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SALT LAKE CITY -- If you've seen the show "Extreme Couponing," you may have seen people buying several shopping carts filled with hundreds of items that would last a family of four a very long times. Entire shelves are cleared out as customers who found a great deal stock up.
Retailers have seen it, too, and Freebies 2 Deals CEO Melea Johnson says it has them worried.
"It's not the way you should be couponing and, unfortunately, it has scared a lot of the big, name brand stores into changing coupon policies so other people can't take advantage of the system, too," she said.
Along with buying up too much of a particular item they have coupons for, Johnson says some shoppers are trying to buy the wrong item for the coupons they have. This can make stores lose a lot of money.
"That's why they've been cracking down, because people are taking advantage of the system and using coupons for the wrong product," Johnson explained.
One of the stores that Johnson says has made big changes is Rite Aid.
"They've changed their policies, so now you cannot use a ‘buy one, get one free' coupon on a ‘buy one, get one free' sale. In the past, you would get two items, completely free, and you wouldn't even pay tax on it. Now, they won't allow you to do that."
She says Target has also made changes.
So, does this mean that shoppers should never stock up on a particular item when they find a great deal? What if someone needs an unusually high number of a particular item? Johnson says there are ways someone can buy a lot of items without clearing the store shelves.
"If you really do need 50 bottles of mustard, or whatever you're looking for, you can place a special order at the stores and they have no problem doing that for you," she said.
Johnson says she wouldn't be surprised if stores change their policies on rain checks because of how people are couponing.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
