Online coupons are a relative newcomer to the coupon clippers arsenal. These are coupons that you can find and print online just prior to your grocery shopping trip. Because of the ease of printing these coupons, there are many stores who fear that this makes it easier for people to commit fraud by printing or copying too many of these coupons. Since the stores do not want to take a chance of losing money, there are some that will not accept online coupons. Other stores may just have a few clerks that are in fear of accepting these coupons as they may get in trouble with their boss or company. Either way, it can be a bit of a challenge to get a store to accept online coupons.
The first and most important part of making sure that your online coupons will be accepted is to make sure that you get them from legitimate sources. Coupons.com, smartsource.com, and redplum.com are all legitimate sources for coupons. Manufacturers websites are also reliable sources from which to get online coupons. Making sure that you have gone to a reliable and legitimate source for your coupons will ensure that you have a leg to stand on if the store you go to questions the legitimacy of your coupons. Make sure that you also keep track of where each coupon that you are using has come from so that you can tell the store clerks and managers if they question you.
When you go to the store, be careful to buy the sizes and brands specified, just as you would with any other coupon. This again helps to ensure that there will be less questioning as to whether your store will accept the coupons. If you are questioned by the cashier, simply tell her where you acquired the coupons and let her know that you printed them out on your computer. Most cashiers will accept your explanation without question. If they do not, ask to speak to a supervisor on duty, and give them the same explanation. Continue until you reach the store manager, and find out if it is store policy or just their policy. If it is store policy, you may have to call the store’s toll free number to find out why. At this point it may be necessary to bring up that these websites only allow a given number of coupons to be printed out for each item, thereby reducing the chances of fraud. If all else fails, it may become necessary to take your business elsewhere.