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UH OH !!!!! Staples MAYBE changing Coupon Policy effective 1/1/03 !!!!!

Z

zemel

Senior member
Mods... I am posting this here bec it refers to "hot deals"; although in fact may even be "too hot"...

I saw a post on another forum....it was not chubby or the tech...

Anyway....here is the post....read it and weep !!!

I did not make this up, nor did I post the following on the other forum.

So, please, no flames needed....I cannot verify it...and I certainly won't call Staples to verify it.


"I talked to a staples rep today, who said as of the new year staples will no longer accept 5 digit codes, all coupons will be 16 numbers long. They said it was because of all the problems. So how will we get good deals then??? The CSR said that the new coupons are specific for the customer number. This stinks!!!!"

Oh well.........

YMMV

🙁

:Q

:frown:

rolleye.gif
 
how do we deal with it?

sign up at staples.com for the weekly online ads. sign up for rewards next time you buy something.

I usually get an email with coupons when ever new coupons are released.
 
Mods... I am posting this here bec it refers to "hot deals"; although in fact may even be "too hot"...
Click to expand...

Who cares...

Darn, the end of the biggest abuse of the coupon system. Nothing like using other people's codes for gain.
This lets them track use better, which is part of the benefits for them.
 
hmmmmmmm I wonder why they have been trying to give out 16 digit coupons and less of 5 digit coupons...old news
 
They would be killing their own business if they change the rules. I would rather go to Officemax, or OfficeDepot than go to STAPLES by then.
 
I've been getting most of the new coupons in the mail or email. The only one I haven't gotten is the 50 off 250. You just need to sign up for the emails.

BTW - Staples is also stopping price matching to online stores. Now that sucks. You better get in before the new year.
 
it was enough abusing of the system.

*head down couple threads down with topic of '$20 off $20 coupon available.'

*sigh*, altho it's dead, it just shows how ppl thinks it's actually ok to abuse the sytem'.. i will say it, i did it too, but maybe it was too many people and gettin bigger and bigger now..
😛
 
although I don't blame them if they do, infact, put the new policy... but perhaps they should first try to make sure the cashiers at the local B&M stores are capable of inputting 16 digit of codes... 5 is already hard enough as it is 😀
 
On some level, I can understand the argument about coupon abuse. But what's the whole purpose of the coupons to begin with? To allow some guy in Nebraska instead of everyone else to buy at a reduced price? Does that make sense? And all he did was sign up for ads? So what?

They want to push product. How is one guy buying at a coupon price going to help them? See my point? Helps them track better? How so? As soon as anyone uses a coupon code, they have all the information they need. And look what it saved them on printing costs. Send out a small sample, absolutely know that it will leak to the internet, and save thousands of bucks on mass mailings. Tough one...

So now, limiting people to personal codes is going to help their bottom line? It's going to spur interest in the masses to buy?
Wow...that's an interesting theory. If people have the codes available, they will certainly checking the ads themselves, if that's what Staples wants. In other words, they already have it.
 
Originally posted by: w3b
although I don't blame them if they do, infact, put the new policy... but perhaps they should first try to make sure the cashiers at the local B&M stores are capable of inputting 16 digit of codes... 5 is already hard enough as it is 😀
Click to expand...
Actually, I've never had any problems with the longer codes at my local B&M Staples. The cashier was easily able to enter the 16-digit code, then the amount of the coupon and I was on my way. While the new policy might create some obstacles, it's still better than them eliminating their coupon policy completely.
 
Originally posted by: carmann
I'll have to try and verify this info when I have lunch with my local Staples Mgr on Friday 😛
Click to expand...

ROTL!

You can still use the coupons multiple times in B&M stores. When they start tracking coupons in the stores, that's when my purchases will decrease.
 
I find it highly unlikely that Staples will issue a 16 digit unique identifier for EVERY coupon that is mailed out, printed in a flyer, emailed to customers, etc...
The CSR you spoke to, (as is the case with most Retail CSR's) was probably talking out of his/her @ss. Most likely they don't have a clue....


I doubt that staples sees our use of coupons a huge problem, I am willing to bet that coupon usage figures in the single digits of their total sales. If anything the 16 digit codes are to better help staples track their marketing and see where things work and where they don't, and to develop a better profile of their customers buying habits.
 
Who cares - this is the same story we hear each and every year. Even if they go to a 16-digit code, how many times have you seen those used over and over. Even when they changed their pricematch policy (no using coupons on pricematch) - i've been able to get some very nice CSR's since then who will still take my coupons on a pricematch deal. Hell, i've even had one's that will help find the cheap bag of 27 cent rubber bands to get my order over the minimum.
 
Can we please quit with the "I heard on another forum that..." posts?

This is hardly official policy. Customer service reps are always the last people to know anything. If you can direct us to some staples press release, that's one thing. But a guy who talked to a guy who heard from another guy isn't exactly reliable.
 
Originally posted by: Slikkster
On some level, I can understand the argument about coupon abuse. But what's the whole purpose of the coupons to begin with? To allow some guy in Nebraska instead of everyone else to buy at a reduced price? Does that make sense? And all he did was sign up for ads? So what?

They want to push product. How is one guy buying at a coupon price going to help them? See my point? Helps them track better? How so? As soon as anyone uses a coupon code, they have all the information they need. And look what it saved them on printing costs. Send out a small sample, absolutely know that it will leak to the internet, and save thousands of bucks on mass mailings. Tough one...

So now, limiting people to personal codes is going to help their bottom line? It's going to spur interest in the masses to buy?
Wow...that's an interesting theory. If people have the codes available, they will certainly checking the ads themselves, if that's what Staples wants. In other words, they already have it.
Click to expand...

No, the purpose of a coupon is to get you to enter the store. They figure that if you actually enter the store you are likely to buy something, hopefully something that's not on sale. Keep in mind that some of these coupons actually LOSE them money. They figure to get it back by impulse buys. I'm willing to bet though that most people who read this forums when they use a hot deal or coupon go to that store SPECIFICALLY for that item or whatever and don't impulse buy that much. So in the mind of Staples/OfficeMax/etc the ideal situation would be to prevent people like that from using the coupons and only allowing the average joe who's more likely to impulse buy to use the coupons. However to restrict to certain people wouldn't be "fair," so they modify the rules to try and filter out people whoose behavior fit a pattern.

They notice a lot of people doing deals online copy the coupons, so they figure, why not have individual codes that can't be reused. Or maybe just longer codes. Amazon started doing one time use codes for a lot of stuff like the $5 off $35 coupons.

Sure they can save on mass mailings, and lose the money from the coupons.

Prime example: The 10 graphics cards per store at BB that were the special deal 4200 128meg version graphics cards. You think 10 people were the whole demand? No, I bet they coulda sold 100+ cards each store at that price. But it sure caused people to line up and visit the store. Which was the WHOLE idea. 10 cards at a loss to them was nothing, the amount they gained from people going to the store in the morning was almost certainly far more than they lost from selling the 10 or so cards on hand.
 
Originally posted by: Ziptar
I find it highly unlikely that Staples will issue a 16 digit unique identifier for EVERY coupon that is mailed out, printed in a flyer, emailed to customers, etc...
The CSR you spoke to, (as is the case with most Retail CSR's) was probably talking out of his/her @ss. Most likely they don't have a clue....


I doubt that staples sees our use of coupons a huge problem, I am willing to bet that coupon usage figures in the single digits of their total sales. If anything the 16 digit codes are to better help staples track their marketing and see where things work and where they don't, and to develop a better profile of their customers buying habits.
Click to expand...

Take a look at the next 16 digit coupon code you get in the mail: it consists of the following:

XXXXX(YOUR BUSINESS REWARD CARD NUMBER)X

First 5 digits is kind of a regular 5 digit coupon code followed by your 10 digit B.R. number followed by another number, which I have no idea what it signifies.

Do you think that moron who posted the $10 off $10 coupon will ever get another coupon or anything from Staples again? Nope. He's $hitlisted. He can try signing up for another BR card but I'm sure his address is $hitlisted as well. You're right in the fact it's a way to keep track of marketing and such, but each coupon number is unique.
 
[begin Staples rant]

I SWEAR TO GOD AND EVERYTHING HOLY, ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT STAPLES WILL BE OVER AND DONE WITH BY THE TIME ONE OPENS IN CHARLOTTE! Three friggin' stores under construction and NOT ONE near completion!!! They've been at it for months now!!! And EVERYONE KNOWS that the best deals are B&M ONLY!!!

[/end Staples rant]
 
Originally posted by: NetworkDad
Who cares - this is the same story we hear each and every year. Even if they go to a 16-digit code, how many times have you seen those used over and over. Even when they changed their pricematch policy (no using coupons on pricematch) - i've been able to get some very nice CSR's since then who will still take my coupons on a pricematch deal. Hell, i've even had one's that will help find the cheap bag of 27 cent rubber bands to get my order over the minimum.
Click to expand...

True and I'll believe it when I see it. Besides with all the coupon abuse, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

I was never lucky enough to use any of those $10 off $10 coupons because Staples.com black listed me looong ago 🙁
 
Originally posted by: SFang
They would be killing their own business if they change the rules. I would rather go to Officemax, or OfficeDepot than go to STAPLES by then.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Bad move on their part.
 
No official word on any coupon changes. There are no modifications in the POS system at the BM level that will differentiate between coupon codes. In fact, even the amount of the coupon has to be manually entered. The 5 digit coupon codes are used for procedural issues as well, (usually in the form of generic coupon codes). Therefore, while there may be a policy in effect not to issue 5 digit coupon codes as promotions, the 5 digit coupon system will still remain part of the POS system.
 
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