More than 302 billion coupons were distributed last year, but only 0.2 percent of those were online coupons, he said.
Of the 2.6 percent of coupons redeemed last year, 0.4 percent were printed from the Internet, he said - a fraction that will likely increase in the near future given new technology.
Coupons have come a long way since C.W. Post first used coupons in the 1800s to promote his new cereal, Grape-Nuts. Since then, many have tried to cash in on coupon schemes.
FOR THE RECORD - An article in Tuesday's business section about online coupons incorrectly reported eBay's policy on selling manufacturers' coupons. The Web site permits auctions of coupons with some limitations, such as banning the sale of expired coupons.
The Sun regrets the error.
Larson, of Western Michigan University, has examples from the 1950s of store owners clipping out coupons themselves and sending them in for reimbursement.
These days, anyone with a computer and scanner can replicate printed coupons or toy with the bar codes stamped on them, he said.
Others sell coupons online, although some sites such as eBay ban such auctions.
The fine print on coupons, from circulars or elsewhere, usually state that they cannot be transferred, although there's little to ensure that doesn't happen.
Tilley said that such transactions "break the spirit of the coupon contract."
"For a coupon to work, everybody's got to play by the rules," he said. "Retailers have to be fair on how they accept them. ... Consumers ... have the responsibility to use coupons in the way they're intended."
Coupons Inc. operates Coupons. com, where each coupon has a unique serial number and customers are limited to printing a certain amount - usually two, said Jeff Weitzman, the company's chief marketing officer.
Coupons Inc. created an online Coupon Resource Center on its Web site to help consumers lobby their local shops to encourage them to accept online coupons. Their tips to retailers and consumers advise not redeeming online coupons if they will not scan at the checkout line.
However, Jenkins said she has had problems with coupons she's printed out that won't scan, sometimes when she's low on toner. At Target, sometimes the conveyor belt scanner won't accept her coupons but the scanner gun will. She said this has happened with coupons that she prints from Target.com at the registry kiosk at the front of the store.
Andrea Romberger, 31, of Abingdon, a member of Jenkins' mothers' group, has been unable to redeem Internet coupons at Superfresh or her local Giant. "I'm all for getting the best deal," Romberger said. "I have the mind-set now - I can't buy much if it's not on sale."
liz.kay@baltsun.com
