The truth about online coupon clubs
Every now and then someone encourages me to join in online coupon swapping clubs. I always turned down these offers and here’s why:
- Most coupon swapping clubs cost money, usually about $30 a year, to join. I’m interested in saving money not spending it.
- Much of the coupon swapping involves sending stacks of coupons to others. Between the entry fee and the cost of postage, I’m still spending money.
- Many coupon clubs are illegal. I’m not interested in saving money if it’s not 100% legit. Unless you have a manufacturer’s permission, it’s illegal to pay a fee and send coupons through the mail.
The best way to find coupons is through the Sunday paper or the church coupon swap box. Trade with neighbors or see what’s legitimately available online. Don’t let anyone talk you into spending money to save money. That’s just silliness.
Tags: coupon-clubs, coupon-swaps, coupons, how-to-find-coupons, where-to-find-couponsRelated Stories
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4 opinions for The truth about online coupon clubs
Jennifer
Aug 3, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I like coupons but they always seem to be for expensive items and they don’t make enough coupons for organic and natural food. Where I live we have a Wild Oats and they offer a great coupon book each month for all kinds of organic foods. One other thing about online coupon deals that I notice is that stores won’t take the printable ones. I was so mad because I found a whole $1.00 off coupon online for soy milk and then the store said it was too easy to counterfeit? Which, sure I could see if I had 10 of them; but I just had one. Lately, I just look for sales — coupons take too much time for too little.
Michelle Gartner
Aug 7, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I recently posted about 7 strange but thrifty items you can buy on eBay. Some of it was legitimate like funeral supplies & saving money- & some was meant to be more humorous like vintage underwear (huge ewwww factor). The #1 thing on my list was manufacturers coupons- I am not really sure why eBay allows the sale of coupons? It’s a very grey line issue that sellers are crossing, even with disclaimers like “you are buying my time- not the coupons.” The thing that worries me is that people won’t have access to coupons and couponing because of so many scammy practices… but I didn’t really get into that on my post. It was just meant to be fun and the online eBay sellers group I belong to had a fun time with it on their boards.
Andrew
Aug 9, 2007 at 11:34 am
Online coupon clubs do sound to be a hassle and not worth the money. But there are plenty of sites out there that cost nothing at all but let anyone jump on a coupon train. Yes you have to clip coupons, create a wish list, and pay for postage, but that’s about it. I’ve done these a number of times (and a ton of members in our Yahoo Group do these regularly), and they’re actually kind of fun. And for the cost of a stamp or two and some time clipping unwanted coupons, you can actually snag a few good ones you really want.
Or if you don’t want to deal with a coupon train, you can also just request specific coupons and do a straight trade of the unwanted ones you got from the Sunday paper, and trade them for ones you DO want.
Why I Save Money
Sep 3, 2007 at 4:30 pm
[…] up in a family of 8, you learn the joys of coupon clipping and hand-me-down wearing at an early age. As a kid, I vowed never to deprive my children […]
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