I mentioned earlier that while in the long run couponing should save you time, there would be an initial learning curve. One of the most important aspects of this learning curve is understanding the different types of coupons that exist. The coupons that are most familiar to the vast majority of people are manufacturer coupons. These are important because they are the most common type of coupon and the ones you will come across most of the time. These are the coupons that come in the Sunday newspaper coupon inserts and they are most often the type of coupon that you can print off the Internet. These are coupons that are created by the manufacturer of the product (thus their name).
When a grocery store accepts a manufacturer coupon, the manufacturer agrees to pay the store back the amount of the coupon plus a small handling fee (usually $0.07). This means that when you use manufacturer coupons, the store actually makes a bit more money than if you had paid in cash. These coupons are easy to spot since they usually have “manufacturer coupon” printed across the top of the coupon.
What is most important to know about manufacturer coupons is that you can only use one manufacturer coupon per item you purchase in most cases. This holds true even if you have two manufacturer coupons come from different sources. Even with the sources of the coupon being different, you are still only allowed to use one of the manufacturer coupons per item purchased.
For example, if you have a $1.00 off 1 box of cereal manufacturer coupon that you found in the Sunday newspaper coupon insert and another manufacturer coupon for $0.50 off 1 box of cereal that you found in the grocery store, you can’t use both coupons to save $1.50 off of a single box of cereal. You can use both coupons, however, if you decide to buy two boxes of the same cereal since you are allowed to use one manufacturer coupon for each box.
While manufacturer coupons are the most common type of coupon, one of the things that most people don’t realise when the first begin couponing is that there are also a number of other different types of coupons that exist. Understanding these other coupons exist is vitally important because different types of coupons can sometimes be used on the same product (called stacking coupons) which is how it is possible to get some products for free. We will be looking at the different types of coupons besides manufacturer coupons that exist in the next few articles and what the benefits of each type are.
Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer them. This post is part of the Lazy Couponing series. The next step will be learning about Store Coupons.
Can you use a $1.00 off an item along with $1.00 off any two item coupons, cheerios for instance.
@Ranelle
No, in that case you would need to buy three of the item to use both manufacturer coupons.
Hi Jeffrey. Where does the money of the manufacture coupon come from? Does it come from manufacture’s own profits? Or does it come from manufacture’s paying tax?
It is an advertising expense for the manufacturer.
Ok… If I were to use a five dollar off any product coupon and the product was less than 5.00 is if free? Or does the store pocket the rest? Or does the maker just give what I paid?
In most cases, the store will reduce the coupon value to the price of the item so you get it for free. The store will most likely get paid the amount on the coupon so they will earn extra money from the transaction, although technically they should only receive the amount for what the item was purchased.
If I have 2 coupons for “save $1 off 2 items”, can I use 2 coupons (1 on each item)?
No — you can only use one coupon for the two items. You would need to buy 4 items to use both coupons.
If the Manuf.Coupon says one coupon per purchase, can I buy multiple items of each with a different coupon? example: 1$ off two tv dinners (coupon says one coupon per purchase)can I buy four and get 2$ off since I have two coupons? thanks for the info!!
Yes 🙂
I have a manuf. coupon for $4 off when I buy charcoal and $5 in fresh meat. I also have a manuf. coupon for $3 off when I buy charcoal and 2 bottles of A1. Can I use both and only buy one thing of charcoal?
It depends a lot on your store. If the $4 off coupon is for the fresh meat and the $3 is for the A1, you should be able to do the transaction. The issue is that doing so will likely make the store computer beep when the second coupon is scanned and many stores won’t accept coupons if they don’t scan properly. The best thing to do is go to the manager and ask how they handle that situation.
I have a question, If I have a coupon that says buy one chocolate bar get peanut butter square free. and a coupon that says 50 cents off two bars can I buy two bars get 50 cents off and still use the other for the free peanut butter square?
No. You can only use one manufacture coupon for the purchase, Since the 50 cent coupon covers both bars, you can’t add another coupon for the free peanut butter square.
Question!
So I have 2 manufacturers coupons…one that says save .60 on two and the other says save .50 on two…can I use both of these? Or will I have to buy 4 in order to?
I have a similar question again. (Sorry I’m trying to teach mysel the ways of couponing)
Save .75 on 2 and then another that says save .50 on one…how many would I need to buy to use both? 3?
You would have to buy 4 in the first scenario and 3 in the second.