Super Couponing Tips: Are we all entitled?
Recently, we heard from readers who feel it's unfair that manufacturers and retailers use electronic coupons. They argue that consumers without computers or smartphones are unfairly excluded from these discounts. This week, readers continue to weigh in on so-called coupon entitlement.
DEAR JILL: I just found out that different newspapers distribute different coupons. Perhaps this is old news to most couponers but I am trying to figure it all out. I live in Texas, and my sister lives near Los Angeles. The coupons she gets in California often are different from mine — completely different products and values. Why? This doesn't seem fair at all. I should have a right to the same coupons — Scott G.
Dear Scott: You're absolutely right. Different newspapers do receive and distribute different coupons. That's because marketers push different products, discounts and promotions to different areas, sometimes in the same metropolitan area. I remember once getting a coupon for dishwasher detergent worth $1 less than the one my aunt received, and she lives just a few miles from me. Marketers can specify that certain delivery areas, cities, regions or states should receive a particular coupon campaign and can exclude other markets from the same coupon. Coupons are a privilege, not a right.
DEAR JILL: Congratulations for an excellent response to the e-coupon "conspiracy" letters submitted by some of your readers. Unfortunately, the entitlement mentality is a disease among those who receive everything for nothing and think manufacturers are awash in profits and therefore owe them freebies. Manufacturers are not government agencies. Thank you for your explanation of why they offer coupons. — Penny K.
Dear Penny: You're welcome. Believe me, I enjoy using coupons immensely, and I appreciate the continued savings they offer. But I never take them for granted, either. I understand that companies are free to offer or discontinue promotions at any time. Any attentive coupon shopper can likely rattle off the brands that offer coupons in the newspaper nearly every week and also name the brands and products that offer coupons less frequently.
DEAR JILL: You make a good point that a manufacturer's main goal in offering coupons is not to save shoppers money but to sell products, gain market share, introduce new brands, etc. That's a good reminder. It's not a store's goal to give-give-give, either. But stores obviously have more at stake on the local level — consumer loyalty — and the few stores I regularly shop do a good job of balancing interests, in my opinion.
My goal has always been one thing: never pay retail. A secondary goal is to save 50 percent or close to it on a regular basis. This morning I spent $45.81 at Publix and saved $47.36, and spent $12.64 at Walgreens and saved $10.51. I consider couponing a hobby, a part-time job and a way to be charitable. I can afford to donate food and drugstore purchases on stuff I can get for next to nothing. So I save money, buy quality items, try new things, do good and have the satisfaction of knowing I've gotten great deals, all on the up-and-up. It's worth it. — Shelli B.
