOGO coupons (one was from the Walmart website) and the two $2 coupons that wouldn’t scan yesterday. I collected all my items and then went to Customer service and asked to speak to the manager. I explained what had happened yesterday and asked if it was true that they did not accept BOGO’s. It wasn’t. She said that the BOGO’s require an override. She scanned all my items and the coupons with the handheld scanner and there was no problem. Don’t give up on using your coupons at Walmart- stand your ground! You are in the right as long as you are following their corporate policy.
@Debbie – I tried to stand my ground night before last and the CSM didn’t like the fact that I was presenting policy so she refused to accept any coupons period. She didn’t even try to scan them.
At that point I would state to everyone in line that Walmart refuses to follow their own coupon policy, and I would walk out without buying anything.
I have been reading about the new updates for a few weeks now. The updates finally hit my store yesterday. I am a WM employee and I had a customer come through my line with her purchase. She hands me 3 coupons, the first 2 scan with no issue, the 3rd coupon scans and then I get a message that says “pending” after a few seconds the error goes away and I complete the transaction. At the end of the receipt I get a message that reads along the line of ” Coupon was scanned, but was rejected by the system, please give the coupon back to the customer or discard.
I asked the CSM about this and she of course was clueless, today I asked 2 different CSM’s and I got a “I don’t know” and I got this response, “for each coupon that comes up as pending or if we try to manually enter a coupon the pending message will appear and a CSM has to approve the coupons. I explained to her that the customer had the item that the coupon was for, she does not know why the coupon was rejected, “new system working out the kinks” was her response and to be patient. I told her to tell that to the customers. Don’t know how it is at other stores, but at my store it takes a CSM forever to get to your registers when called. We can have 3 CSM’s working and it still takes them 10 minutes to come to you for a price check. Hopefully the kinks will be worked out soon, because at my store we have a lot of customers (including me) that use coupons
I realize that these changes cause a lot of headache for those of us who use coupons, but I am glad Walmart is making the change. Coupon fraud is infuriating. It discourages stores from accepting coupons and manufacturers from distributing coupons. I think it’s very good that stores are taking the steps to protect themselves and I am especially glad that some of the new coupons are coded so they cannot be used on products for which they aren’t intended.