COUPONS
How does your grocery store handle coupons?: Coupon Counselor

Grocery stores in central Pa. have similar coupon policies, but make sure you know the details before you go.

Grocery stores in central Pa. have similar coupon policies, but make sure you know the details before you go.(Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com/file)

How well do you know your grocer, and how do they handle coupons?

All stores in our area that take coupons will also double those coupons up to $1. For example, a 50 cent coupon will double to $1, but so will a 75 cent coupon.

No grocers will accept a coupon for a “free” item. These are too often fraudulent.  They will accept “buy one get one free” coupons, and will accept coupons that reduce the price of the item to free.

Darrenkamp’s

This Pennsylvania company focused in Lancaster opened its first grocery store in 1932. They are an enthusiastic supporter of local events.

Dawn Marron, Esq.
Dawn Marron, Esq.

The Family Owned Market’s network includes this store along with Mussers Markets, Martins Country Market in Ephrata, John Herrs Village Market, Oregon Dairy and Yoders Country Market. They use the combined leverage for joint marketing and bulk purchasing. The group has a shared coupon policy.

In addition to the shared coupon policy, Darrenkamp’s has a beautifully written, easy to understand store coupon policy. Check it out.

Uniquely, they have a kiosk by the meat department linked to Coupons.com. You can print two coupons for each selection. For digital privacy, this option is ideal. I often use it to get an extra two prints for my frequently purchased items.

Giant

The international grocery chain Ahold Delhaize that now owns Giant is the result of a merger in 2015 between Royal Ahold (owners of Stop & Shop and Martin’s) and Delhaize (Food Lion and Hannaford). They continue to innovate the grocery business.

According to their policy, we can redeem 16 identical coupons on identical items. Only the first coupon per item will be doubled. A customer service representative told me changes were made to the digital coupon platform to make the coupons disappear after being redeemed. It will make planning a lot easier.

Karns

This family owned store chain started in 1959 is famous for its meat counter. They are consistent with good prices, good quality and the attention of butchers to personalize your order. Only the first coupon per like item will be doubled.

One quirk in their coupon policy is in the internet printable (IP) instructions. I was surprised to find a helpful paragraph of consumer caution about IPs. Karns will only accept an IP up to and including the value of $1.

A fun promotion I always mark on my calendar is the Friday 13thspecial. Items will be 13 cents or variables of 13 or end in 13. The store is always packed with patrons on these days, so shop early.

Walmart

Walmart is everywhere. It started as a family company in 1962 in Arkansas, and went public and international. Their leverage on bulk purchases often allows Walmart to offer food and goods at a lower price than the competition. When they entered the organic food niche, the game changed for all grocers.

Walmart will still price-match online at Walmart.com. I personally find it difficult to use coupons at this chain, mostly due to scrutiny of my coupons and managers not enforcing the company coupon policy.

The thing that keeps pulling me back is the policy of overage. If I purchase items that cost less than the face value of the coupons I have, I get the extra money (overage) on a gift card. For example, I shopped the clearance section, found food discounted to $13, and used $20 in coupons. I walked out of the store with dinner and $7 extra dollars.

Wegmans

This family owned business is still privately held.  It was founded more than 100 years ago in Rochester, N.Y. They take coupons, but the allure of the market is the pre-made food and store brands. They offer entire rows of gluten-free and special diet foods.

You might notice they don’t sell tobacco, a decision dating to 2008.

You can sign up for digital coupons without opening a loyalty card.

Wegman’s coupon policy has a few quirks. It limits how many of the same items you can buy with coupons to four. You can’t apply a coupon to the free item of a BOGO deal as all the other grocers allow.

Weis

This Sunbury, Pa.-based chain is pronounced “wise.” It is publicly traded but still family-led. It recently acquired 38 Food Lion grocery stores in Maryland. I like that they own and operate their own dairy, ice cream and meat-processing plants.

In their policy, Weis doubles up to four of the same coupon, and have a limit of four identical coupons per day. These types of limits are on the rise industry-wide.

[“Source-pennlive”]

About the author

Related Post