A little known secret of the couponing world is that some do not double coupons will actually double after all, depending on the store and its policies. Here is how to tell.

Why “Do Not Double?”

I’ve always wondered why manufacturers take the trouble to mark “Do Not Double” on some coupons. After all, they don’t pay for the doubling only for the original discount. When a store chooses to double, it takes on the cost of the second discount.

You would think that the manufacturer would be happy if a store doubles their coupons because this means that the coupon is probably more likely to be used in the first place and their product will be tried.

Research shows that people tend to go back and repurchase something that they have bought with a coupon, even if they don’t have a subsequent coupon for the second time they buy it.

I did a little research to help me figure out why some coupons are listed as Do Not Double. The reason behind it is that some manufacturers want to make sure that it is very clear to the stores that they will not pay the double or triple value of a coupon.

Another reason is that they don’t want to devalue their product. They don’t want shoppers to get the idea that the price of a certain product shouldn’t cost more than the amount it is after a doubled coupon.

When Do Not Double Actually Doubles

Some stores will actually double Do Not Double coupons anyway. The store assumes the extra discount. They do this in order to remain competitive against other stores. It is the store’s decision.

Some coupons will not double regardless of the store policy. This is because of the bar code printed on the coupon. The code tells the register systems whether to double or not to double. A code that starts with a 9 will never double (unless the manager overrides it). A good example of this are the blinkie coupons that come out of the machines. They always start with a 9 in the code.

Those codes that begin with a 5 can double automatically. The majority of coupons have a bar code that starts with a 5. So you may find that your do not double coupons do actually double. For stores that do not want to double to Do Not Double coupons they either train cashiers are trained to spot them and take off the doubling, or they update their register systems to spot these coupons automatically.

Lowes is one of these stores that are very careful about the Do Not Double coupons, but I haven’t heard of any others so far. Have you?

Posted in: How to Coupon | Comments (0) | Join Discussion