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Coupon Fraud Ring BUSTED!

Yesterday in AZ, a MAJOR coupon fraud ring was busted. They had over 25 million in fraudulent coupons that they were selling.

From the article:

“The Coupon Information Corporation is calling this the largest counterfeit coupon case the industry has ever seen.

These investigators discovered most of the fake coupons were being used in Arizona. Investigators also found that the coupons were being sold through the website, Savvyshoppersite.com.

“They are variations, reproductions of what were at one point legitimate coupons,” said Bud Miller with the Coupon Information Corporation.

So the coupons often worked and as a result manufacturers lost millions.

Police say the scope of the investigation and the economic impact are massive with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

“We’re talking about anywhere from $400 to $600 million in loss,” said Holmes. “This is to American companies who produced American products and hire American citizens.”

Miller said consumers should never pay money for coupons.

“If you’re a consumer out there and you purchased coupons from this website you certainly should not use them. You are subject to arrest,” said Miller.”

Never, Never, Never pay for coupons that you did not buy yourself from the Sunday paper. Even from insert companies who sell the whole inserts, you can NOT be certain where the inserts are coming from. There is ALWAYS the possibility that they were stolen from the newspapers that YOU were supposed to be getting.

I have seen SO MANY emails from readers who have ordered coupons from Ebay, only to get obvious copies of internet printed coupons and coupons to good to be true in value for brands.

Coupons are a form of cash. You will be prosecuted for using fraudulent coupons. If you need more information you can go to the Coupon Information Center.

What coupons can you use where? What is up with the store logos?

Jul 9 by Paul Ivanovsky 5 Comments

It can be confusing when you are printing and cutting out coupons to know where you can use them when you first start couponing. But quickly you will be able to see some differences and understand what they mean.

Note: I think all the coupons above can be found under Zip 77477

When you look at the above coupons before you print them, you can see a few differences. Mostly that 2 of them have a store logo. The top one has none. The middle coupon with the HEB logo is actually a manufacturer coupon that can be used at any store, although it has the HEB logo. The bottom coupon has a Target logo and also says “Redeem only at Target” and when you print it, it is a Target store coupon. Which can only be used at Target, and can still be combined with manufacturer coupon.

This is what they look like when printed. Well, except I already printed and used the 3M coupon, so I printed the Softsoap coupon (you can see below) has a Walmart logo before printed.

You are looking at the top of the coupon to see if it is a manufacturer coupon or a store coupon. A manufacturer coupon can be used at ANY store as long as there as no exclusions listed on the coupon. A store logo isn’t an exclusion. UNLESS IN THE STORES COUPON POLICY THEY SPECIFICALLY SAY THEY DONT TAKE THEM. Even with another stores logo the store can still redeem it and get reimbursed for it.

The Target coupons above both say on them “Redeem Only at Target” even if these coupons are manufacturer coupons, they could only be used at Target. Because the coupons have an exclusion saying they can only be used at Target.

Now, these coupons above all have the Walmart logo on them. The logo says “Available at Walmart” basically letting you know that Walmart carries the product. Plus, they are hoping you think to yourself when seeing the logo, “I am going to use this at Walmart.”

What you need to do is read the coupon:

Coupon 1: USA Kids – Manufacturer coupon, Walmart logo, but says “Redeem ONLY at Walmart” This coupon can only be used at Walmart.

Coupon 2: Softsoap – (you can see this coupon printed above) Manufacturer coupon, No Walmart logo when printed, no exclusions can use anywhere.

Coupon 3: Purex Crystals – Manufacturer coupon, Walmart logo, says “Redeemable at Walmart.” This coupon can still be used at any store that will accept it. They are telling you Walmart carries the product and suggesting you use it there.

Finally, this is pretty much the ONLY coupon type that you can’t use at Walmart or any other store but the store it says on it. That would be a specific STORE coupon.

Clear as mud right?! It really isn’t that hard. The best thing to do is just print the coupon and read it all the way through. I also try to tell you ahead of time if we know that it is Target coupon so you don’t print it if you wanted to use it somewhere else.

Any questions feel free to email or leave a comment and we will help you understand any questions you have!

How to find I Heart The Mart on Facebook!

Jul 3 by Paul Ivanovsky 1 Comment

Did you know that I Heart The Mart is also on Facebook? I am sure you did. But many of you are commenting that you can’t see me anymore. There have been so many changes on Facebook lately that you need to take a few steps to make sure that you don’t miss a great deal that I post. Facebook wants us as a “brand” to pay to have you guys see our posts.

I am just not going to do it, I feel like we are being held hostage by Facebook and held hostage from our readers seeing us and that is not right. I also post quick deals on Facebook that I don’t have time to get on the blog, also we have a lot of fun over there and FB shouldn’t keep you from seeing these deals!

One of the first things that you can do to make sure that you see me and your favorite sites is to comment and “like” posts, this helps get the page into your feed.

Then you just need to take a look at the following examples of 2 others things that you can do. They are easy and quick and just take a second.

First, make sure that you have “liked” I Heart The Mart, you can do that HERE.
Then go to where it says “liked” like you can see above and click the “Show in news feed” until you see the little check mark. This will make sure I am in your feed.

The more you comment and like posts on my blog and page, the more likely you are to see my posts. The higher your interaction, the more Facebook’s algorithm knows my Facebook page is something you want to see.

The other thing that you can do is add Facebook pages you want to view to an interests list. You can create brand pages into interest lists like on Twitter and Pinterest so you can view updates from those Facebook pages you want to see easily from your sidebar.

Just click that little button with the wheel looking thing and choose “add to interest list” then create a list like “coolest Facebook pages” and add me to it!

Hopefully this will help you find me again on Facebook, because I am really missing you all!

3 Inserts This Week 6/24/12? What did you get?

Jun 23 by Paul Ivanovsky 23 Comments

I reported the other day that we were getting 2 inserts this week, the Red Plum and the Smart Source. When I got mine today there were 2 Smart Sources and 1 Red Plum. Sometimes they split that Smart Source into 2, and sometimes areas just get an extra insert.

Can you leave a comment and let us know what you got and what area you are in?

BTW I am in Valencia CA. We got 3 here today.

There are some great coupons in the paper this week, so you might want to grab one if you were not sure yet. We are getting FREE + Overage Bayer Aspirin plus a bunch more great deals. Check back in a bit for the full coupon matchups!

Join Inbox Dollars and Make Money!

Jun 21 by Paul Ivanovsky Leave a Comment

My friend Breeanna just let me know that she has done pretty good with Inbox Dollars! I always like to hear positive reviews and companies that pay out on time.

Join Inbox Dollars free and get paid to take surverys, shop online, try name brand products and play games online.

Clearance Finds at Walmart + Traveling lunch ideas.

Jun 18 by Paul Ivanovsky 6 Comments

We stopped at a Walmart in west Texas today. The first thing that I noticed was that there were NO plastic bags at the check out. I have never seen this before.

BUT, I was in Midland Texas week and they are discussing banning plastic bags at the stores because of the litter. In some of these windy more desolate towns a plastic bag will just blow and blow all over and you end up with fields of them. So I am assuming that this is the case in this Walmart. Anyone know for sure?

For a small Walmart they had a REALLY good selection of clearance items. Dawn double pack of the BIG Hand Renewal dish soaps for $3.50.

6 pack of Kleenex for $3 {was $5.24} this was a great deal!

Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner double pack with a bonus toilet cleaner gel pack for $3.50 {was $4.98}.

Raid Flea spray is $5 {down from $7.66}, I did not realize this was so expensive!

Finally, in the parking lot we had lunch. When we travel we could spend $$ eating out for every meal and buying snacks at gas stations. Before we leave we pack a cooler full of meat, cheese, drinks, water, fruit, and condiments. In rubbermaid containers we pack bread, plates, plastic utensils, plus tons of snacks. For breakfast {unless provided in the hotel} lunch, dinner and snacks we eat at the tail gate or in a rest stop!

A 6 pack of soda {the bottles with the tops on them} is $3.48 at Walmart. These 20oz. sodas in a gas station are $1.39 – $1.59 each! I pay $.58 by getting them at Walmart before we leave and keeping them in the cooler. We stocked up on Goldfish from the mega event sale at Kroger last month for $1 each, price matched at Walmart. The chips I got at Randalls BOGO last week and the fruit was price matched at Walmart from Fiesta grocery store. I cut all the fruit up before we left and used leftover Glade Christmas containers to store it all in. I would rather have the kids snacking on fresh fruit then junk all day in the car. Somehow a large bag of M&M’s made it in… but that is ok! We are teaching the baby her colors and that is the only way to do it right?!

What do you eat when you travel?