Everything you have ever read here at Mommy Snacks and probably many other places has always informed you that you could stack e-coupons with a paper coupon. I have recently had some discussions with Shortcuts.com and found out that stacking e-coupons with a paper coupon is NOT advocated by Kroger or any of the participating manufacturers.
I have been sharing tweets with Shortcuts after reviewing the site to see that it does say that using an e-coupon and a paper coupon is not in accordance to coupon usage. While I personally received an exact opposite response to this from Corporate at Kroger (as did HCW) back when the e-coupons first came out (since the P&G Esavers were established in 2007), I was somewhat confused as to the change.
However, it appears this has never been acceptable to Shortcuts, and from what I hear is unacceptable to P&G as well. And, the Cellfire snack I shared brought up a comment regarding the language in their terms stating this same thing (although Cellfire never responded to my e-mail with the questions I had regarding the policy).
So, what does this mean? E-coupons can not be stacked/used while you are using a paper coupon. Will it work? Probably. Is it allowed? No. And, Shortcuts.com recently increased the number of e-coupons you can save to your card to 50 (was 25), so this will help with your savings in the future for items without paper coupons.
So, as with all the information I share with you here – take it, eat it up and digest it! I will still continue to provide coupon matches with e-coupon sites but please know that I am NOT suggesting you use both. I am merely providing you with the information so you can choose one or the other. I am all about ethical couponing. As you are aware, unethical coupon usage practices can hurt us all.
I have personally saved so much money that to risk the loss of high-dollar coupons – e-coupon or paper coupon – just isn’t worth it, I’m sure it’s not to you either. I will be going back to update all previous e-coupon educational posts/discussions so it reflects this new information as well.
So, that’s that! Let’s get back to saving some money!!!
Questions/Comments?
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s just not fair! I hardly can keep up with my e-coupons anyhow! For some reason my shortcuts never print so I can take them with me to the grocery anyway. I guess now just make sure that you have 1 more of an item before you go to the check out!
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I should say print my list of shortcuts coupons, so that I know what is loaded! My printer for some reason won’t print from that site!
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Maybe we shouldn’t ask too! Not that I’m condoning something that isn’t allowed, but maybe then it’s just that we aren’t informed!
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Busymom23now – If for some reason you don’t print them and you examine your receipt when you get home to find they didn’t come off, Shortcuts is excellent with providing credit on e-coupons.
Directly from Shortcuts.com Help:
Go to the Contact Us page and report the problem within 30 days of your shopping trip using the Customer Care Resolution Form. We will treat your inquiry as a priority until it is resolved.
The contact form is at:
https://shortcuts.com/myprofile/contact
Hopefully we won’t have to use it (I never have) but just in case!!
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Is there a way to prevent the Cellfire or Shortcuts coupons from coming off of our order? I thought the amount came off automatically. What if we have a manuf. coupon that takes more $$ off than the shortcuts coupon, but the shortcuts coupon was automatically taken off?
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Hey Rachel, I'm told that Kroger is working with P&G, Shortcuts, and Cellfire to ensure that only one coupon (paper or e-coupon) is being used. But, until that system is in place, there isn't a measure to ensure both are not taken off even if it's unintentional.
Until then, I plan on using the higher value coupon since the paper coupons double and e-coupons never have (at my stores at least). And, then there will some some e-coupons that are valuable because there isn't a paper coupon (or we've already used our paper coupon). So, until then it's just making sure we know what's loaded I guess.
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Thanks for the info, Andrea! Like you, I want to use my coupons ethically, so I’m glad I now know not to stack coupons (or advocate it on my website).
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Wow! I had no idea that you weren’t supposed to use both together! The way I first found out about e-coupons was from a manager at Kroger, who told me that I could save even more by combining e-coupons with my paper coupons, so I just figured it was legit! Now knowing this, it seems if you do use the both, it’s like stealing… what a bummer though!
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yes, shortcuts responds quickly, but all they do is add $$ off coupons to your card that are SUPPOSED to be redeemed the next time you shop. I have found that that doesn’t happen. AND, my e-coupons don’t double, where the paper ones do. If my stores choose to enforce this, I will stop using e-coupons and just use paper…until then…I say STACK ‘EM!
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Until thier systems are updated, this whole thing is ridiculous. I mean, I have to make sure I’ve only loaded my huggies coupons on shortcuts, then cellfire, THEN use a paper coupon? I mean.. puhleeze… I’m not for trying to ‘play’ the system, but I’m not going to do their job for them either. Heck.. half the time I don’t even remember I HAVE ecoupons… it’s a pleasant surprise when they come off.
Silliness, pure and simple
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I had the same question as Rachel, if there is no way to pick a paper coupon over the e-coupon then I don't see how they can possibly enforce it. And, when they do start enforcing it and allowing us to choose which we want to use, it will be a checkout nightmare, the cashiers will glare even more than they currently do!
I have to say that during that P&G promo, I had coupons that didn't come off and emailed customer service right away. I have yet to get a response from them .. and that was before New Year's Eve! Not normally a big deal but when it is a few bucks each, it adds up!
Chanin
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We don’t even have e-coupons that I’m aware of down here in Florida but it sounds like a pain! Andrea, do you know if the Upromise coupons have the same policy?
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@Angie – I am checking with Upromise but my guess is no since they are depositing the money into our account as a bonus to buy the product. I'll respond back and let all know.
@Sally – I found out that if the store's policy on ecoupons is to double ecoupons than they double. I was confused by that since I thought if they doubled paper coupons, the ecoupons would double too, but they won't.
@mbrocker – I see your point with this and I never remembered what was on there too. But, there were also times that I specifically bought something because the e-coupon made it free. I just won't be doing that anymore.
Chanin – they are working on a system to enforce it. I hope it's up sooner than later. Of course, now that I have the information I feel it's best to share with everyone. Did P&G not respond, or Shortcuts on those e-coupons you're talking about?
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Thanks for this info. I was stacking them because I didn’t know any differnetly, but like you I don’t want to do anything that is unethical to save money because the Lord certainly wouldn’t bless those efforts! Thanks again for all the help you give. May God continue to bless you greatly.
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Great info! Thank you for sharing!
Although this is disappointing, I don’t think it will last or at the least we will see promos that allow the usage of both for a brief period.
I can certainly say it will cut down on the amount of patronage I have given Kroger as of late.
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Thanks for the information. Where on the Shortcuts site did you find the statement that they aren’t to be combined with paper coupons? I have been searching and can’t find it.
Anissa
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Nope P&G never responded .. really kinda surprised me too.
I hope, when they get the program in place, that they don't tell us which coupon we can use. But, I don't see how they can let you select the ecoupons that you want to use, that would take quite a bit of time and increase the check-out times.
Chanin
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It’s Anissa again. This is just all so confusing. Like you, I want to use the coupons correctly, I just wish they would make it all clear. I went to Cellfire, clicked on Help, clicked on Help With Cellfire Grocery Coupons, then under Using Cellfire there is a question “Can I combine other coupons with Cellfire coupons”. The answer says “Cellfire digital coupons can be combined with paper coupons…” It goes on to talk about multiple digital coupons.
So, for now, I’m going with it is ok to stack a paper coupon and Cellfire coupons.
Thanks again for checking into this for all of us.
Anissa
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Anissa – yes, it is very confusing! And, I was just talking to my girlfriend about it and she said “Heak, I don’t even know what I have on there!” Which I agreed with for myself.
On Cellfire, they must have changed the language because in the previous Cellfire post – what is quoted in the comments is exactly what the site said in December. Again, I have another into Cellfire so we’ll see if they want to respond.
This actually all boils down to the manufacturers. If we think about e-coupons, they are essentially allowing us to stack or “double dip” to get something cheaper and use the paper coupon – which I have loved!!!
But, while the stores may say it’s OK (until they get it fixed per the manufacturer’s request), and I have heard and shared Shortcuts official “stand” on it (even though it works), the manufacturers – not the stores – are the ones hurting from this.
When they hurt, they may reduce the paper coupon values – and those double for us so I don’t want to risk that. The thought of paying more for something in this economy isn’t what I look forward to :-)
Again, the stores don’t have this figured out yet with their system, but I am simply presenting the information since I now am aware of it for everyone to use it as they want. :-)
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I hope other bloggers follow your lead Andrea! Thank you for supporting responsible couponing.
Mercedes
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Forgive me if ANYONE takes offense to this as it’s not meant to be offensive…but…
I have been couponing for over 20 yrs now. It is common sense out of FAIRNESS to the stores, to the manufacturer AND to fellow shoppers to use ONE COUPON PER ITEM. Internet coupons were not meant to double up on anything, they originally were meant to help those that did not get the paper coupons or to give us further discounts on items NOT in the paper coupons. There were NOT meant to be used in doubling up on ONE item.
Think about it…if YOU were selling an item, you wanted to draw attention to it, so you created a paper coupon. Hmmm, you could reach more customers if you created Internet coupons…great! The coupons are coming back which means they’re being used, but hold up here, there’s more coupons being used then the items sold.
I wonder if tom, dick, jane and harry down the street all had a chance to try your product…gee, couldn’t be…I have four coupons and only two items sold.
somethings not right here…
So, although people have gotten away with it (just because we can, does not mean we should) by using two coupons (one paper, one internet) on ONE item…does NOT mean we should. This goes back to mom and dad telling you to share, or be nice, or give your last cupcake to suzie…
understad?
I don’t mean this to be said to any one person, group, etc..
I do not mean this to be ‘mean’
But if mom has to step in and say naughty on you (guilty parties), then so be it.
I have never, nor would I consider using two coupons on one item EXCEPT the store coupons…ex: if a store says splenda #1.99 WITH THEIR coupon, then yes, you use THEIR coupon AND EITHER your printed one or paper one.
Understand???
Just my take on it…
and if you want to comment to me directly, please do so here:
mariannakeough at hotmail.com
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YOu know what would be nice?
When you have a prescription coupon/credit, they ask at the register if you want to apply it.
If they could come up with a way on the e coupons to ask if you want to use it, then you could say yes or no.
That way, if you have a manu. coupon that is worth more, you could use that one, instead of being forced to use the lesser value e coupon.
Of course, that would probably be a nightmare on the cashier side, right? Good thing I shop late at night when hardly anyone else is in the store. :-)
No more preloading all my ecoupons at the beginning of the month, I guess. I will have to load weekly once I compare to my paper qs.
Thanks for the heads up.
Oh, and are we OK to use Cellfire then, since their site has been reworded? ( not that they ever work for me anyway. )
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Carrie – that’s a good suggestion! Hopefully Kroger is reading this and knows where to find you :-0
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If they do away with double couponing, this can only hurt consumers and manufacturers alike.
For instance,
I have never bought Olay Ribbons Body Wash before. I would never pay $4 for something that frivolous, for me and for some it may be the expensive coffee I buy at times. Anyways, I bought a bottle using both coupons and paid half price. I also bought the Venus Razor the same way and gifted them in a bag to a friend. I talked to this friend a week ago and she was at the store buying refills for her razor.
Point being this allows manufacturers to also get their products out there in an economy that people may not otherwise spend money on “luxury” items.
I believe they will see a drop in sales for one time products and even bigger decrease in items they count on you buying accessories and fillers for.
Just my 2 cents. I am but a small fish in a vast sea.
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I didn’t know about the no stacking until I just read this. I tried getting overage today at Kroger using the $0.50 Cottonelle e-coupon and a two mnf coupons (doubled to $1 each) – but it didn’t go through as I had hoped. Two $0.99 cent packs of TP and a $1 food item cost me $1.06 (with tax). Kroger adjusted the coupons so I wouldn’t get overage. I only bought the food to absorb the overage, but alas, no luck.
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Thank you for posting this. It’s something I have always wondered about- I have noticed that my paper coupons often beep when it’s an item I have a shortcuts q for. The cashiers have always put it through when they verify that I bought the item- they’ve never looked to see whether I was using an e-coupon. From now on, I won’t use the 2 together- even if others continue to advocate it. I want to save all the money I can- but ethically, as you say.
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Andrea, All I can say is “KUDOS!” to you for keeping track of this, “un-confusing” it for the rest of us, and keeping us up to date with what’s ok and what’s not. You are doing a great job, and I thank you for it!! I’m just glad I’m able to get online again, and this morning I was going to load up my e-coupons and go get groceries with those and my paper coupons… now I know I need to load coupons each week per my list :) Thanks a billion!!
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Andrea, I just looked at Shortcuts and can’t find anything about not stacking with a manufacture Q.I’ve been reading all of the other blogs about this and it is still quite confusing. Thanks for all of your hard work. We do want to Glorify God even in our use of coupons!
So sorry to hear that you all have been sick.
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Janet – afer looking at Shortcuts again, the language that says we can’t isn’t there. It may have been changed like the Cellfire language was.
But, since I spoke to a company rep directly I know it’s not allowed. I believe Shortcuts doesn’t blatantly state this (neither does Cellfire) because it cannot be tracked or stopped. So, for them, they aren’t stating it as a violation of the usage of ecoupons because Kroger doens’t have a measure in place to track/prevent it.
I’ll be honest, it’s all somewhat frustrating since the language isn’t present on any of the sites. But, back to me knowing now and feeling I needed to share. The net price of items in my store posts each week will change so I felt the need to address it.
So, Kroger, would you please contact me on this issue? You have a panel of couponers in the local area that have great ideas to help you resolve this!
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I really think that this is a grey area that it is not black and white. There have been posts from many ethical couponers all over the blogosphere and they all have a different take on the issue. I don’t believe that these couponers are any less ethical because they have a different view. I think it’s a personal conviction area.
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starbucksgirl – I 100% agree with you – it’s all about personal conviction!
Regardless of my feelings and desire to share, I’m not the one saying Yeah/Neah come judgement :-) What He has is way more valuable than our coupons!
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has anyone heard of kroger only doubling the 1st 8 coupons that are alike and the others at just face value… if they are all the same cpns? ie… 10 same items total using 10 cpns but only the 1st 8 doubling… I couldn’t figure out why my bill was so high and that’s what they told me when i got home and called the store. I wish I would have caught this while still at the store, I prob would’ve cancelled my order and started over with only 8 of the same item. (I bought 24 of an item and used a raincheck then used 24 coupons so I paid like $8.50 more than I wanted to pay. My raincheck was getting ready to expire and so were my coupons so I used them. Now wish I hadn’t.
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