A while back I expressed my love for Target and all the deals you can get there. My love affair is waning, however, after discovering something today.
I found an item I wanted in the Target ad in today's newspaper. It was a good price, so I decided I'd go buy it later on in the day. I continued looking through the paper and found a manufacturer coupon for the same item. Great, I could get an even better deal. Before leaving I decided to check the Target coupon page to see if there were any coupons I needed. Lo and behold, they also had a coupon for the item! I was going to get my item at 50% off with both the manufacturer and store coupon.
So I went there, found my item, and took it to the register with my coupons (and my RED Card, of course). I handed the employee my coupons, and she said I could only use one. I told her that one was a store coupon and one was a manufacturer coupon, and per their coupon guidelines I can use both. She was insistent that both were manufacturer coupons, even though I had clearly printed the one off from the Target site. I figured I was getting nowhere, so I went to the service desk and asked for a manager. I told her what was going on and she too was insistent that BOTH coupons were manufacturer coupons. I looked at the one I had printed out, from the Target site where the Target store coupons always are, and sure enough it said "manufacturer's coupon" on the top. I went ahead and bought my item using ONE manufacturer coupon, my RED Card, and my Cartwheel (more on that shortly) and still paid a good price, but felt very duped by what happened.
On my way home I started pondering - maybe the coupon had some kind of indication it was a manufacturer coupon before I printed it and I just didn't see it. So as soon as I got to my computer I decided to look. There was NOTHING pre-printing to indicate it was not a store coupon. I would have to print out every coupon I wanted before I knew if I could use them or if they would be a duplicate of a manufacturer coupon I already had. What a waste of time, energy, ink and paper.
So why the change? Other than the fact that they probably thought most people would think "oh well" when told that they can't use their coupon (not me) I think they are trying to get rid of Target store coupons entirely and are hoping people switch over to Cartwheel. For those who don't know what Cartwheel is, it's a portion of their site that allows you to pick ten deals, ranging from 5% off a certain item, to 20% off. You select your deals and you can either print out your barcode for the checker to scan, or you can use the Cartwheel app and they can scan your smart phone. If your friends join you get extra deals. Until today, customers were able to use a manufacturer coupon, Target coupon AND Cartwheel together, and still get their 5% off if they have a RED Card.
Target has really been pushing Cartwheel and now I see why - they are trying to make people think it gives great deals. Granted, ANY amount off an item is never a bad thing, and I always appreciate any penny I save. But the savings aren't nearly as good as coupons. For example, my Cartwheel gave me 10% off my item today, which equaled $1.20. The coupon I printed from their site was $3.00 off. I bought some tissues last month with all three - manufacturer, store and Cartwheel deals. The store coupon was $1.00, while the Cartwheel deal was 5%, or about 30 cents total. If I ever had to choose between the two I would definitely choose the Target coupons. Not only do they give you a better deal, but you are not limited to how many different ones you can print. The only reason I have been using Cartwheel was to supplement my coupons, not to replace them.
So what can you do to get your Target coupons back? Let Target know how you feel. You can Send them an email, call them at 1-800-591-3869, let them know on Facebook, Tweet them or tell your local Target manager.
