UPDATE: CHECK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE COUPON POLICY UPDATE.
Yes, all the rumors you have heard are true. Rite Aid has changed their coupon policy. There are two major changes:
- Only 4 Like Coupons per person.
- No BOGO Free with BOGO Free sales.
Working on getting a copy of the full policy.
More to come…..
Your thoughts on this? Good , Bad or Indifferent?
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Gabriella says
Does anyone know if its 4 per person? Or if you can have multiple transactions?
Shannon says
Gabriella,
My store is only permitting 4 per person, regardless of transactions.
Bethany says
Rite Aid was the only store I was really good at :( The last 2 weeks there has only been 1 free thing! Oh well…I don’t really have time to keep couponing and driving to Kingdom Come only to find the shelf is empty anyways. I will prob just buy 1 paper and use the coupons on items I buy already. Doesn’t look like Extreme Couponing will be possible very much longer.
Lora says
I like the 4 like coupons..too many times I have went to 3 different RA in my area only to find the shelves cleared, so maybe this will help..although I don’t know if they’ll keep track by visits (in which case won’t change much because you could walk out & back in) or by plus card. I have a feeling that other stores will follow suit b/c of “the show”.
Lora says
I like the 4 like coupons..too many times I have went to 3 different RA in my area only to find the shelves cleared, so maybe this will help..although I don’t know if they’ll keep track by visits (in which case won’t change much because you could walk out & back in) or by plus card. I have a feeling that other stores will follow suit b/c of the Extreme Couponing Show.
Whitney says
I’m happy with the 4 coupon limit. Indifferent about the BOGO change. Yeah, it’s great to get two items for free with just one coupon, but there are a couple coupon vultures at my Rite Aid that clear out these deals within 5 minutes of the store opening, so I rarely benefit anyway. Same with the 4 coupon limit. I also can’t think of a time I needed to use more than 4 coupons. Seems reasonable to me if helps spreads the deals around a little more.
Laura says
Yes, the Extreme Couponing show IS going to ruin it because more and more people are going to take advantage and then the stores will have no choice but to limit coupon usage. Those extreme couponers are often Hoarders – people who buy so much product they can’t possibly use it all. That’s too bad for the rest of us who really want to keep our budgets manageable and do not use shopping as a way to deal with problems.
Lisa says
I may be alone, but I actually like the revised policy. It’s a shame about the B1G1 thing — but I have to say, this policy REALLY lays it out for cashiers that are otherwise unsure about what/how many coupons may be accepted.
Also – what about the amazing news that you can now use a 49 & a 48 & a MC together again?????!!!!
chrissy says
THANKS alot TLC. That show is not even realistic, those people take weeks to set up a once in a life time shopping trip like that just to make it look good on tv. And gives us REAL couponers a bad name, and look what happens!!
Dizzy Mommy says
I don’t like the BOGO, however as its been said its not like we get that every single week or anything. As for the 4 like coupons I saw that one coming, the only problem is not is getting the cashiers/shift managers to understand its 4 like, not 4 total. I see huge problems coming with that.
I talked to my friend who is a store manager and Sara was telling me that many changes happend because of the TLC show. She said people watched the show, wanted to do it, and had no clue what they were doing. She also pointed out to me in her neighborhood the Detroit New and Freepress had police out with 2 of the paperwomen, because people keep stealing papers and coupons. Ive also noticed this happening when I buy my papers, more of them seem to have the coupons missing. Last week Speedway had the papers behind the counter because of it. Its hard because TLC shows these women getting all these inserts from places that depending on where you live is illegal or not avalible.
Corrina H says
I’m a little bummed about the BOGO, but like previously mentioned, those sales were rare. So it doesn’t affect me a whole lot.
As for the 4 LIKE coupons limit, I rarely use more than 4 like coupons anyways. I only get 4 newspapers because I hardly use more than 4. No skin of my nose, lol =)
I’m not entirely sure the policy change is due to the show. P&G changed their coupon restrictions to only 4 LIKE coupons several months ago (before the show ever aired), so maybe Rite Aid changed their policy to match P&G. It keeps themselves from getting into trouble if cashiers don’t pay attention and accept more than 4. And wasn’t there rumor going around a couple months ago about P&G calling a RA distributor and telling them they can’t accept a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale? Maybe that’s the reason for that change in the RA coupon policy too. Maybe we should be blaming P&G…lol
Andrea Jerome says
The no BOGO with BOGO kinda stinks, but doesn’t happen enough to bother me…I’m more comcerned with the ability to use 2 coupons for BOGO items as we can now. Also, like most I am not worried about the limit 4 as long as they make their deals doable without more than 4 like items. A few weeks ago there was a BOGO oral care sale with a $5 up on $10. I had to buy 6 items to hit the $10, so that deal would have been a bust with these rules. And of course, there is the mass confusion that always comes with a policy change…ugh!
Ang says
Either I’m missing something or the folks at Rite Aid don’t have a clue about sales. This seems elementary: Supply & Demand. We have the demand, where’s the ‘supply’??? It’s not like the items that go on sale are randomly selected. They know what’s going to sell quickly beforehand. (it’s statistics, not rocket science!) Why not stock appropriately? After they are reimbursed by the manufacturers, they still profit from the BOGO’s, in fact, they make the same regardless of whether or not a coupon is used. (though more overall sales if BOGO coupons were also allowed) Hopefully they’ll notice their sales voluming dropping shortly and change their stocking policy instead of their coupon policy. I’d love to see how their stockholders feel about this. Sell, Sell, Sell!!!
Ang says
I don’t see how these limitations help Rite Aid. Their markup was enough to still profit on the BOGO items after they were reimbursed by the manufacturers. I would think they would be losing business, especially if it’s not worth shopping there at all, like it sounds to be for at least some of us. I understand that the limit of 4 like coupons allows for many to have a chance to get sale items that normally sell out immediately. When they realize that their sales volume has decreased, maybe instead of limiting their sales from couponers, perhaps they’ll finally increase their stock of sale items. It’s not like they don’t know ahead of time what is going to go the fastest. It’s statistics, not rocket science! Basic supply and demand. We have the demand… where’s the ‘supply’??
Jen says
Yeah, I like the idea of it too. Ditto on everyone who says there’s nothing there by the time they get there an hour after the store opens. I’m not understanding why all the stores don’t realize that when they have a hot promo, regardless of coupons, they’re going to sell out, and plan on having enough stock to accommodate the demand they KNOW they’ll have. Kind of getting old for me, to the point of not bothering. Which is sad for them, because the whole point of the sale is to get me in the store, and now I’m not even bothering to go! Ah well… :)
Kristen says
Oh well. I like the limit of coupons… I have a shelf clearer that I’m always competing with so I can get my TWO items I want. As for the BOGO, I’ll just take the ad to Walmart and have them price match, then use the BOGO coupon, which they take. No loss for me… just another stop to add. All rite aid is doing is driving business away.
PG says
The problem with that is that Walmart’s policy says they’ll only PM when the price is listed in the ad. So…
XYZ shampoo BOGO can’t be price-matched
but
Buy 1 XYZ shampoo at $4.39 and get one free can be price-matched.
Walgreens does that sometimes in their ads but RA doesn’t.
Carolyn says
All I can say is—Thanks TLC!!! NOT!!!!
C.
Tanesha says
They are only driving their business more and more to Wal-Mart, CVS, Wags, ETC.! Or people will just quit shopping there all together. I absolutely hate the part you can’t use B1G1F coupon on B1G1F Sales. Well I think we should all call corporate and gripe and complain about this one. I’ve had enough problems with Rite Aid.
They have gotten so strict they only allow one B1G1F deal per customer and one sale item per customer. You bet I typed up a letter and sent it to corporate. I couldn’t even purchase enough items for the B1G1F Finish to get my $2.00 +Up. You had to purchase (4) Finish B1G1F @ $4.79 and receive a $2.00 +Up. I finally said look I can get 4 because the ad says I have to purchase $6.00 in Finish to get my +Up. I was finally allowed to purchase but still so tired of arguing with the cashier and telling them I’m not doing noting illegal and I have the right to purchase what the ad says.
I just hope they realize this is going to drive customers elsewhere. Sorry Rite Aid your not listening to your valued customers too bad if you loose business!!!! There is also ways to work around this I’m sure. It all comes down to who you are and who you know in this life and the heck with the rest. If your best friends works at Rite Aid I’m sure they’ll get to use the B1G1F coupons with B1G1F sales you just wait and see.
Too bad Rite Aid is just plain out dumb for adding these new policies. We’ll see how this all works out.
Nick says
Unfortunate, but really it was to be expected when the floodgates opened and a whole gaggle of inconsiderate and voracious people started stocking up on everything all the time. Coupon fraud likely skyrocketed, manufacturers and distributors were pressing retailers, staff are occasionally under trained for dealing with irate jerks. See, that wouldn’t be so much an issue for managers and staff if those not finding products would be polite and professional about it. Too many cashiers share stories of mean-spirited and malicious bums throwing tantrums. Really, this should all settle out in a few months, and the market will return to some normalness . . . with the new policies probably hear to stay.
Ruth Jenkins says
I have a customer who tells me that he goes around on Sunday Morning getting the inserts out of people’s papers since he doesn’t think they will use them. He also go around to houses that are on the market for sale and get their newspapers. Wouldn’t be easier to just buy papers instead of going around stealing newspapers? The cost of gas now is so high that he would do better buying papers.
Geriann says
Not happy with the B1G1 policy- dislike.
Susan says
I am very happy with the limit of 4. Now maybe there will be stock on the shelves for all of us. I am sorry to see the B1G1 policy change. No more free B1G1s. At least we were able to take advantage of it before it stopped. They lose out though since we can shop somewhere else with our B1G1s.
Denise says
Both changes are lame: First, the BOGO policy is stupid because it’s not like they don’t get paid, we pay the tax and the mfc pays the coupon value. If they wanted to change things they should have just stopped offering BOGO in their own sales. Why irritate coupon users, especially since the mfc doesn’t care and we bring them business. I’ll just go elsewhere, no biggie.
Lastly, the 4 limit of like coupons is per transaction. This will not help keep stock. Why? Because those that want multiple items for stockpiles, etc will just get back in line. They can maneuver all they want. We’ll find ways around this. We always do…
Lame attempts by rite aid to get tough. If anything, they are just gonna lose business. I don’t feel deterred one bit.
Karen says
Well, honestly, it’s rare that I ever have four or more of the same coupon….if I print online I can print 2 at home and 2 at work, but paper coupons I usually only have 2 of anyhow. And what is the big deal….because I am sure they will let us do multiple transactions. It’s not four per card….just four transaction, right?
As for the B1G1 with a B1G1 sale, honestly, I don’t like it myself since it was so new to me that that meant 2 free and I was thrilled to learn that. BUT, think about that too…how many times does it happen we have a B1G1 and a B1G1 free sale comes up….only a few times a year. So I guess I don’t like it, but it’s not that serious. It’s the stores that don’t let me use 2 coupons on a B1G1 sale that I don’t like.
Stephan says
I don’t mind the new policy. We had a great time getting stuff for free with the BOGO and the BOGO mfc. But as someone said earlier, we can’t expect to get merchandise for free!
Coupons are supposed to allow us to get stuff CHEAPER, not completely free, so I can live with that change. Furthermore, there weren’t too many good bogo/bogo mfc deals in my opinion.
I really appreciate the limit of 4 like coupons. Knowing people, they will still drive from RA to RA and use them, or come back later that day. So in fact it is not a real limit, just makes it harder for people to immediately clear shelves.
Most cashiers probably don’t even care if you make 2 transactions and use 8 coupons then…
Tess says
Aww I loved the BOGO with BOGO coupons. But then again it only happened twice that I ever had a BOGO coupon with a BOGO deal.
Im indifferent about the 4 like, I rarely use 4 or more like coupons anyway. Maybe it’ll help our store bc a certain couple of rude women always seem to wipe out the RA the first morning of any sale – so the rest of us are out of luck.
Melissa S says
I am SO relieved that this is now official. I will still shop Rite Aid as long as they keep the good deals coming and apparently they are doing pretty well because I have seen some new stores going up. I actually have thought of applying to work there because I know the policy better then most of the associates.
Ro in SD says
I dislike the no free item on BOGO sales, but I like the no more than 4 like coupons. Generally I usually don’t use more than 2 like coupons and I think it is to discourage coupon users who hoard stuff.
I used to enjoy the initial couponing shows but now see too much of an emphasis on the hoarders and they make it bad for the rest of us who are just trying to buy just enough for our family and not more than that.
I have been less and less impressed with RA’s offerings this year and have complained to them about the difficulties with the various promotions they’ve run this year.
I find myself shopping more at WAG and CVS than RA anymore. They’ll get even less of my business now.
Tracy says
I am not surprised, and I am not that shook up about the new changes – I do think they need to make a coupon policy available ASAP though because I think there will be confusion between 4 “like” coupons and 4 “total” coupons. It might be kind of nice to get there and still have items on the shelves! As far as the B1g1 q’s – I am new to this coupon thing so I haven’t even figured out how to use them yet anyway! Someone had asked if the new policy may be in result of the new tv show Extreme Couponing – I would have to believe that it did have a major impact on this. People have been clipping coupons since forever now – and they are just starting to limit purchases? Ya – there is a connection there for sure.
Oanh says
good thing I bought stuff on Monday and used 6 coupons. I don’t like this because it would be a hassle to do multiple transaction since I usually use RA coupons and manufacturers coupon per item.
sarah says
RiteAid is by far my fav and I dont mind these changes, is it really that bad? When I say favorite i mean i have an addiction to RA!! lol
Elizabeth says
Dislike very much the BOGO change, but indifferent to the 4 like coupons per person. I rarely ever have 4 of the same coupon.
Tammy says
I can deal with the only 4 like coupons, and honestly the BOGO stinks, but I can deal with it also.
I must say, I honestly think that the extreme couponing show has not been good for us. And it really frustrates me when I watch that show and they are clearing the shelves of items like mustard. 60 some mustards, really??? You do know they go on sale at those prices more than once a year!
Debby says
I totally agree about the show. It gives people the wrong idea about couponers. And I don’t want the stores to see it and all start changing their policies. For someone that does want to buy 3 or 4 of something at a good deal, not 30 or 40, it would totally stink to lose these deals.
As for Rite Aid’s changes, I am just wondering if it will really change to stock situation. It will help with the BOGO deals. But even the Caress bodywash that was on sale this week was out when I went yesterday…. And I refuse to rush to RA on a Sunday morning unless they were giving away free Pampers (or the Edys ice cream a few months ago, he he).
Chloe says
I feel the same way about the show. :(
mervette says
The show does give the wrong impression IN A WAY, but the show alone didn’t cause it. People who are clearing shelves, selling products on ebay and at garage sales, and ordering massive amounts of products from grocery stores (yes, even the stores are tired of it even though they are making money) are part of the problem in a bigger way than they’d like to admit. Manufacturers are tired of it. Things are going to change even more and it will get tighter and tighter, you watch. And as much as I don’t want to say it, bloggers and class teachers arent’ helping either – even if they aren’t promoting shelf clearing and unethical use of coupons, people have learned the system and are working the system. The system workers just have to read the deals posted on the blogs and out they go to get it all and in massive amounts. I think the show SUCKS, but I think there are a lot of factors to this mess. It’s really sad that people who have to shop for groceries and household items this way, and have for years, are going to lose big time because of it.
Rhonda says
I have seen couponers all over Rite Aid the past couple of weeks. It’s the show, I don’t watch it, but I do know people now think, if you buy a newspaper you can go to the store and get $1,000.00 worth of loot for $10.00!
This new policey isn’t going to help Rite Aid’s Stock, because they don’t stock anything. It’s hard enough to go there now and even find 4 like items on the shelf.
I know some Rite Aids seem to be well Stocked from what I read online however, the 5 in my area (dif. towns) never are ,4 seems to be the max number of like items on the shelf. I shop first thing in the A.M at the start of a sale and still end up not getting what is advertised because they don’t even have it.
You also got to get up bright and early if you want a News Paper around here now. I’ve missed 3 papers in the past month because of being sold out.
coralie says
call the newspaper to complain if papers are sold out. they should be increasing what they give a store if a store repeatedly sells out.
Melissa says
I hate that damn show…it’s the reason that my Farm Fresh has suddenly become so anti-coupon and the reason why my paper has been stolen EVERY WEEK since Easter. I know it, too, since I chased off the bloody paper thief this week!
JE says
I’m really upset about the show, too. It’s ruining everything. I just got started couponing early this year (before the show started) and was just starting to have fun….and now I feel like the Extreme Couponing show is going to put an end to everyone getting fantastic moneymaking deals :( Hopefully once the season ends the hype will die down and things will get back to normal.
The way it sounds, they are limiting us to 4 like coupons per person. Does that mean that once you’ve used the same coupon 4 times, you won’t be able to use the same coupons in another transaction? The way it’s written makes it seem like it’s 4 like coupons TOTAL.
laurie says
I’m so happy for these changes! I hate driving 20 minutes each way only to find empty shelves. Yes, it may have been an accumulation of people but I know the cashiers have told me in the past certain people are their first thing to clear things out. As for the BOGO, well, to be honest, it makes sense. Couponing really wasn’t meant to be about getting stuff for free, it was however about getting stuff at such great deals as a way for a company to market a product and see if people come back as paying customers. There are still plenty of ways to get great deals!!!
jacquelyn says
i like it simply because there will be items on the shelf. i think it’s ridiculous for anyone to buy 10 of the same item…….. so i am totally okay with it! i think more of us will get in on more sales this way.
Amy says
Rite Aid is one of my favorite stores! Especially since I get 20% off all purchases with my Wellness card..but The cashiers kept telling me things were gona change :-(
Ellen says
As long as we have a clear policy I don’t see the big deal. Maybe then there will be stock on the shelves to buy. Have run into that problem alot, go on a Tuesday and the shelves be bare already.
Colleen says
I go on Sundays to my store and the shelves are already bare!
Becky says
bummer on the BOGO ones, but the limit of four like does not bother me that much though as I usually don’t buy four of something at one time.
Hazel-Ann says
The 4 like coupons don’t bother me, but I really dislike the no BOGO q on a BOGO sale.
jeremy says
CVS! CVS! CVS!
lol
Shannon says
Im not worried, I still can rock deals with 4 like coupons. My CVS never allowed bogo with bogo.
Jen T says
I just hope that the managers and corporate are very clear that it’s 4 LIKE coupons. I can see how this is easily misinterpreted to “you can’t use more than 4 coupons in a transaction”.
Mel says
This happened to me this morning. They only let me use four total coupons even though I only had two that were alike out of the six coupons I wanted. I called corporate to verify it was four like not four total and they confirmed. I hope they resend a memo to stores to emphasize this. I could see where they can get confused.
kd says
Is this a result of that extreme couponing show?
Misti says
I am sure it is! Ever since that show started I swear there have been less and less good matchups. Thanks a lot greedy jerks!
kat says
i’m not surprised with this change but this is just another reason i choose not to deal with rite-aid. i know for some this is their closest drug store and this will make it even more of a working family to get decent deals.
john says
Start hitting up their facebook page and tell them you dislike their new policy. Also tell them that they should release the policy so we know what it is.
Bonnie says
I posted a question about this one their fb page and it didn’t show up
PG says
Bonnie,
Go to the top of their FB page and click on “Most Recent”. They put all non-RA sponsored comments after their own comments.
Emily says
Thats a great idea!
Jenn says
I’m alright with the 4 like coupons bit, but no B1G1 free coupons with B1G1 sales? That stinks!
Lydia says
I agree with you Jenn. I really don’t get why they care if we use a B1G1 coupon with a B1G1 sale. They get reimbursed right?!
Mel says
Thank you! I’m actually happy with the limit. Maybe there will be some stock now. I got limited to four total coupons this morning but I think they just didn’t understand it was four like. I called corporate to check because I wanted to be able to get a few things to donate to Joplin but was needing to use more than four coupons, only 2 like though.
Ruth says
The stock levels won’t change. Rite Aid carries very little stock. If one or two couponers get there early on the day of the sale, the items will be gone. Only Supermarkets carry the level of inventory that almost guarantees stock on sale items.
Thanks Extreme Couponing for making our lives a lot harder. I haven’t gone to Rite Aid in a couple of weeks. I’m a personal shopper and the limits make a waste of time for me to shop there.
Misti says
In a way I agree because I have almost never used more than 4 of the same coupon (except the time my paper had SIX flyers!) so I can be happy that the greedy hogs who get things like 100 candy bars and buy up all the products can no longer do it (well with out multiple transactions, which I am sure that type will do)
mervette says
I agree with you Misti… GREED. In the past year I’ve seen so much change in couponing. It’s all about FREE and STOCKPILE. Ugh!! There are people who get store cards for their kids and just line up with multiple transactions to buy everything they can when there are limits on the products.
Sibyl Ballard says
Its not so bad. Only the greedy couponers will be hurt but they ruin it for everyone else. .
kimberly kramer says
just found this out the hard way !! :(
Michelle says
To be honest I don’t like the changes BUT it could be alot worse! 4 like coupons isn’t really that bad. It sure is alot better than only 2 like coupons! I rarely use more than 4 of the same coupon at once anyway so it won’t really affect me that much. And it’s not that often that they have a BOGO sale that pairs up with a BOGO coupon.
miranda says
Oh this is a bummer… but I guess we should have seen a change coming eventually… do you know if Walgreens and CVS are going to start implementing changes as well?
anita says
when does this take place
Bonnie says
Do you know if you can still use two BOGO coupons and get two free?
Shannon says
No BOGO Free with BOGO Free sales.
Bonnie says
I have some coupons….better run to Walgreens after work and use them now before it all changes! This is a bummer!
Al says
No, this is for Rite Aid…. so your Wags coupons should still be fine.
tami r. says
That seems so rediculous as they get reimbursed for this anyway. What the heck?
mervette says
Manufacturers are starting to get annoyed – the reason they put out coupons is for people to buy and try their products, not for someone to go wipe out shelves and only buy the product when it’s free. Things will be changing majorly! I work at a major grocery chain and was talking to the manager. “Extreme couponers” may be proud of themselves, but they are blowing it for everybody. They think they are beating the system but what they are doing is ruining couponing. Thanks hoarders, greed ruins it for everone.
Paige Harshbarger says
Dislike!!! : (