it could be greener

[Indiana Mike]

Soooooo....

I browse local stores online . I browse tires ,music gear , furniture etc...

They all have sales .

They all say "must print coupon and bring to store "

Why can't I just present a coupon I have saved to my phone ,either in an app or a photo?

This would save ink ,paper ,electricity amongst other resources .

I know it could be done very easily .

 

[MJ5150]

I think the idea is to use the coupon once. If you show them a picture of it, maybe you'll use it over and over again.

-Mike

 

[blastoff99]

Mike may well be right.

I was at a store in an outlet mall about a year ago and they wouldn't honor the coupon I had on my phone (thanks to the wonders of the internet) even though the barcode scanned perfectly. I was unhappy.

 

[Indiana Mike]

They could code it so it could only be used once .

Someone needs to make an app for this ...

 

[basscooker]

who do you think they are? quicken loans?

 

[elgecko]

I think World Market will accept a "phone coupon" but yeah, most places won't.

 

[RxFunk]

Gamestop took a coupon code off my phone before, but Mike is probably right here, people probably tried to use the same code over and over again, so now they don't accept them. Just a hypothesis.

 

[Dave W]

I find that most places accept a coupon off of a phone. I know GC does, I've done it a few times.

 

[MatticusMania]

They could code it so it could only be used once .

Someone needs to make an app for this ...

I believe there may already be phone apps for coupons that work exactly as you described.

 

[Jim Nazium]

I believe there may already be phone apps for coupons that work exactly as you described.

I think that is right. The local stores just haven't adopted it yet.

 

[DwaynieAD]

is it a manufacturer's coupon or a coupon from the establishment you're visiting. that makes a big difference.

 

[scorpionldr]

Soooooo....

I browse local stores online . I browse tires ,music gear , furniture etc...

They all have sales .

They all say "must print coupon and bring to store "

Why can't I just present a coupon I have saved to my phone ,either in an app or a photo?

This would save ink ,paper ,electricity amongst other resources .

I know it could be done very easily .

Image manipulation.

 

[Indiana Mike]

Image manipulation.

I work for my money and have the money I put aside work for me.

I wouldn't know how to and don't have an interest in fraud.

Some people do and ruin it for everyone else

 

[xuztujma]

I think the idea is to use the coupon once.Invalid Link Removed

 

[AaronMB]

It's worked for me so far, app or no.

Yes, as suggested, there apps for that as well.

 

[ErebusBass]

I think the idea is to use the coupon once. If you show them a picture of it, maybe you'll use it over and over again.

-Mike

What would stop you from printing the coupon more than once?

 

[placedesjardins]

Soooooo....

I browse local stores online . I browse tires ,music gear , furniture etc...

They all have sales .

They all say "must print coupon and bring to store "

Why can't I just present a coupon I have saved to my phone ,either in an app or a photo?

This would save ink ,paper ,electricity amongst other resources .

I know it could be done very easily .

It depends. You know how the grocery store cashier takes your coupon and sticks it into their till. All the printed coupons get sent to the companies so that grocery store can get reimbursed.
So, that's the old way of doing it. If they can't get a printed copy to "track" the coupon, then they need to implement an electronic way to store the coupon for reimbursement, i.e. database storage. That's a little bit harder and requires some code development. And it's always easier said than done. So, creating a program that electronically tracks coupon use might cost $5,000 to develop while total discounts may be around $500 to $1000. So screw it, print out a paper coupon and do it the old fashioned way.

 

[MatticusMania]

She's white, WHITE! She is so white!
She's white like the light, never like the night!
She's white, WHITE! She is so white!
I was born to excite her, she could never be whiter!

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Seen a few places take e-coupons via phone. A few of which simply use QR scanners and persumably have the software to generate different viable codes so each can only be used once (if they want it to be a single use deal that is).

If it's a generic code, and not a one off, what difference does it make if you need to print it?

If it's a generic code that can be used more than once, what's to stop someone printing multiple copies?

If image manipulation is an issue, what's to stop someone manipulating the image then printing it?

 

[Unrepresented]

I have had businesses scan coupons directly off my phone's display.

The hard copy could be a requirement for manufacturers rebate -- meaning that the manufacturer itself gets forwarded all coupons to show that the price was reduced according to an agreement they had with the retailer.