Here is an article in the Idaho Statesman today 06/02/11 that reader Erin (Thank you Erin) informed me about that I found very interesting and would like to share with you all. This article talks about people stealing inserts from papers and how it is illegal. I would take a few moments to read it. In my classes and on my site I teach about coupon ethics. It is very important to follow the rules and be ethical when using coupons so that we do not lose them. Remember coupons are a privilege for us all not a right!
Treasure Valley coupon frenzy has a darker side
Local newspaper executives say some people are crossing the line from frugality to theft.
BY KATHLEEN KRELLER - kkreller@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2011 Idaho Statesman
Published: 06/02/11
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/06/02/1672411/treasure-valley-coupon-frenzy.html#ixzz1OBNUeaQk
Value-conscious shoppers are snapping up newspaper inserts and heading to local retailers to get hot deals and cut spending for their households.
But last month, after Statesman staff noticed all the ads from a Boise newspaper rack had been taken from a stack of Sunday papers — without being paid for — Don Waters, sales manager for single-copy sales, set up a stakeout at an Overland Road restaurant.
The stakeout revealed a woman systematically taking all of the pre-printed advertisements and coupons from the box. She had paid for a single paper.
“She said people just throw them away,” Waters said.
He told her that her actions amounted to theft, and the Statesman filed a police report.
“It is becoming a real problem on Sundays because of the value of the coupons and the local interest in couponing over the last few months,” said Statesman Circulation Director Frank Peak. The value of coupons in a Sunday edition ranges from $300 to $1,000, he said.
Peak ties the rise in coupon interest and newspaper theft to the show “Extreme Couponing,” which started airing this year on the cable channel TLC. The flagging economy and price of gasoline also factor in, Peak said.
Two well-known national couponing Internet bloggers hail from the Treasure Valley: A Thrifty Mom and Fabulessly Frugal.
Fabulessly Frugal co-owner Cathy Yoder, whose blog is favored by thrift-minded shoppers in the Northwest, Texas, California and New York, said people new to couponing shouldn’t learn their ethics from the TLC program.
Yoder said she has heard stories from people who drive through neighborhoods taking newspapers from driveways. She’s also heard from frustrated couponers who can’t get ads from a newspaper rack.
She decries extreme couponers who clear store shelves.
“I think there were people who did it beforehand, but it’s been heightened,” Yoder said. “People think they have to keep up with the ‘Extreme Couponing’ thing. It’s not normal, it is not reality. They just did it for the show, for the hype. It is obnoxious.”
Yoder advises her students to buy multiple newspaper subscriptions and ask family and friends for their used coupons.
Yoder gets six Sunday papers delivered to her door. The Sunday ads for one store save her $18 a week, which pays for the subscriptions, she said.
“We tell people to subscribe to the Statesman and then you are guaranteed to get your coupons,” she said.
To combat the rise in newspaper and coupon theft, the Idaho Press Tribune in Nampa places signs on its boxes reminding buyers that taking papers without paying is theft, said Publisher Matt Davison.
“Since we have put the signs up to gently remind folks to use their good judgment, we have seen a dramatic drop in theft from the boxes,” Davison said.
Davison said his office also is hearing complaints of ads being taken from papers in grocery stores and from front porches. That, he said, shows newspapers have a business model that works.
“At this point, we haven’t pressed charges against anybody,” Davison said. “Our goal is just to educate people that they are stealing. The people who are doing it, I guess they wouldn’t consider themselves a criminal. They are just trying to save money.”
Blogs like the Coupon Queen warn shoppers to follow the rules — like not taking every item off a store shelf, not altering coupons and not trying to pass a one-off coupon for multiple items. Blogger Jill Cataldo acknowledges there can be a dark side to couponing and that it can become an addiction.
Meanwhile, on eBay and Craigslist, people are packaging and selling coupons or offering up their stacks of newspapers.
The Statesman has had to handle numerous callers trying to get multiple copies at a discount — or for free, in the case of papers headed for recycling. But the newspaper has agreements with advertisers to destroy unsold copies, said Travis Quast, Statesman vice president for sales and marketing.
“We contract with advertisers to put out a certain amount,” Quast said. “We are not in the free coupon distribution business.”
Coupons are part of the value of the newspaper, in addition to the news and information, Quast said.
Taking inserts from papers “has an impact to the person who follows behind them who wants to buy that paper and receive that coupon,” Quast said. “If you put $2 in that box and take all the inserts, that is stealing.”
Statesman circulation managers are taking steps to reduce theft. There is a limit on the number of papers that can be delivered to homes, Peak said. On Sundays, fewer papers are put in self-service boxes, so single-copy buyers must go to a store, where employees keep an eye on the papers.
The Statesman also has secured its trash bin to prevent theft of unsold coupons and papers.
“One of the things interesting about this free coupon craze, a lot of people know there is value in the paper,” Quast said. “It is really easy to recoup that $2 you spent on the paper.”
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