Getting On-Lline Coupons..the secret they don't want you to know!
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17798)
United States
May 6, 2011 10:30am CST
I have done the work and finally know the answer! Here's what I did. I joined about 9 different online coupon sites..where they post the coupons they have, you choose what ones you want and print them out. GOod deal I think. No papers to buy etc. However, in trying to learn about how these extreme couponers get so many of the same coupon and so many $1 off ones etc... I thought...if I can get the same coupon for 9 different coupon sites...I'll have 9 of hte same coupon and can buy 9 items..one coupon per item and stock up on these things when they come on sale.
WRONG!! My research shows that the NUMBER of coupons you can print is determined by the manufacture itself. I printed out 3 from one site and then the fourth time was told I had printed the limit allowed "to me"... I assume my IP address, although since I am going through another site, I don't know how the manufacture got my IP unless the site has to report that to them, but anyway....I couldn't print any more from that site. I went to the next coupon site...and there was the same coupon, I requested to print and was told...I had already reached my limit to print. I know I hadn't printed this coupon anywhere else but the first one as I chose a coupon for a common item, but one that I never buy as I wanted to make sure I knew if I had printed it elsewhere other than just before with this test. Second site said I reached printing limit. Went to the third coupon site...chose that same coupon and same thing...I had reached my limit on that coupon.
Moral of the story..you get X amount of coupons per offer, no matter how many sites you go to, you still will only get their set limit to print.
So.. again.. where do these couponers get their coupons other than buying the newspapers and dumpster diving for them?
Another thing I had noticed in doing this...the coupons on line don't seem to change but once a month. First of the month they seem to get new ones, but so many of them are not for things I use,need or want or the cents off is so minor it isn't worth bothering with...just get another brand for cheaper and not deal with the coupon. So I guess the way to do it, is go online first week of the month, print out all the coupons you want, and as many as the site allows and be done with it for the month. THen I notice to... expiration dates are most often within 30-60 days. Not to much time to match them with the weekly sales at the stores.
Okay, I need a life...anyone know where I can get a coupon for one?
4 people like this
8 responses
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
8 May 11
You are so right. I have tried the same thing as you and joined a whole bunch of coupon sites. I agree that most of them are useless coupons anyways and the ones for the products I do use are for so little.
Also the stores where I live only take one coupon per purchase and per visit. So you would have to go back into the store several times to buy the same items. I have watched that coupon saving series as well and I don't get it either. I don't know how they can do it. I have given up on printing coupons and I just shop smart and watch for sales and stock up when I know it is a really good sale. I usually am a really good shopper and find things for a really good price.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
10 May 11
I have not heard them mention they "sold" any...but have mentioned they offer their friends and familys a bag of goodies from time to time.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
8 May 11
Good for you. We are watchers! I will still go to the online printing sites and just choose what I want...every little bit helps, but I don't do the newspapers and I will also go to the web site of items I use alot..Olay, Folgers etc...and get any coupons they might have worth having, and then just use what I have and match them to sales.
I have never heard of a store that allows more than one coupon per item. Sometimes it seems they do have one per...but still...where'd they get so many? And then...in my area, maybe twice a year they'll double coupons and then only the first 10 so what store is this that doubles them all the time?
Oh well...we just do the best we can with what we got. I have to wonder tho...those that do the extreme..they put in 40-50 hours a week of their time and effort and KNOWLEDGE and computer skills and all that and all they get for it is free groceries, most of which they won't even use and dont' even need...just think at what kind of salary they could get if they put all those talents and skills at a paying job!
1 person likes this
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
8 May 11
Or imagine if they sold some of the stuff to their family and friends. Even if they sold it at half price they would make a fair bit of money, especially if they did it every month. I am sure some of them do sell some of it.
@my52cents (569)
• United States
6 May 11
I have both bought and sold coupons on eBay. (Technically you can't sell coupons, but you charge people for the time you spent gathering the coupons and have to word it that way in the listing.) I'm not sure where the people who sell them get extra coupon inserts from the newspaper, but maybe from their neighbors. If you really use the coupons that come in the newspaper, it's worth it to buy a set of them for a couple of dollars since one Sunday paper (on the right Sunday) has probably over $100 worth of coupons. If there's a really good coupon in my newspaper that I know I'll make use of multiple times, I go to eBay and look for more to buy, but that doesn't happen very often. I also sign up online at various company websites (Kraft, Dove, that type of place) for their weekly emails and they often provide coupons there that I can print and use. Coupons are just a small part of my frugal habits. I do better with store sales and buying store brands.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
6 May 11
I tired selling them on Ebay while back...chose the baby related ones with high coupon amounts of $1 or higher and also common stables, but never got any bids on them. I did mention in the auction that they were paying for my time, not the coupons.
I dont' use most of what is in the newspapers. I used to buy a few papers few years back, but lately, they just aren't what I want, need or use. My daughter buys 4...takes what she wants and then gives them to me.. I cut dozen or so and dump the rest...so about only 25% of the total coupons are for things that we use.
I get good ones from a few sites, but other than that..I also go to the brands web site and often they will have a coupon there... but still...they are just low "cents off" that they are hardly worth bothering with or another brand is cheaper that this one with the coupon.
I've been couponing for 2 decades..back when they'd double ALL the coupons you had adn had great refunds/rebates and got really good things. Not that way anymore.
I just keep watching out for them. Walmart has a great freebie option on their site. I remember 2years ago...I got so many freebies for shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste I didn't have to buy that stuff for over a year! Deodarant too. But those fun days are gone!
@my52cents (569)
• United States
6 May 11
I think you're probably right about those fun days being gone. I hate this phrase, but I think "It's the economy" probably applies here, too, as it does in so many instances these days.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
6 May 11
The secret to the limited number of coupons is probably nothing to do with your IP address but in the cookies that each coupon sets as it is printed. I haven't checked this theory but this is very likely what happens.
When you print a particular coupon, regardless of which site you go to, you are actually visiting the same server (whether you can see it or not) where the printable version of the coupon is stored and that will leave a small piece of information on your computer called a 'cookie' (which is only meaningful to the site that it belongs to). It's fairly unlikely that they store your IP address (though any site can easily see it).
If this theory is true, then logging off, closing your browser, clearing your cookies and logging back on again should allow you to print more coupons (if you want to!). If this doesn't work (and also if you can't print the same coupons from another PC connected to your modem/router), then they ARE storing some 'personally identifying' information (in the form of your IP address).
Yes, you probably do need to 'get a life'! (Don't we all at some time). You could probably use the time spent in searching for coupons in searching your locality for better prices on similar shop's-own products and save the money you spend on printing out the coupons (you can reckon that each time you print a page, it costs you not much less than 5 cents in paper, ink and depreciation of the printer).
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
6 May 11
Don't know much about cookies, but guess that could be true, however, before I tested it and joined 9 sites (I was using just 2-3)...I'd check one site one day and then another one at another time and that is when I saw the limit printed notice
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
6 May 11
What I'd like to know is where people use the coupons. There isn't a store within 10 miles of me that takes online coupons - not a grocery store or pharmacy or thrift/department store. (And I'm talking national chains.)
So where do people use these coupons?
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
7 May 11
Here...Target takes them and the grocery store I use takes them, but that is only place I use them. They are cautious, and Target had a thing while back about certain ones theywouldn't take due to fraud, but that has passed . I don't have any problems using them. But..one per item.
@lologirl2021 (5542)
• United States
10 May 11
So i believe alot of people have watched the extrememe couping show just like myself. I have seen this a couple times and think to myself how in the world do they get all of that stuff for nothing.
They first are getting the 10 for 10 deals that alot of grocery stores have plus they are using coupons and now think about it if they have 10 coupons for that item they arent paying much at all because if each coupon is one dollar off then they arent paying anything at all. Also if they are shopping at stores that have rewards they are getting rewards coupons for items then they wait for those items to go on sale and buy then with a coupon so they arent spending anything at all for that item.
Couponers are also buying items on sale that they dont even use or want and having a stock pile of items they arent going to use or want at all. Its a skill that takes up to 60 or more hours a week. I dont want to spend 60 hours a week going to different grocery stores and cutting out coupons and writing out what i have to do at each store. Its just to much for me and really they have no life it seems but only to do coupoing.
Its a great way to save money but why buy items you dont need or dont want. It bothers me that they have a stock pile of items they arent using which those items could go to the needy or soup kitchen to help the homeless.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
11 May 11
I watch those 10 for $10 items and you can use a coupon on each of the 10 items...if you can find them but still...25cents off a dollar is still not free,,,but I'll take it!
Yeah, I just think they are spending so much time (and they never mention how much money/expense they spend to do all this!) just to get items you don't need and stock and store them..give them away for heaven sake!
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
7 May 11
You can get a lot of great coupons and deal on line. It is discouraging when a lot of stores try to dismiss these savings because you came across the coupons on line. Savings are savings no matter where they come from.@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
8 May 11
Well, since a good graphic designer can make a "copy" of anything...I do understand their concern about someone duplicating their coupon in Paint Shop or somewhere and then printing dozens out. Fraud. But...I would also think that an equally good computer something or another..could do something to deny the fraud ones...a special code on their coupon or something. Good grief, we can put a man on the moon but can't make a taper-proof coupon?
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
6 May 11
I was with a swap, but never found any I wanted. Seems everyone else wanted what I wanted! I hear there is a service of 2 cents per coupon clipped for you. And theya re sold on Ebay too. I tried that while back and had tons of baby related stuff and $1 or higher coupons, and couldn't even get 99 cents bid on it! I don't think they are doing that big a deal...at least according to the show. What are they going to do with 200 tubes of deodarant? They never show much or fresh foods, meats, dairy products...mostly just dry goods and paper goods etc. And they spend 40-60 hours a week they say...and all they are getting are free groceries, most of which they will never use. IF they got even a minimum wage job..they'd make more money than that and qualify for things like unemployment, social security (if you don't pay in, you don't get) and have money to payt bills......as they are, the 40 hours they spend is only for groceries....nothing else. There are alot of bills that need to be paid!
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
22 May 11
I personally think that Extreme Couponing is a joke. I have seen these people shop inside a store that I used to work for the chain and the number of coupons that they use were not allowed. Also, the chain doesn't triple coupons or even double them as the show was saying. I believe that this show is not quite on the up and up and not as honest as they seem to be. Good luck with your coupons, but I find that most are for brands that I do not normally buy anyway.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 May 11
OH I know most coupons are not for what I use. I don't even bother buying the newspaper on sundays for them. 90% I have no use for and the other...they are usually just such low cents off that it is hardly worth bothering with. I am on a few online coupon printing sites and get decent ones there, but just a few a month. I just use the ones I can and if I save 10 bucks, that is great.
I watched a rerun last night....and i heard her say it the first time, but didn't catch on...she said that she has 5 PC's in her house and she can print 10 of each coupon per PC. So that means she can print 50 coupons of each coupon. TO me, that is just scamming the manufactures. Yes, if it works that's not her fault, but at the same time...she is just ruining it for the rest of us and eventually herself. Now that the manufacture sees that many are used...ergo they figure they have new buyers and will lower the number of coupons they put out, low the "cents off" value or both. Plus they have a fund for couponing expense per year so when that is used up, they don't offer anymore. So these that are using tons of them are "using up" the Manuf. coupon fund. When it is gone, they stop offering them and you and me don't get them anymore.
They showed one gal that bought/for free 52 tubes of lipstick...I mean come on..they will dry up before she can use them, but most likely..since she got them for free....odds are good that she will try to sell them on Ebay or at a yard sale or something like that and make money on it, while the rest of us don't get the coupons!!
Yeah, I think there is some things on this show that are not totally revealed.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 May 11
the brands i dont use that i get coupons for i can usually match up with some one i know so i usually buy it and figure it out later who it goes to.. if i cant i give it to the homeless or like storm victims etc.. not like its very much if i can manage to buy it on a bogo plus double coupons day or something lol
