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Wal-Mart Coupon Policy
Wal-Mart 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
- Pharmacy (Advertising and Promotional) coupons
- Internet coupons
- Soft drink container caps
The following are guidelines and limits:
- Wal-Mart only accepts coupons for merchandise we sell and only when presented at the time of purchase.
- Coupons should have an expiration date and be presented within the valid dates. Wal-Mart will not accept expired coupons.
- Internet coupons should be legible and say “Manufacturer Coupon.” There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scannable bar code.
- Only one coupon per item is permitted.
- Use of 40 or more coupons per transaction will require approval by Customer Service Manager.
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Blehhh…but is it really worth it to shop at Walmart with coupons? I've had nothing but problems there.
Please don't be fooled by cashiers/managers if they tell you that they cannot accept IPs because they were not printed in colors. It happened to me twice last week, and I had to call the HQ to explain the situation.
Where does it say in the Walmart "Rules" that they will except competitors coupons?
Michelle
couponfreak(at)ymail(dot)com
Our Walmart has a sign on the window by the door stating it takes competitor coupons.
Michelle-
"store coupons" refer to competitor's store coupons.
I have clarified this with store management at several stores- and am in the process of confirming with corporate.
As long as it's "cents off" and not a percentage off coupon they should honor it.
Ok. Thank you for letting me know. One time I did ask an empl. which said "No" to accepting comp. coupons. I hate it when we are right! LOL
couponfreak(at)ymail(dot)com
Just thought I'd share that I just got an email from Walmart asking for clarification of the "store coupons" section and posted their response on my blog. You are welcome to link to it if you'd like.
Kathleen
Scrappin' Through Life With Kat
http://kathleendriggers.blogspot.com
[...] Policy [...]
I went to Walmart today and did a price match. They told me it was “policy” that they couldn’t accept coupons for the items they had price-matched. WHAT?!?!?! I politely explained that a coupon is paid by the manufacturer, and therefore, it should not matter whether or not I use a coupon with a price match. She hadn’t even attempted to scan my coupons!!! Finally, she went ahead and scanned them, and of course they worked. She acted like she was doing me some favor, though. Anyone else ever run into this??
I found the answer to my own question.. There is NOTHING in their price-match policy about not accepting coupons. Here’s the policy: (http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/7659.aspx)
Price matching
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.”
Our unbeatable promise:
Store managers make the final decision in always taking care of our customers, but we do have guidelines for matching our competition.
We do honor “Preferred Shopping Card” advertised prices. Must be like items, be advertised and require a competitor’s shopping card, for the discount to apply.
We do not honor advertisements that require a purchase in order to receive the advertised price or free product.
We do not honor “Buy One / Get One Free” advertisements.
We do not honor double or triple coupons or percent off advertisements.
We do not honor other retailers’ “Misprinted” advertised prices.
We do not honor Internet Pricing.
We do not honor competitor advertisements from outside of the store’s or Club’s local trade territory.
Yes, Wal-Mart does accept competitor coupons
I received the following email from Walmart Customer Service after five seperate email requests, the last request was also cc to local Talk Radio and TV News Anchors. Walmart provided the following response almost immediately.
On Fri, 5/21/10, Walmart Customer Service wrote:
From: Walmart Customer Service
Subject: Response from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Ref #000000025299287)
To: XXXXXXX@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010, 4:39 PM
Thank you for your message.
Dear Ira,
Thank you for your inquiry on competitor coupons. Yes, Wal-Mart does accept competitor coupons. Here are the guidelines:
Store coupons are usually found in the newspaper and should be generated by the actual competitor.
Store coupons should reflect a sale price that is available to all customers and should not be a discount from the store’s current retail. This means that we would essentially be honoring the coupon as an ad match rather than as a coupon. (see related article)
If the store coupon offers a specific price and that price is lower than our retail, we will normally honor the coupon.
If the coupon does not give a specific price but offers a dollar amount off (such as $1.00 off) without giving an original or new price, we will not accept these.
Also, please keep in mind that the final decision is at the discretion of each store manager. Thank you for taking the time to e-mail us and feel free to contact us anytime.
Sincerely,
Wal-Mart Customer Care
ira,
this is the most helpful clarification of walmart’s “store coupon” policy that i’ve found! thank you! but unfortunately, this policy does not support how most of the walmart deals here on kcl are suggested. does kcl have different information than you were given, i wonder? walmart can be sooo frustrating!
The Clayton NC walmart declined my internet coupons yesterday, even though they met the company guidelines. The store says it is no longer accepting any internet coupons and says that they are bogus. However, no signs were posted and this is not on the walmart.com site. So customers don’t find out until their merchandise has already been rung up and bagged. Very deceptive not to inform the public.
I used a competitor’s coupon at Walmart today and the cashier told me I had to take that coupon to the other store. I told him that Walmart takes competitor coupons and he said no that the Walmart doesn’t get reimbursed for them.
I told him not to worry, just take it off and I will check with the customer service desk. They told me there also that they can’t take a store coupon from another store. I told them I had lived and shopped at several Walmarts all over the country and they always did. They again told me no, I must be mistaken. One lady called another, who called another and finally we had three people telling me they can’t take a target or publix coupon. I shook my head and as I was leaving I said I know you are suppose to price match and what better proof of an offer was a coupon. A light bulb went off in one of their heads and she said, ohhh in that case we could change the price. I laughed.
When I got home I called Walmart Corporate. She couldn’t believe no one knew the policy. She was going to call the store and explain it to them. I just printed out the policy and will never do it again unless I have it on me and want the entertainment value.
I am suppose to get a call back but I am not counting on it.
Here is Boise, Id, we now have a walmart (or 2) that are advertising they take any and ALL competitor coupons. I just got a costco shopper coupon booklet from a friend, and called…..They WILL accept them, as long as they carry the same count item. there are some REALLY high value coupons in there! Cant wait to go! They also accept walgreens, ablys and FM/Kroger, safeway (and all other) register rewards and catalinas! So I have a couple of those I plan to use along with all of the costco coupons…hopefully get some free things! Crossing my fingers that the lady I talked to is still there when I get there so there isnt a problem.
I sure wish that I had had this policy with me a week and a half ago when I went to Walmart and was told by one of their customer service specialists that they would not accept my coupons “because they ‘could’ be counterfeit” and he just walked away. Not only did they not accept them but they turned around and KEPT them!!! Let me tell you, I was not impressed. I walked away from the rest of my items and went to another store! I am sure glad that I always print the 2nd copy of each coupon that I want. When I called after leaving the store. I was left on hold for 6 minutes not once but TWICE! I sure wish I would have had their corporate phone number. We have 3 Walmarts in my area, I will be going to a different location on a regular basis.
FREE or not, I don’t even think it is worth wasting my time nor the torment of even stepping in that store. Good luck to you all.
anyone have the phone # for Walmart customer service?