^^^ I could see how this could happen in the form of rebates/reward systems (for example, they'd racked up enough points on a reward program to earn cash back.) Double coupons are very popular but it's getting harder to find stores that do this because of these very kinds of things happening. I could see doing this once in a while but if it's on a regular basis...
I'm pretty sure that for me, personally, my conscience would eventually come after me. I also believe in the "reap what you sow" principle. If someone is constantly cutting corners in a way that cheats other people, it could come back to them. They'll wonder why the car always breaks down, they can't find a higher paying job, or they didn't get the raise they asked for. Of course, it's not always this cut and dry but I as I keep saying, I do believe there are lines to be drawn.
Couponing is big business. But as with everything, there is a border of ethics, and that was the purpose of this thread--to talk about where the line is drawn and what the boundaries are, which obviously, seem to be a little different with most everyone.
One of the problems is that people are making money off coupons--they take them, put them on the internet or advertise them, and sell them to other people.
At my last job, we ran into the problem all the time of people posting our franchise's coupons on the internet--people would go to the sites with copies of our coupons, run multiple copies for themselves, and then expect to redeem all of them. When we explained that this was not a valid coupon because it had been sold and copied off the internet, the person would always say, "But that's not MY fault. Doesn't your store believe in customer service?"
Now days customer service means catering to every whim and tantrum a person throws, even if they're doing something wrong, which is why I loathe it so much.
In the case of legal couponing, I've heard of clubs that go out and will do things such as buy every Sunday edition of the local newspaper and sell the coupons inside. Some people have less scrupulous means, such as helping themselves to all the coupon flyers in a stack of newspapers, disguising them among their other things or stuffing them in one paper, and then buying just that one paper. Or going to stands where you pay for one paper, open up the display, and then take either all the papers or all the coupons from the other papers.
It's possible, but I've also heard that it takes vast amounts of work and time, and many websites are devoted to couponing as a near-professional occupation.
Sure, I'd love to walk out of a store with $100 worth of groceries for $2 too. But sometimes, I tell myself that one of the ways I'm serving God is by paying money for the things I need in order to help other people feed their families, too.
