Using coupons are really effective in helping you reach your financial goals. It’s not really about being cheap or anything. Corporations and businesses really give out these discounts to loyal consumers as a reward for patronizing their products and it is also a come-on technique to encourage new ones. Coupons are a great way to urge new customers to try their products or for old ones to try new releases. These can also be used to help slow moving products gain more sales.
But regardless of the use and reason behind them, there are some important truths about using coupons that you should know. While they offer consumers great discounts, you need to be careful of fake coupons. There are fraudulent ones circulating the Internet and if you are not careful, they could cost you more rather than helping you save. Not only that, redeemed counterfeits will cost manufacturer and companies significant sales and that can affect their profits and the job stability of the people they are employing.
To help keep this from happening to you and to protect the lasting effects that it could have in our economy, you need to know how to spot the fake coupons from the not.
6 ways you can check for counterfeit coupons
The thing about these counterfeit coupons is they are pretty good. It is hard to spot the difference if you do not know what you are looking for. Even merchants find it hard to check the fake from the not so you need to really do your research.
Here are 6 ways that you can tell if a coupon is counterfeit.
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Price discount. Fake coupons usually have high price slashes that are meant to be a come on appeal for consumers. If the price discount is higher than the actual price of the product, then you need to explore further if this coupon is real or not. Most coupons will require you to purchase something before you can avail of the discount.
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Expiration date. Most of the time, the expiration date is not long – at least this is usually true for free coupons. If the expiration is 6 months to a year, then that is questionable. There is a possibility that you are holding fake coupons. Some of them even do not have expiration dates. We wary of these.
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Fine prints. We sometimes skip over the fine prints but here is another reason to read it. Legit coupons will usually say that buying or selling them are not allowed. If this is not in the coupon that you are holding, then that is questionable. Even the alignment of the fine print will tell you if you are tampered with.
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Coupon type. You also have to check the type of coupon that you will get – especially if it is taken from the Internet. Most of the time, fake coupons come as PDF or Jpeg files that consumers can print. Usually, you can only print coupons one at a time. If you can print more, then that is questionable.
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Source. There are certain sources that will guarantee legit coupons. For instance, if you get it from the manufacturer’s official website, then that is legit. If you get it from the Sunday newspaper, them you can be sure that it is not a counterfeit.
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Check CIC list. The last way to check for fake coupons is by visiting the CouponInformationCenter.com. They have a list of counterfeit coupons that you can search in their database. It is kept updated and if you are questioning the validity of a coupon, this is where you can confirm that.
How to avoid the the false coupons
It is hard to let go of these discounts because you can manage your spending by using coupons. But because of these fake coupons, companies and losing money and their employees suffer because of that. You may want to help them keep it from happening because that can affect you too in the long run.
So to help you avoid fake coupons, here are some tips that we have for you.
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Get them from the local newspaper. Most Sunday papers have inserts that are full of coupons. The editors will always scrutinize these so you can be sure that they are legit.
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Be wary of free products without purchase requirements. Most of the time, companies will require you to purchase something before giving freebies.
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Know where coupons come from. Usually, manufacturers post coupons in their own sites. If you really prefer to search for coupons online, you may want to research the authority sites that you can trust.
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Scrutinize coupons that you have to purchase. There are coupons that you have to purchase before you can avail them but you have to be very careful with these. If possible, just stick to coupons that you can print for free. These are the coupons that you have to make a purchase for something first before getting the reward or discount.
Protecting yourself from fake coupons requires effort. If you really want to use these to get huge savings on your grocery bill, you need to do your research. Remember that if something seems like it is too good to be true, then it probably is. Companies still need to earn so they will not really give away product without calculating returns. Think about that when you get a coupon that offers huge savings.