Coupons - the science of understanding their expiration dates

xboxist

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2002
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My whole life I've had this stupid complex with certain coupons/offers/rebates where I seem to be the only one on the planet who doesn't easily understand what their expiration dates mean. I've never been set straight, and I'm hoping that someone here can do just that for me. Here's the current example:

"Offer expires 2/04"

Ok. To me, that equally could imply a couple of things.

a) It really means, "Good through February, and will not be accepted the second it becomes March 1st."

b) Or the opposite, "When it becomes February, this is no good. Redeem by January 31st."


Another example would be where they specify a certain date.

"Must be received by 4/14/04" - Does this mean they have to receive it *before* the 14th, or am I ok if they get in on the 14th?