Coupon use in the US reached its peak in the early 1990s and then began to decline. People are increasingly re discovering the benefits of coupons for saving on regular expenses such as weekly grocery bills, and 2007 was the first year that did not register a decline in coupon use,with the present economic downturn. Unfortunately, the renewed interest in online coupons could result in a resurgence of Internet coupon fraud. Online Coupons
Home scanners, graphic software, and printers make it simple to make fake coupons to post online for people to print. Counterfeit online coupon problems began in 2003 and resulted in huge losses for stores, and by 2004, many retailers had stopped accepting printable online coupons and several food companies and retailers completely halted Internet based coupon distribution.
Manufacturers and retailers recognize the benefits of online coupons. Online coupons are a good substitute for traditional coupons and internet is the best platform to target customers who are searching for specific coupons. Shoppers do a search and ask for the required coupons online and redeem them.
The industry has therefore tried to implement solutions to the problem of online coupon fraud. Legitimate online coupons will have a scanable bar code, an expiration date and the address of the manufacturer.
Both manufacturers and retailers are injured by coupon fraud. It also hurts honest coupon users who unwittingly obtain fake coupons or whose valid coupons are rejected by suspicious store managers. Scam artists don’t just make personal use of fake coupons. So you need to be able to distinguish between fake and legitimate online coupons and they use them on coupon trading websites and Internet auction sites too. Here is some good advice to help you.
you have obtained your coupon, visit the Coupon Information Corporation’s website at wwwcents-offcom.
Online coupons, find a particular view of counterfeiting on the Internet. If it sounds to good to be true, check out the facts first. Do research before you put money on the table.
try to check the bar code at the bottom of the coupon to determine if it is a copy or if it has been changed.
So knowing something about how to read barcodes can enhance your chances of spotting fake coupons,some perfectly valid coupons have blurry looking barcodes and the barcodes on duplicate coupons often look exactly like those on valid coupons. Coupon barcodes consist of twelve digits, the first digit is the coupon number and the following five digits are the manufacturer’s number and the next three digits are family codes assigned to products by the manufacturer.
If you are 10-11 as the last digit and check digit code digit value of the coupon or the instructions how to handle coupons, showing the value of the cashier. You need to check the value codes 10th and 11th digits against the discount announced on the face of the coupon, a 75 cents off coupon should have 75 as the 10th and 11th digits,after making sure that the bar code has 12 digits.
You can check the coupon validity through the PDF files or through websites, where the coupons are scanned and posted. One way to do this is to check the manufacturer’s website. While the online coupon is legal, you should get it on this site.
Take your time in looking for the reputed websites and avoid the websites which promote coupons. Smartsource.com and Wow-coupons.com are great options to find coupons that are printable online, in addition to the manufactures site.
Be overly cautious when purchasing online coupons. Purchase coupons from valid sources and make sure your purchases are legitimate coupons.
Watch out for coupons that look suspicious – ones that make items totally free and other unusually high discounts. They are often fakes. Often duplicated coupons are the lower value ones that can be doubled.
If you suspect that a coupon is not real, definitely contact the manufacturer to voice your concern.
With a little planning and some knowledge you can make great savings using online coupons. While redeeming your coupon, ensure to follow all the given guidelines very honestly. Have patience and keep in mind that cashiers have to carefully look at coupons because of coupon fraud.
Related posts:
