This comes up often on the forum, so I thought I would answer it here for those who do not frequent the forums. Lately we are hearing a lot of people say that stores (especially Food Basics) saying they no longer accept websaver or save.ca coupons.
They do still accept them!
We have confirmed with the stores that there is no change in policy. However, with both websaver and save.ca offering more coupons for printing, stores were reminded of their printed coupon policy and many stores still do not accept printed coupons. The reminder stated that printed coupons were not to be accepted, even if they were from save.ca or websaver. It seems this is just a miscommunication among staff. Ask for a manager and you will likely find they say yes and accept it immediately.
Stores who accept printed? Loblaws (all brands – No Frills, Fortinos, Independent, Loblaws, Zehrs, RCSS, SuperStore etc), Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, FreshCo, Sobeys and more
My Sobeys told me they didn’t take printed coupons. Do they have a policy online or is each store different?
They only recently started accepting them, but same policy across all sobeys stores
Where would you get a copy of stores coupon policies? Has anyone collected them in a single post???
In my town, Timmins, ON, Food Basic will not accept any printed coupons.
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Walmart in St. Catharines just told us they were not taking anymore printed or internet coupons anymore. We were in to purchase items, 2 different items had their own original internet coupons. We were told that because someone had just used 20, one original and 19 suspected copies, to get 20 of the exact same expensive game for next to nothing. Apparently she made such a fuss and productiion about it. she got away with it.. I understand the need to coupon and some people go way to far. Because of this fools rush for a good deal or an adreneline rush, the rest of us now suffer. Whatever her reason for needing 20 of the same expensive game, she took advantage in a negative way and now the rest of us suffer.
That happened at mine some time ago foster, some people ruin it for others. Walmart has a guideline but they can refuse any coupon if they are worried about fraud
Thought I would answer the Sobeys question since I work for the company. Online coupons, that you print from home, must have the words “internet coupon”. We have had no real problems accepting the coupons at my store, some staff might not be quite sure about what the policy is but you can always ask for a manager if the cashier is unclear.
I love using the coupons I find and always take the time to explain the “rules” to staff and customers if anyone asks.
This is taken directly from Sobeys website regarding the use of coupons:
Q: What is Sobeys’ coupon policy?
A: Internet Coupons – Required:
Same guidelines as vendor coupons (see below)
Have a valid product name
Have a Canadian remittance/redemption address (e.g. P.O. Box 3000 Saint John, NB)…. CANT USE UNITED STATES COUPONS!!!
Have a valid expiry date
Limited to one coupon per item purchased
Will NOT be accepted for FREE product, but will be accepted for BOGO
Are acceptable in black & white and color
Must not be blurry
Must have a UPC
Must say “Internet Coupon”
Redemption value per coupon maximum value $25
Vendor Coupons
Verify the expiration date of the coupon.
Mailing address must be in Canada.
One of the following inscriptions should appear.
• To the Merchant
• To the Retailer
• To the Franchise
• To the Dealer
One coupon only can be used against each item purchased
Cashier to ensure the item was purchased, that the coupon pertains to
No reproductions/photocopies of vendor coupons
Coupon can’t be redeemed against a free item (eg: customer buys an item on BOGO, only one coupon may be used against the item paid for
Do not accept “Mailing Coupons” – ie: coupon is to be mailed in by the customer.
I had problem with websaver coupon (mail not print ) at metro and food basic
Print out coupons from Shoppers Drug Mart website for use in their stores only are accepted by them and any other store that has their own print out coupon promotions for use in their stores only are accepted by them.
In response to Dani, if you have a buy one get one free and the store already has a buy one get one free promotion it does make sense to get 4 items, which makes it buy 2 get 2 free and then use the coupon you have for the 2 items you’re paying for to get one for free, it then becomes buy 1 get 3 free,
I personally work at Food Basics and we do not accept any printed coupons (even from websaver, smartsource or save.ca), but we do accept the ones mailed to one’s residence. We have actually had to post this at every register within the store due to the frequent questions about them.
As of today, the manager in a your independent in Ottawa said NO printed coupons–too much fakery–yes, he said fakery–people know how to use computers to make them. Felt like I was talking to some uneducated idiot!
So, check your local store policy before getting to the cashier to make life a little easier on yourself!
Loblaws have a policy for all stores, it’s not up to managers – contact them
Easter, that is a good question. I have never had this happen to me, yet!
I am going to ask my manager as well as my front end specialist to see if they come up with the same answer.
I will post a response when I receive an answer from both.
All nofrills in my area (Markham) never accept printed coupons
My Safeway does not accept printed coupons from a source other than their Safeway direct emails. Anybody else try to use web coupons @ Safeway?
Seems odd that Food Basics will not accept a printed coupon, but FreshCo and Sobeys will. They are all owned by the same group, i.e. similar to NoFrills, Fortinos, Loblaws.
Freshco and sobeys are the same but not owned by the metro group
I had a problem recently at Walmart with coupons .This are mail coupons not printed.They take them at No Frills without any problem even Freshco .I dont know why Walmart is so picky about it
Just wanted to comment because I work at Food Basics and they do accept any coupon that is not printed off. You shouldnt have any problems when checking out unless you do have printed coupons. Just like to say double check the coupons you present to the cashier and read them over. Its a hassle trying to explain to customers that you have to buy a certain amount of something to get the deal that the coupon offers. Check expiry dates. And you should have no problems what so ever.
Every chain of stores I shop at takes both print and mail coupons. Most will not accept print coupons for free items. Stores include Metro, Sobeys, No Frills, Superstore, Food Basics, Fresh Co, Rexall, Shoppers, Walmart, Giant Tiger. The only store that wont accept any print coupons is Canadian Tire, and that is because individual stores in that chain decide for themselves what they will accept, they don’t have a chain wide coupon policy. All the other chains do, and if they won’t accept them, I would suggest getting in contact with the head office for those chains. I’ve had discussions, shall we say, with cashiers about what they think they cannot accept, and have embarrassed managers with what I know and what they should know about their own stores coupon policies. I live in London, Ontario.