Coupon frustration

As consumers try to cut costs, stores are facing fraud woes

Internet coupon policies at selected stores

Eddie's of Roland Park: accepts Internet coupons

Giant: accepts Internet coupons for "cents off" but not for free items. If manufacturers alert them to fraudulent coupons, the store declines them.

Harris Teeter: does not double or triple the value of Internet coupons. With the purchase of two like-manufacturer's products, accept only two Internet coupons, per store, per day. Won't accept Internet coupons that do not appear to be originals or that won't scan. Will not accept any Internet coupons from other retailers.

Klein's Family Markets: declines Internet coupons.

Safeway: Coupons must be scannable. Will not accept coupons for more than $5 off nor for free items. Store managers always have discretion about coupon acceptance to avoid fraud. Accepts them in limited fashion.

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy: accepts Internet coupons up to 99 cents; rejects coupons for free items.

Superfresh: declines online coupons.

Trader Joe's: accepts online coupons.

Whole Foods Market: accepts online coupons.

Wegmans: accepts cents-off online coupons, not for free items.

CVS: Manufacturer coupons downloaded from the Internet must feature a UPC bar code, along with associated bar-code numbers in the event the coupon cannot be scanned and must be manually entered.

Rite-Aid: accepts only Internet coupons from its own Web site, featuring the store's name and logo.

Walgreens: accepts Internet coupons from walgreens.com and smartsource.com.

Wal-Mart: According to its Web site, Internet coupons should be legible and say "Manufacturer Coupon." There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scannable bar code.

Target: honors valid Internet and manufacturer coupons.

Coupon tips

* You should never see the actual coupon on your screen, only an offer to print it. Real coupons require special software to print proper bar codes and limit the number of prints of each coupon.

* Print coupons only from the brand Web site for the products you are interested in or well-known savings sites such as Coupons.com or major Web sites that you trust.

* Avoid coupon-swapping sites and Web sites that post images of coupons.

* Never pay for a coupon.

* Don't buy coupons on auction sites.

* Don't make or use copies of coupons or printouts of scanned images of coupons.

* Be suspicious of printable coupons for a free product or one that seems too good to be true. It probably is!

Source: Coupons.com

ONLINE

Find more consumer tips on the Consuming Interests blog at baltimoresun.com/consuming