Double Coupons 101

I am asked questions all the time about double coupons, so I thought I’d try to address them all in one place. Ready? Here we go…

What stores in our area double coupons?

In the Fargo Moorhead area, all of our major grocery stores, Sunmart, Cashwise and Hornbacher’s, double coupons all day every day. Stores that don’t double coupons are Target, Walmart, Kmart, CVS , Walgreens and many other retailers. (On a side note, Kmart does double coupons every now and then during “Doubles Events,” which run for an entire week. They are usually announced in the Kmart weekly ad, and I’ll post here about Doubles Events when I hear about them.)

How much is my coupon worth?

In our area, the grocery stores all double up to $1. If the face value is .50 or less, it will double. If it is .51-$1, the store will take off $1 for the coupon. Coupons with face values higher than $1 will be accepted at face value.

How does a double coupon work?

The manufacturer will pay the store for the face value of the coupon, plus any handling charge as stated in the coupon terms. Usually, the “double” part is a store promotion, and the store gives you the additional value of the “double.” So, let’s say you use a .75 coupon at a store that doubles coupons. The .75 is paid back to the store by the manufacturer of the product, and the additional .25 that was deducted from your order is a store loss. Doubling coupons is a promotion, like any other, to draw a customer into a certain store.

What about coupons that say “Do Not Double?”

Most store computers are automated and double coupons automatically, regardless of any wording on the coupon. Because the store is paying the doubled amount, not the manufacturer, I’m not sure why any coupon would stipulate this. However, because the coupon states not to double, the store can choose not to double it. In my experience, it’s much more common for a cashier to simply scan the coupons and allow them to double than to manual override the double and give you only the face value of the coupon.

What did I miss? Throw out other questions in the comments and I will answer if I can!