A Major Retailer In Illinois Is Cracking Down On Coupon Users

I have no idea what the coupon-using situation in your house is, but in ours, we're wildly inconsistent with them. Sometimes we'll use a bunch of coupons over a period of time, then we'll go months without clipping a single one.

I guess I'm saying that regardless of companies deciding to make changes to their longtime coupon policies, it's not going to force a big change in the way we do the shopping.

Some others I know who are "live by the coupon, die by the coupon" (meaning: no coupon, no purchase) people are already expressing some serious displeasure with a certain Arkansas-based mega retailer and its policy changes.

You Probably Already Guessed That The Company We're Talking About Is Walmart, But Maybe You Didn't Know That Walmart Hasn't Updated Its Coupon Policies For Over 5 Years

Many people seemed to miss the coupon policy update when it was rolled out near the end of last year on Walmart's corporate website, but as the information continues to be spread around, there have been plenty of reactions.

The Biggest Reaction To Walmart's Coupon Policy Is Coming Over The Elimination Of "Overages"

Not being the primary shopper in my house, I had no idea what overages are until getting myself up to speed on these changes. Overages are when a retailer honors the full value of the coupon regardless of the price of the product.

For example, if you had a $10 off coupon for an item that was priced at $5, Walmart and an ever-shrinking number of retailers would give you cash back or apply the difference to your overall total bill.

If you didn't know about that, don't sweat it. It's over. According to Walmart's corporate policy, "Walmart does not give cash back nor will any overages apply to the remaining items in the transaction if the value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item. The value of a coupon will be applied up to the price of the item and any excess value will not be applied to the transaction total."

Here Are A Few More Walmart Coupon Changes That Coupon Clippers And Users Should Know About

• All paper coupons must be presented at the time of the purchase and have a scannable GS1 barcode
• Coupons must scan at the register, as the GS1 on the coupon must validate to Walmart’s master file
• Accept only one paper manufacturer coupon per item for in store purchases only
• Limit of 4 identical coupons per household, per day (unless otherwise noted on coupon)
• There is no limit on the number of coupons (variety) that can be used in a total transaction
• Walmart does not accept expired coupons
• Items purchased must match the coupon description (brand, size, quantity, color, flavor, etc.). Acceptance of unmatched coupons is against policy and will be systematically denied
• Coupons are void if copied, scanned, altered, transferred, purchased, sold, or as prohibited by law
• Manufacturer coupons are not accepted on mobile phones

Click here to read the entire Walmart coupon policy.