How To Tell The Difference Between a Store Coupon and a Manufacturer's Store Coupon

As we all know, the first of the month means new printable coupons...YAY!  Today we have found some great new savings, and a few which prompted a few questions.  Hopefully this explanation will help you feel prepared to take care of any resistance you may get when using some coupons which came out today at your local store.  


One trick we all use to access coupons on coupons.com is through the use of different zip codes.  There is nothing wrong with doing this, and there is no way for stores or manufacturers to track whether the coupons were used in the zip code for which they were loaded.  With that said, some coupons accessible to certain zip codes are geared towards shoppers of specific retailers in that particular area of the country.  Today, we will inspect some new Publix coupons found at zip code 30303...one of my favorites!


Here you will see what is clearly a store coupon:

The first thing to tip you off to this fact is the store logo, but you do need to dig deeper.  The top of the coupon clearly states "STORE COUPON".  Also, you can see in this closer image that the coupon truly is for use only at Shaw's and Star Market locations:

In contrast, here is a typical manufacturer's coupon:

This is what we are all used to seeing...it states "MANUFACTURER'S COUPON" at the top, and includes instructions in the fine print for the store.  When a manufacturer makes a coupon available, the stores mail them to the address listed to be reimbursed.  This is the most conclusive way to tell that this is truly a manufacturer's coupon.


Now, for our little Publix troublemakers:

The first thing you probably see is the giant "Redeem at Publix" logo.  The first coupon we looked at did turn out to be a true store coupon valid at only Shaw's and Star Market stores, but that was based on the details, not the presence of the logo.  Plus, the coupon states "MANUFACTURER'S COUPON" at the top.  To be sure, let's dig a little deeper!

In the fine print, we find reimbursement language and a remittance address for the retailer to send the coupon to.  As we saw before, this is the ultimate sign of a true manufacturer's coupon.  


Phew, that was a lot of information, but hopefully it leads to great savings and less headaches at the register!


Happy Saving!!!