I want to encourage you to view and print the Walmart Coupon Policy. You can take it with you to Walmart and present it to the manager if you are having difficulties with Walmart accepting printable coupons. One thing that helps when using printable coupons is to print them in color because photocopied coupons (you should never photocopy a coupon) usually are done in black & white ink.
I found it interesting that if you try and use more than 40 coupons at Walmart it requires the approval of a Customer Service Manager. I have not used this many coupons before in one transaction, but I typically only use one of each type of coupon even if I have more of the same coupon. I can see if you go to the store with tons of one type of coupon and try and use all of them that the cashier may wonder where you got all of those coupons and suspect they possibly could be copied. I know there are lots of legitimate sources of coupons, but in my opinion it’s just wise to impose a limit on yourself sometimes.
Just in case, you might also be interested in reading the Walmart Return Policy.
I'm new to printing coupons from the internet because I worried about our local stores' ability to keep up with technology ~ ie, not give me the stink-eye when I presented printed coupons.After spending lots of fun times lurking for great freebies and offers, I decided I was losing too much money by not taking advantage of sites like coupons.com and smartsource.com. I planned my monthly pantry 'stock-up' trip, printed my coupons (I also had the 5.99 Excedrin one from last month that just recently came in the mail) and went this morning to do my shopping while my 3yo daughter was at preschool.I spent two hours shopping until I could barely move my cart and had an order over $300. The cashier flatly refused to take any of my coupons, including the Excedrin offer. I asked why, he called a CSM, she flatly refused. They were both very rude. The CSM finally relented on the Excedrin because she noted that it had been 'mailed to my house'. I told them not to bother and to cancel the entire order. I walked away and left them with a huge cart-load of bagged groceries over $30 worth of coupons.I called the store a few hours ago and got blather from the Assistant Manager about how they can't accept internet coupons because they're fraudulent. Then I called their corporate office who explained to me their employees and managers in this area must not be properly trained to identify valid coupons.I don't have a color printer. I have a laser printer. I'm not going to buy a color printer just so I can print coupons so that badly-trained cashiers can feel better about taking valid coupons.Now I'm at a complete loss and could not be more frustrated. I even called another local store to find out whether they would accept them and that manager gave me the same song and dance, even when presented with the explanation from his corporate office.Just… poop.
Walmart sucks. I'm a cashier at walmart hopefully not for too much longer. Anyway, it seems there is no official set policy for ad matching. Every manager I ask has a different answer. It's ridiculous. I hope to speak with my store manager about this soon. But I can never find him when I'm on the clock.
As a follow-up to my last post, I need to make this clarification: Walmart DOES accept MANUFACTURERS' COUPONS for BOGO ["Free merchandise (or manufacturer's Buy-One-Get-One-Free) coupons" – 1st link below] but does NOT accept STORE ADS for BOGO ["We do not honor "Buy One / Get One Free" advertisements" – 2nd link below] Reference the first link for coupon policy and the second link for price matching. The difference is MANUFACTURERS' coupons vs STORE ADS. http://walmartstores.com/7655.aspxhttp://walmartstores.com/7659.aspx
In response to #11 from Jane: This is directly from the Walmart coupon policy page found at http://walmartstores.com/7655.aspx"> Walmart Coupon Policy > Walmart Coupon Policy > Walmart accepts the following types of coupons (see guidelines below): Manufacturer coupons (Cents Off) > Free merchandise (or manufacturer's Buy-One-Get-One-Free) coupons > Store coupons"Nothing in the guidelines on that page refers to BOGO.Also, at the link below, you can find their price match policy: http://walmartstores.com/7659.aspx
I live in Tampa and the Walmart's there will not take online coupons. I was told by the CSR that is their policy. I can go to Orlando and use online coupons with no problems.
Just to help clear things up about the walmart price matching thing. I do not know if this is ALL walmarts or not, but I used to be a cashier at walmart. And they DO match BOGO- but ONLY if there is a price. For example: Hot dogs are BOGO at Meijer save $1.99. You know that each one is originally $1.99, so each one will now cost you $0.99. I would ask a CSM/CSS (head of cashiers) first though, just to save yourself the hassle if their policy is different.
I took some internet coupons (printed in color) to WalMart. The Cashier said if it didn't scan I was out of luck–she wasn't obligated to type in the code. So we went item by item. Every coupon scanned properly. She also didn't want to use a coupon that was for a "free" item. The smallest one they had was more than the coupon value. I had her get her supervisor who agreed to take the max off.I love WalMarts prices, but sometimes it is just too frustrating. I'll carry the policy with me next time.
I just returned home from my local walmart store (hudson oaks, texas) and the cashier informed me they no longer take internet coupons due to fraud. Next visit i will have their policy printed out and in hand. Fortunatly this was a quick trip and i only had one.
If I have a B2GO should I be able to use a $1 off on the ones I bought?
Im not sure if everyone’s wal mart workers are mean but the one’s here in mesq. NV are GROUCHES. I almost never use a coupon there, especially if it’s from the computer, they hum and haw and make all sorts of scenes for everyone to look at you like your doing something wrong, half of the cashiers dont know what they are doing in the first place, so I wonder if wal mart knows how many costomers they truely are loosing because of this, but then again do they even care? they are so rich anyways. wich is why they should have such strict coupon policys. I think if they are going to jip you on your overages then go elswhere they are stealing your money then.
I am excited to share that it is true that if you use more than 40 coupons they will call a manager for approval. But they ok’d it and went on. Also about 2 years ago I came across a wonderful sale on Similac formula. I remembered there was a huge stack of coupons at the Dr’s office and ran up there…they were expiring in 2 days so they gave them all to me. I had my cart filled with the formula. I started to check our and since it said one coupon per purchase, thought I would use the self checkout to not bother the cashier 50 times. The 1st time it wouldn’t work because I was going to receive overage. The self check out person sent me to the CS and they rang them all in and all the coupons and gave me cash for $28.51. AND they were all excited for me. Also, I bought some chicken and the next day it smelled terrible. I threw it away and the next time I was in WM I spoke to the CS. They would not refund my money (a whopping $4.50) because they said the policy says I have to return the spoiled food item the next day after purchase. I politely contacted Home Office and let them know that while it was only $4.50, just wanted to be clear on the policy. A manager from our store called me the day after and said there was a gift card for $10 waiting at the CS for me for the inconveniece and that his wife would have thrown the chicken away and not wanted to come back the next day with 4 little kids either. So over all…I have been very pleased with WM and their customer service.
Thank you so much for your info on Walmart. I print coupons out all the time to take to Walmart and 90% of the time I haved encountered a cashier who is unclear of their policy. I came home completely embarrassed last week because the cashier was so rude to me in front of my children no less, telling me to use a newspaper for coupons like everyone else and then continued to talk about me to her fellow cashiers and the customers behind me. NOW, I have some ammunition for next time and I can’t thank you enough.
I work at Wal-Mart as a cashier and I also am a “coupon freak” (as my husband calls me). I have been there for a number of years so I know the policy of what to accept and not accept of coupons, price match and overaged. Actually there is not limitation of coupons even if it is over 40. Walmart does not take expire coupon. They do take any coupons that says manufactured coupons, and they do give out overage. If the computer prompt it, then there is an overage to be handed over. (However, I would not abuse this if I was you.) However, Walmart do like it when you have other items that the overage can cover it. (Heck, I received an overage at an item I bought minus the coupon and my meager discount.) As for advertise coupon, like Walgreen’s coupon ads, or Target, (that as a cashier – from my CSM) Walmart does not honor it. ( I have tried it too.) However, Walmart only honors price match advertised items that is in the newspaper that is advertised and it has to be the EXACT name, ouces, pounds, model number, maker and etc. BUT THEY WILL NOT HONOR ADVERTISE FLYERS LIKE JOANNE’S IF YOU GET THE FLYER SENT TO YOUR HOME. They do honor and price match advertise items that says “with a card”. Walmart is pretty flexiable when it comes to coupons, they accept internet coupons only if it scanned. But they will not accept internet coupons that does not scan. (Again this is base on fraud.) Walmart does not double or triple the coupon. As a cashier, if the coupon says “any item”, if it is trial sized, Walmart honors it, I have not seen when it was denied. However, if the computer prompted and says “item not found” or invaild, then the cashier needs to check and make sure is the item that is being purchased and is the exact item as the coupon stated. If it is everything as prompted, the cashier can manually enter price and “vendor coupon”. As a cashier, I have seen many people who has use many coupons and some do not. As a vivid coupon user, I have to say that I myself used them all the time, as I shop at my Walmart. Many cashiers do not really care if you use them or not. Yes, we also get fraud coupons and are aware of them too. If your Walmart does not accept on certain items, it really depends on who is the cashier and how they handle it. If you are not happy with a cashier, talk to a CSM, if the CSM does not work, talk to a Assistant Manager, if Assistant Manager does not work, talk to the store manager. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE WHOLE SITUATION, DON’T BOTHER TALKING TO CSM OR ASSISTANT MANAGER, JUST TALK TO A STORE MANAGER! THEN CORPORATE!!!!Either way, they will be glad to help you. As Walmart GOAL rule #1, Respect for the indiviual. Customer always comes first. Walmart wants your business and they will die trying to win you over. I hope this help some of you. Sorry for taking so much space.
I just called walmart on the franks hot sauce. They told me the reason for the Del Rio coupons is because they have had forged coupons that are like $6 off a $2 purchase and they have been giving back cash to these people, but she told me there is no reason they should have not took my 50cent off coupon. So now I have to wait for the management staff from my local walmart to call me about this
Response to Comment #24 – I just printed the Franks Hot Sauce coupon. This is a legitimate printable coupon and it should be accepted at stores that accept printable coupons. I’m not aware of any specific problem with printable coupons issued by E-centives, Inc. My guess is that the reason you were given about why they couldn’t take the coupon might have been mis-stated. Call corporate Walmart 1-800-WAL-MART for clarification and to express your frustrations with your local Walmart. I would have expected to be able to use that coupon if I were shopping at Walmart myself.-HeatherFreebies 4 Mom
I would like to say I printed off a Franks Hot sauce coupon. I purchased this product at Walmart this evening and they told me that couldnt take that coupon because it is from Del Rio texas and it is not valid. Any ideas as to why? Thanks
I did and hour’s worth of shopping and then walked away from it all because Wal-mart refused to take my internet coupons! I even had the coupon policy with me and spoke to three managers but they refused to take them because they said they have had so many fradulent ones. I hope they come up with a new way to do coupons (maybe like the Upromise ones?) so that we can stop having all this trouble with internet printables.
I had major problems using my coupons at Wal-mart recently. Even had the manager over. I had a different issue than is addressed in the Official Coupon Policy. I tried to buy the Zantac $3.98 and use the $5.00 off ANY Zantac. The Manager said I HAD to buy a bigger amount even though the coupon said ANY. I even tried to get them to adjust the amount of the coupon DOWN – which is what CVS usually will do. I will have a very very hard time shopping there again. I just don’t think it is worth my time especially when I have a VERY coupon friendly Meijer just as a close as the Wal-mart! Glad not everyone had the hassles I do!
The part of town your WalMart is in definitely has something to do with coupon acceptance/ad matching/civility of check out personel/knowledgeable managers. The WalMart in the low-income part of Dallas scores badly in all of these categories, while the WalMart Neighborhood Market in the middle of Yuppie-Land is fantastic on all points. Needless to say I drive to Yuppie-Land where I am the only mom-with-kids to get WalMart bargains.
I will be sending an e-mail to WalMart corporate, because their store in my area has such an uneven policy on taking coupons. One week, a cashier takes the coupon without batting an eye, the next week, another cashier very rudely refuses to take them .. even when another cashier tells her that they can take 1 per order???
I have gone to walmart before and brought my coupons for 1 off old spice and gillette bodywash any size, and i tried to buy the trial size and they wouldn’t let me use my coupons. I have to call corporate and verify their policy on this. I don’t care about the overage, I just wanted them to adjust it down, and I was pretty upset because I had just bought bunches of other things and not just the “Freebies”!!!
Sarah,I don’t know if you’ll check this – I even had to look a little for this post. I’m not sure about the policy. On moneysavingmom.com, others have said Wal-Mart will take competitor STORE coupons. I specifically tried it with a Target Luvs coupon and they wouldn’t take it. (I was told if it scanned, they would take it. Of course this didn’t scan as it was a peel-off Target coupon.) Maybe someone else can answer this or you can keep trying. I got frustrated last week when the cashier I got wouldn’t match Aldi’s price on milk (I even had the ad). Oh well, Wal-Mart lost my business for that item and Aldi’s got it. :) Sometimes that works out and admittedly sometimes it doesn’t.
Needanap2 – I also went to the Groceries 4 Less blogspot and saw the information you mentioned. However, I’m confused about the note that they won’t match in-store coupons (ex., Walgreens coupones) because I’ve taken several such coupons and had them taken without a problem. While standing in line at the Wal-Mart service desk one time, I even overheard a manager training a new employee telling them that they accept these types of coupons.
I have a recent experience with Wal-Mart’s price matching policy to share. I took several ads in a month or two back and had coupons to make for some really good deals on P&G.; When I got to the cashier, I told her that I had ads for price matching and she said that she would have to call a supervisor because she did not know how to ring this up. The supervisor came over and when I showed her the items advertised at CVS she said that they did not match anyone’s ad that said “with card”. I told her that this did not make sense because CVS (and others) do not charge for the cards, it’s just their marketing gimmick. She still refused to match these prices, so I told her I did not want these items. I meant to call the 800# right away and ask for clarification on their price match policy, but didn’t and a few weeks went by and I thought about it when I was web surfing and cruised over to the Wal-Mart website looking for something in writing that says that these types of ads were excluded. There was nothing in their policy that stated this, so I called the 800# and asked them. The call center lady said that a manager from the store would call me within 3 days. That didn’t happen, but at 9:00 am on the following Sunday morning, the manager from the store called to follow up with me about the incident. He said that they DO match these types of ads. The reason why is that the cards do not cost the customer anything and they are available to everyone (sound familiar?). He apologized and said that if I still had the ad that was refused, that he would honor it. He told me to mention that I had talked to him (Russell) if I had any problems. I also mentioned to him that it was a Supervisor who gave me the incorrect information and suggested that he educate all levels of staff on the policy so that more customers would not be wronged.I took in an ad the following week that was for CVS (the $7.99 Jumbo pack of Huggies) and I asked for it to be honored. The cashier refused because it was expired. I explained the entire situation to her and she still refused. She called over a manager. I was hoping to see the man that I had spoken with so that I wouldn’t have to explain again. Unfortunately, the Asst. Manager came over and she stated that I was trying to used an expired ad. I spoke up and told him the whole story and he called on his walkie talkie to verify my story with Russell, who was (naturally) out to lunch. He finally got a hold of the co-manager and was able to verify everything I said. He apologized, but the cashier did not. Unfortunately all this was while my 2 YO was pitching a fit! Talk about embarassing! The moral of the story is that Wal-Mart WILL match competitor’s advertised pricing. Exclusions are BOGO offers and %off. They WILL NOT match other Wal-Mart’s prices or Sam’s Club pricing. If you have problems, request a manager, and if he refuses, call corporate.Sorry for the long post!
As a reference, Groceries 4 Less (http://www.groceries4less.blogspot.com/) has this in her side bar Wal-Mart is very good about price matching. Here are a few things they will and won’t accept.*The picture, description, and weight have to match the ad.*They will substitute store brands. (ex. Hy-Top for Great Value).*They won’t match % off, buy one get one free, or in store coupons.(ex. Walgreens coupons)*They won’t double or triple coupons.I’ve found this to be true. At Meijer or Kroger, if their store brand of eggs are on sale then I can get Wal-Mart store brand (Great Value or Sam’s Choice) for the advertised price. It does help to bring in your ad but usually you can find a register that will have the ads hanging right there. Sometimes Wal-Mart will come out with an ad and it will have the policy printed at the bottom.A *lot* is left to cashier discretion. Sometimes they don’t bat an eye when I ask for an ad match, sometimes they want to look it up. Same with overage, some cashiers will give it and some won’t. Please don’t argue about overage – just be thankful if you get it. I think coupon whiners/complainers/throwing a fit just makes all coupon users look bad and might lead them to change their policies. Do stand up if they won’t accept internet coupons, that’s in their policy. OR quietly return the items and save your internet coupon for next time and a *different* cashier!! :)I would like to know more about Heather getting free items when the price doesn’t scan correctly, the best I’ve done is gotten the right price (*and* a lot of times spent 5 minutes waiting for someone to check the price!).
Also, I just found this on Wal-Mart’s FAQ page:Does Wal-Mart price match?Our goal is always to be the low price leader in every community where we operate. Our customers trust us to have every day low prices … there’s no need for “special sales.” Should a local competitor have a special sale price on a product through a circular advertisement, the customer may bring that printed ad into the store and we will honor the price for the same item.
Wal-Mart has been really good about taking my coupons and they even accepted my Toys R’ Us free Thomas coupon without blinking an eye. They are still not my favorite store, just because of their sheer dominance over other small stores, but they sure have been nice to me.
I thought of you when this happened to me last night at Walmart…. a cashier actually asked me where I was getting all my internet coupons. She’s a cashier I’ve had several times before and maybe she remembered I always have some (I’m sure taking an extra 5 minutes to checkout because of coupons makes for a memorable person!), but she ALWAYS gives me the overage!!Also, I’ve never had a cashier question any of my coupons at 3 different Walmarts here in Colorado Springs.
First of leanne you are right, Wal mart is a business and people do try to take advantage of them. As far as I know there is no policy on the number of coupons you may use, as long as the number of coupons does not exceed the number of items or the price. As for the price matching, they don’t accept buy 1 get 1 free or tobacco matching. They do accept store brand for store brand. If there is a BIG difference and you don’t have the add, the cashier does have the right to ask for a manager or CSM or if there is a question to the match, but usually there isn’t a problem, especially if you have the adds, it just makes it easier for everyone concerned. I personally am a cashier at Wal Mart and have many customers try to take advantage of me and have even had people say, “Well, if we price match here then thats all that much more money that Walmart loses” and I don’t think thats fair.
i’ve never had a problem using coupons of any kind at walmart… in fact, the other day, my cashier rang through my order too fast to deduct my coupons…she sent me to the service desk where they gave me cash for the coupons I was going to use….If you have ever worked in this industry (I have…at Target)…theft and dishonesty are a BIG problem…much more so than people realize. They are a business trying to make money…I think its fair for them to protect the right to do so…Just a thought…probably not a popular one…but I felt I had to say it…
I know you’re focusing on finding ways to make it easier on yourself when going to Wal-Mart, but I’d like to present a different perspective. What about, instead of jumping through hoops for them, boycotting Wal-Mart and telling them why? As a consumer you are voting with your dollars every time you make a purchase. When you allow Wal-Mart to give you the run around instead of sticking to their own posted policy you are telling them it’s OK to treat you like that. I like a good bargain as well as the next guy (or I wouldn’t spend so much time blogging about it) but I demand good customer service. When Kmart told me that don’t accept printable coupons I wrote them an email telling them why I wasn’t going to shop there anymore and I haven’t been back in a Kmart since. I don’t go to Wal-Mart much because they are so carpicious with their coupon acceptance. It has to be a heck of a deal to get me to step through their doors.Anyhow, it seems that they might get their act together if a bunch of people stopped shopping there and told them why. Rather than doing things like cutting our coupons at the register or wasting expensive color ink to convince them we aren’t scamming we could be making them work for us.
Thanks so much for the info! I will definitely use this!
Sarah – I have not seen anything in writing about the price matching, but I’ve seen it work at the store. If your cashier says they will not match the price, it is worth the time to ask for a manager, sometimes they may have a different answer. There is a new blog that talks a lot about price matching at Walmart, might be worth checking out and asking some questions: http://www.groceries4less.blogspot.com/
I haven’t heard anything “official” about coupon overage – but I’ll share my thoughts on it in a post I’m drafting right now.
Do you know if there is any guidance on their competitor matching? I couldn’t find anything on their website (other than “we match our competitor’s prices”), and I always seem to get a different story from cashiers on that as well. My latest cashier said they don’t honor competitor’s buy-one-get-one-free sales, so I’d really like to find that out since that could make a big difference in my grocery bill!
Is there a policy for overages? I have looked into this, but I couldn’t find anything. Some cashiers just scan the coupon and give the full amount off. I had one cashier say that she is suppose to reduce the amount of the coupon. If a product costs $0.89 and the coupon was for $1.00 off, if they reduce the amount does Wal-Mart still get $1.00 or do they get $0.89? If they get $1.00. then we should, right? Have you heard anything official on this?
It also seems that you are flagged if your total coupon savings is some mystery amount. I used several of the $3 postits and $5 durex and they flagged me. I had at least 6 of the postits and 6 of the durex. Would have given me overage to use on other stuff :(
I was told last night that the limit per order is 12 coupons without the permission of a CSM. They really love me when I come in with a huge stack!
Heather- thanks for this, they would not take an internet coupon from my mom a few months ago. This is a good thing to print up and put in your purse.