Safeway's Internet Coupon Policy.

Since I frequently visit sites like coupons.com and smartsource.com to print coupons, I have been calling various local stores to find out who does and does not accept Internet coupons.

After speaking to several store employees who have told me "no" only to later find out that the answer is "yes," I have found that the best way to get the answer to this question is to contact the store's corporate office directly.

Most recently, I spoke with Linda at the Canton Safeway. Linda, of course, told me that Safeway stores do not accept Internet coupons, which I found hard to believe. I, of course, e-mailed Safeway corporate immediately to get the scoop. As it turns out, Safeway does accept coupons printed from the Internet as long as the fall within the guidelines listed in the e-mail from Safeway posted below:

"Printable Internet Coupons are defined as on-line print at home coupons that consumers receive from either a retailer web site (for example: Vons.com), a manufacturer web site (for example: Kraft Foods.com) or from a legitimate coupon web site, (for example: Coupons.com). These web sites typically require shoppers to register on-line before granting access to print the coupon, and generally limit the customer to print only one type of coupon from their web site to discourage duplicates coming from a single computer. In order to insure that we accept only legitimate printable Internet coupons, Safeway has adopted the following store policies and guidelines. These policies and guidelines are company wide.

1. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that do not have a manufacturer's bar code or manufacturer's redemption instructions.

2. We will accept any printable Internet coupons only if they scan properly at checkout.

3. We will not accept more than one "copy" of the same printable Internet coupon per customer.

4. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons for a Free Product (other than a "Buy One Get One Free Offer" that requires a purchase of the like item.)

5. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons for more than a $5.00 value or for more than 50% of a product's retail price, whichever of the two is lower.

6. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that do not have an easy to read expiration date or that extend more than 12 weeks. (Most printable Internet coupons may expire 30-45 days after you print them.)

7. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that appear out of proportion, appear blurry, or are obvious duplicates.

8. Any printable Internet coupons that appear to have been altered in any way may be rejected. (Printable Internet coupons are nearly always printed using the same technology and therefore have a standard format, with very specific security features, including a unique serial code.)"

So there you have it - in writing - straight from the source! Thanks, Safeway, for clearing up any confusion. And, while you're at it, how about training your employees a little more thoroughly about your policies?

I'll continue to report my findings on Internet coupons, since they are growing in popularity these days!

- t