Unfortunately, the wonderful $10/$20 KMart coupon I posted about on Thursday has turned into a fiasco. I’m so sorry!
Many of you have been frustrated to plan your shopping trip, drive to your store, fill your cart, and go through the checkout line only to be told that the coupon is fraudulent. Some of you have even been treated rudely by store cashiers and managers for attempting to use a coupon which was hosted on their company’s website.
I wanted to set the record straight on the whole “fraudulent coupon” thing since people keep getting accused of this by KMart employees.
Here are the facts:
::KMart released the coupon as a PDF.
::KMart put the coupon on their website.
::KMart made it readily available to be printed as many times as a person wanted.
::KMart stated on the coupon that it was valid everywhere.
Based upon these facts, it is clear the $10/$20 KMart coupon is not fraudulent.
A fraudulent coupon is a fake coupon–something created illegally by a person to look like a real coupon. A truly fraudulent coupon would never be hosted on a company’s website. It would be hosted on a non-company website or sent around the internet via email or distributed through some other unethical means.
I am very, very careful to only post PDF coupons on this blog which I believe 100% are legitimate coupons. They either must have been posted on the company’s website or released directly from the company.
I’m sure KMart never expected the coupon to go viral and I’m glad that they removed it from their website promptly when they realized it was having a much wider reach than they were expecting. But I am very disappointed that it appears dozens upon dozens of their store cashiers, managers, and corporate customer service representatives haven’t a clue what constitutes a “fraudulent coupon”.
It appears like KMart has re-released the $10/$20 coupon stating it is specifically good in a few cities, but I’m hearing so many reports of it being turned down at stores all across the nation and my readers being accused of fraud, that I’m leery to tell anyone to even bother to try to use it–even if you live in one of those cities.
My sincere apologies to you all that a coupon I posted here has caused you frustration and wasted gas, time, and effort.
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{ 150 comments }
This is why I never shop at Kmart anymore – the one near me is always difficult to deal with, doesn’t want to take all my coupons, has higher prices than Walmart and Target, and is usually out of half of the items I go for.
I’m betting they go under soon. Sears made a big mistake buying them out.
We’ve shopped at Sears over the years when needing big appliances. I was a sad for Sears when I learned they had joined with Kmart. The 2 Kmarts in my area aren’t as nice as their competitors. I’ve never been overly impressed with the attitude of a majority of their employees. I have not been treated poorly by their employees.
@Priscilla, We have had bad experience with Sears more than once, so I think they fit right in with Kmart.
Leisa,
I agree with you. Although I have not had any issues with coupons and the employees are very easy to work with, the store is generally out of the sale items. I completed a Kmart questionnaire in December and told them their products were not stocked. Looks like they haven’t change their business practices. And, yes, an MSN article said Kmart was one of the companies predicted to go out of business within the next ten years.
@Leisa,
Actually, K-Mart bought Sears.
@Leisa, I drove over to the town near us to use that coupon, fortunately, the manager at that store was very kind and she called headquarters to see what the deal was. Headquarters told her she wasn’t allowed to accept it because it was only supposed to be used in NYC stores. She apologized to me, so I didn’t want to make a big scene, I just smiled and walked out. She wasn’t the one that posted it online, so I didn’t want to force her to use it. I’ve worked retail before so I know the embarrassment of others’ mistakes…
Not your fault, Crystal! I don’t have a Kmart anywhere near me but nothing feels worse than being treated poorly for trying to use legitimate coupons. Carry on with your wonderful bargains & deals — I love this blog.
I had a great experience with the coupon. I’ve had my eye on a step 2 toy motorcycle for my daughter’s second birthday next week, and I noticed KMart had them when I went in earlier for a prescription this week. I got a $10 giftcard with a coupon when I picked up my prescription, so then when you posted the $10 coupon, I was excited to be able to combine the 2 and save $20 on the motorcycle, which was only priced at $23.99. The cashier accepted the coupon last night along with my giftcard, so including outrageous TN sales taxes, I got a great gift for my daughter for just over $6! What a deal! Thanks so much. Now I just have to figure out how to put the thing together… I usually buy those big plastic toys used and already assembled!
@Allison, Don’t move to Chicago, our sales tax is 10.25%!
@Kate,
Good grief!
Oh my word you are kidding me!! I lived in Chicago ten years ago when the tax was a mere 8.25%
I just started coupon clipping. When I called my Kmart the lady said NO! and hung up! (michigan).
Did you see the get $5 off when you spend $20 in red plum 3/14? Your thoughts?
I’ll get my revenge K-Mart when your double coupons roll around! Mwaha ha ha ha!
@Matt Gerry, I’m worried that they take that away too even though there is a PDF file of stores participating.
@Marla, Thanks for the chuckle on that comment!
Thank you for your apology, but I really do not think you need to be the one apologizing. KMart should be the one apologizing for the fiasco they created. Especially to the people who drove out of their way to go to a KMart. I had planned on going to KMart today, about 15 miles away from my house. Instead, I won’t shop at KMart again.
@Marla,
A heartily AMEN!
I was able to use my coupon without a problem, the cashier did have a manger ring it up though because she had never seen the coupon. I was able to get a new bedding set I had been eyeballing for the last month for free!!! Thanks
Crystal- you did nothing wrong. Thanks for promptly bringing the fact that Kmart is refusing to honor the coupon to our attention. I will email Kmart today to let them know that I had planned on shopping in their store today but I won’t be. I figured I could get all the kids Easter basket goodies there but instead I will go to Target.
Why are you apologizing for this? This isn’t your fault by any means.
Kmart is infamous for this kind of behavior. They issue offers and then don’t seem to want to honor them. I take advantage of the double $2.00 coupons when they offer it but I pay to redeem them with humiliation. The cashiers have never been nice to me and it seems that I’m inconviencing them by shopping there. I would give it up completely but a double $2.00 coupon is seriously too good to pass up. I just make a joke about it. I figure the cashier is just jealous. Also there was an incident a couple of years ago at Halloween that Kmart issued $1.00 off bags of candy and then wouldn’t honor them either.
@Michelle,
Precisely the reason I despise Kmart. The shopping there part, the checking out part, the coupon drama part. Whether it’s true or not I don’t know, but I needed to return something once that I’d purchased with a coupon and was only give the non-coupon amount back. I was also told that’s their return policy. That’s a joke as well – guess what? They still get the full coupon value from the Manufacturer. Hmm, something doesn’t add up here. Generally I stay away. Even this round of doubles is looking less and less appealing.
@Sheila,
That happened to me too and when I questioned her about it she acted like I was trying to steal the stupid diapers. The service is horrible, my store is DIRTY and VERY unorganized. I haven’t been back to KMart since and won’t be back again.
Crystal, I thank you for bringing this to our attention, although you shouldn’t assume the guilt. Kmart is notorious for this sort of behavior. I had an ugly run in with them at Christmas time, not only the clerk but also the manager as well, were completely rude about an advertised special in their store. And I agree with Leisa, half the time, they are “out” of their sales item anyhow. Thanks for all your time and effort that you put into this website. I really enjoy it!
I agree that it should be KMart apologizing and not you! I have been able to use the coupon twice in Fredericksburg, Va and I didnt have a problem either time! I even used coupons along with it, both time being able to get diapers for $3 a pack. Thank you!!
I agree, Crystal it is not your fault. I was able to use the coupon in Kenosha, WI on Saturday morning. I don’t know if anyone had used that coupon before me. I tried to watch for others ahead of me using it but didn’t see anyone using it. I’m guessing someone had already used the coupon there as they were all out of the Tonka, Chuck & Friends fleet…which there had been a printable coupon for. I had hoped to combine that with other items to make a nice toy for our 2 youngest boys.
I know someone in TX, who used it Friday with no problem. Then on Sat. was not allowed to use it but was not treated poorly.
I was not treated poorly. I’m happy I was able to get a deal on diapers and then aonther deal on bedsheets/clearance and Corolle bowls on clearance (still $4 even on clearance, which seems a bit high, so the coupon helped)
Not your fault Crystal! I might be brave and daring and try to use mine anyway since some have had success.
What gripes me is I had a prescription transfer coupon for KMart that woudl earn me a gift card and I accidently threw it away! Anyone know where I can get another one?
I sent KMart an email letting them know that I was unhappy with the way this coupon was handled and the way the coupon users have been treated with this whole thing. I worded everything very nicely, but wanted them to know that their customers weren’t satisfied. I would suggest that others do the same – but do it in a nice way. Here is their customer service email address: help@customerservice.kmart.com
And Crystal – this was definitely NOT your fault! I think KMart should take the responsibility. And as someone mentioned above, everytime my KMart has doubles they make me feel like a crook for trying to use coupons, but the deal is so great that I can’t miss it! Thanks again for all you do Crystal!
Please don’t apologize! This isn’t your fault. I too tried to use the coupons yesterday and was told they were fraudulent. However, my cashier was very nice and apologetic (and the only reason I still bought two of the items that were on sale anyway). I just send Kmart an email (as recomended by Lorie) expressing my dissapointment in their store. Who knows? Maybe if they get enough emails, they’ll rethink things. Crystal, thanks for all your postings to help us budget concious shoppers!
I REFUSE to go to K-Mart after I attempted to use the card they offered back in the fall to help out unemployed people. The staff were clueless about the card, even though information was posted around their store about it. It took 2 managers and over 30 minutes to ring up my small order. And it only offered a discount on 2 of the items I picked up. It was a total joke! So I’m not surprised about the latest mess….
@Cathi,
I’m glad you mentioned that. I saw the signs in the store and just signed up for the discount card for the unemployed. Now I know not to bother. It looked like it might only be good on full price items and maybe just on their Kmart brands anyway. My friend went to Kmart for the $10 off of $20 and was treated very badly by the manager accusing her of using a fraudulent coupon and throwing it back at her. I don’t think I will ever go back to Kmart again. The only thing tempted me is the double coupons on April 4th.
Sooo not your fault. There is a reason why Kmart is not doing so well. You keep up the good work.
Thanks so much for posting that! I was wondering. I was getting ready to use mine today but I was really leery about it! I better go update my post!!!
Thanks for letting us know, Crystal! It is not your fault at all! I wish stores would own up to their mistakes instead of blaming it on their customers. What were we supposed to do, guess that they didn’t want us to use a valuable coupon they posted on their Web site? I hate, hate, hate shopping at kmart. Like most people here, I only go during doubles.
This is why I don’t shop at KMart! It’s not worth the abuse.
Thank you for letting us know. I was planning on going to KMart this weekend or next week and using the coupon for diapers for my little one or toilet paper.
I very rarely shop at KMart (it is closer than Target or Walmart for me). I went in January for the Hershey’s pieces deal (just got the gift card yesterday).
I do agree with everyone else, KMart needs to own up to the mistake they made. **Off to email KMart**
I have never had a positive experience in KMart. The store is a mess, most items I need are not in stock, it’s more expensive than Target (and MUCH less pleasant to shop in) and the cashiers have no idea what they are doing. I only go there for double coupons and it’s a fiasco EVERY time I try to redeem those double coupons. I have no idea how they are still in business.
Crystal, you are SO not at fault but I understand your need to apologize. So many of our readers don’t understand that Kmart screwed this one up, not the bloggers. I had my own conversations with Kmart, and it just confirms to me that this is one seriously mismanaged chain of stores. And yes, I’m willing to say this publicly. I called my local store to find out why they were saying it was fraudulent, only to have my manager stammer confusedly when I offered to email him the link to the coupon that at that very second was still publicly available on Kmart’s own website and that clearly said “Valid at all Kmart store locations.” He then gave me the media relations contact–but asked me to call him back to give him the ‘official answer.’ How sad is that? A Kmart manager needs a blogger/reporter to report back to him the ‘official answer’ because their internal communications are so bad!
Other stories I’ve heard from people who call the customer service line: its only for use after March 28th; the store website was hacked and it wasn’t a real Kmart coupon; and it was only for use in NYC (yet there are also versions on their website for Chicago, NYC and Baltimore).
BTW, I rarely bother with their Super Doubles anymore. My experience has been that I have to jump through too many hoops to get too little of savings–and that they don’t care when shoppers are frustrated or that they ran out of stock in the first two hours of the sale. The rest of the week? You’re simply out of luck. A shrug of the shoulders from management and a strange look at you like you’re a nutjob for asking as they say “no, we aren’t planning on getting any more stock or shipments in.”
Definitely not your fault! Thanks for clearing that up though.
Thanks Crystal but as others have already said, it is not your fault. I was able to use the coupon yesterday with no problems. The cashier had to call a manager for it, but she was very nice about it. I don’t normally shop at K-Mart but the coupon came in handy for a birthday gift that I had to pick up.
It’s not your fault they’re taesting people like that, you don’t have to sorry! They should be owning up to their responsibility to honor a coupon THEY posted. I very, very rarely shop there as it is, and will shop there even less often now that they have treated people like this.
Our Kmart closed awhile ago and I do not miss it.
Even though I drove over an hour to shop at the nearest K-Mart [without success], I found the employees to be very cordial and helpful. They explained that management called them early that morning to say that the coupon was only supposed to be for K-Marts in 2 specific cities. They were very willing and understanding when I ended up giving back most of my merchandise in the check-out line because of this. These cashiers were the nicest cashiers I have come across in a long time since couponing.
I was able to use mine on friday..morning. for pampers. but the supervisor was called because it would go through. the scanner. but i am learly of going back.(southfield, MI) Thats why i don’t shop a Kmart..horrible customer service. they act like couponing is wrong!
I’m not even sure where there’s a Kmart in my area and I live in a very large city. I stopped shopping there years ago due to their poor management and filthy stores.
Kmart will likely lose more customers due to this fiasco. It’s so sad because
so many people these days are looking for bargains and trying to save money.
Keep up the good work, Crystal. Love your blog.
I spent 45 minutes yesterday walking around the store and finding shoes for my hard to fit son and some new towels. When I went to checkout I handed the coupon first, he rang up the sale, and then loudly stated This couopn is a fraud. I asked what he ment as I had printed it off the K-Mart site. He told me that was a lie that it was never on there site and that I had gotten it off a site that had made it up. I then very politely told him he was wrong. He then yelled to a cashier two lines over, “We got another one, she is trying to commit fraud.” I then asked for proof of the email they said they got and asked if they had so many that day, why didn’t they post something on the doors in the store to let people know they would not take it. He was so rude and he and the manager refused to show me the email, so I told them to take the stuff back, and I would not be coming back.
I was completely upset, but remained calm. My 4 kids where horrified and it took a great conversation after we left that we had indeed not done anything wrong and we where not stealing as the one manager said. All total I held up the line for over twenty five minutes. They only had one other cashier , but I was not going to pay until I saw the email.
It is not at all your fault, like you said in all your points, K-mart messed up if they sent this out on the main web site, did not limit prints, and made it a PDF. They have done this before and will do it again. It is a way to get people in. Can you say BAIT AND SWITCH!!
I’m so bummed! I haven’t seen your blog in a few days so i missed the coupon totallly. I was just at Kmart and saw a few high price items I’d love to have gotten…
oh well. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for those elusive double coupons.
We had that happen locally at a grocery store about a year ago. They posted a similar coupon on Facebook for local Fans. People were printing them and sending the link to each other. The store realized it was much more widespread than they had originally planned, so they pulled the coupon and stopped accepting it. IMO this is a very bad business practice, resulting in many upset and lost customers. Marketing personnel at these companies should no how widespread things on the internet can become and should better plan their coupon campaigns.
I feel really sorry for Kmart cashiers who are only following what they were told by their supervisors. Can’t imagine dealing with mad customers all day.
Remember the Starbucks fiasco last yr for the free drink printable??? one of my kids was working there that day and caught the anger of every person coming through the drive through who was pretending they had printed out a coupon Starbucks had emailed to them. For every one person that is understanding when a coupon is rejected and just politely asks for a manager, there are many many others who get verbally abusive & insulting.
I went to my Kmart yesterday and they attempted to tell me that it was not a legit. coupon. However, after several moments of explaining, they did accept it. They had to key it in manually. I got a great deal. I guess I should use the rest of them soon if they are not going to be accepting them.
I rarely shopped there long before I used coupons, so I can’t comment on the coupon angle.
Their clothes aren’t very nice, cashiers not great, store a mess, etc. Even Walmart is nicer. Several times I got some great markdowns on sheets and placemats, but too rarely to make the extra trip.
Not your fault at all. KMart is a big pain sometimes. I didn’t even bother to try to use the coupon, thank goodness, because I’ve had problems with them in the past. Sears/KMart does a soldier program every year where they collect donations for soldiers families and distribute on E-gift cards for use at their stores, and my husband and I tried to use our gift card and got a whole big hassle going through three different managers because they insisted they’d “never seen this program” and kept asking me why I didn’t have the actual physical gift card, before they finally got it to go through and accepted for our purchase. Pretty sad for the employees not to be aware of a program the company gets behind every year and Sears widely promotes on the website asking for donations every Christmas season.
Crystal,
I agree completely with everyone else, you should not be apologizing. Kmart has a history this kind of thing and I had hoped that they would have learned to be more careful by now.
Thank you for addressing this in such a great manner!
Sarah
Kmart is RIDICULOUS!!! I don’t think their doubles are even worth going for! I think I saw that this time they are limiting you to 4 or 5 coupons a day.
I used the coupon yesterday in Anderson SC without any problems.
Obviously, this is not your fault, Crystal. I appreciate your ethical approach to couponing, as I think there are others out there that act as if they are entitled to take discounts from stores that the stores do not really allow.
I was able to use this coupon at KMart last night and I used it to buy paper products that are not usually found at such a great discount. I had no problems and I actually had a better experience than I usually do at KMart. That being said, that may be the only time I had a relatively problem-free experience at my local KMart.
Wow, Crystal, you poor dear. This was not your fault. Boo on K-Mart! As for Sears… when I was a child, I met a lovely couple, my friend’s grandparents. Years earlier, they had bought a washer & dryer from Sears and made their payments faithfully. Then the grandfather was in a terrible accident and lost the use of his legs. They explained that he was out of work because of the accident and they were still trying to make payments. Sears repossessed the W/D nevertheless. That story struck me as a child and I haven’t shopped at Sears since. Now, I’ll look the other way when passing a K-Mart.
@Heiss Haus,
That is terrible! Would have stuck with me too
I can understand what every one is saying. I have not always had the best experiences with Kmart. But yesterday I was able to buy a pair of dress pants for my grandson and a pack of huggies for an upcoming shower for $10.00, along with the $3.00 off huggies coupon and 30% off the dress pants. The cashier was so helpful I wish I had gotten her name. It was so much nicer than some of my past experiences there.
I’m in Virginia.
I’m sorry too, since I originally alerted you to this coupon. I am in one of the target cities, so I will try to use the coupon myself, but I do feel bad about those who had their time wasted when it was turned down.
On the upside, a lot of people in my area have posted online that they had no problems using it.
I was able to score big time on diapers and wipes the first day the coupon was released, but yesterday no luck! I don’t really like Kmart either. Some of their employees are really rude and others are okay. I returned something, and I told the lady that she gave me a $1 too much because of a coupon I’d used. I was just trying to be honest! She rudely said something like, “Well, I can’t do anything about that!” WOW! Sorry for trying to be honest… ; ) I don’t shop there unless there’s a deal like the $10 off $20 going on or I’m desperate. I am REALLY surprised they haven’t gone out of business…
This is the kind of customer no-service that has K-Mart on the brink of going out of business. Everyone should vote with their pocketbook and choose NOT to shop at K-Mart. Shame on associates and managers that are humiliating customers by calling them criminals in front of other customers. K-Mart is the criminal.
I think we as couponers need to be respectful when it comes to coupon usage. I’ve heard so many stories of people taking advantage of the coupon, by printing it out 10-15 times. That’s where the problem came from. Too many people taking advantage of a good thing. I think K-Mart should send the coupon via email and only allow people to print it ONCE. By offering it as a PDF, they should have known greedy couponers would readily take advantage. It’s people like this that give couponers a bad name. Just because a coupon is in PDF form does NOT mean we should print out a million copies. Come on people, let’s be polite and respectable. Like the commenter who said that she will “get her revenge” on K-Mart when they do the double coupons. Is that a very charitable way of thinking? I wouldn’t be surprised if K-Mart pulled that special as well. It’s sad, it really is.
@Eulaha, I agree with you.
@Eulaha, So what about those people that were using the Q honestly? It is never acceptable to be treated as criminals, and humiliated. That’s poor business practices. Let’s not forget who screwed this up…K-mart, not the customers!
K-Mart should also let their employees know about their coupon offers, so others won’t be accused of fraudulent use.
I HATE K-Mart and this is why. They are always running scams to get people in the store hoping they will just say OK and buy the stuff anyway.
I will try this coupon on Weds. where there’s a Kmart near where I work since I’m in NYC. I’ll let everyone know how that goes.
We should be sending Kmart emails about their customer dis-service as well as responding here. Regardless if the coupon is fake or not, no one human being should treat another rudely. The word is “professionalism.”
@Angela,
Folks, I just tried this coupon @ the Rosedale, NY store (edge of NYC but on Long Is.). It worked. We bought two bags of Feline Pine 20# at $14.79 and the total tab was $21-ish.
I have never had a good experience at KMart. I no longer shop there, even if they are advertising a really good deal. I have lived in several cities, and in each city, the experience is the same. Surly cashiers, coupon issues, grumpy managers, nothing stocked. I’m honestly shocked that they’ve hung on this long.
Sears had a coupon like that last year and I used it several time and got almost free clothes and then they pulled it too just like that and they had signs up at all the cash registers.
Please don’t feel bad about the K-mart fiasco – it was a situation completely out of your control! I am so thankful for your website and all of the work you do to pass on great savings opportunities to others. Keep up the outstanding work!
glad i came across the post, you just saved me a trip to kmart, I was only going to go there when i stopped by whole foods and only to use this coupon, i wish kmart would get their act together.
I have had nothing but unpleasant experiences at all of the Kmart stores in my area during their coupon promotion events. I know the limit is 5 coupons and I do use only 5 but inevitably have at least 2 of them turned down for one reason or another. I stopped going to the double coupon events for this reason. I felt so bad for another lady I saw shopping early in the morning at the last double coupon event. She had her coupon organizer in the seat of her cart, had her daughter along to help her and had all her items neatly separated in her cart. Obviously, she had put much time and effort into the shopping trip. They had her held up at the checkout for what seemed like forever. Next time I saw her she was at the service desk which is where we get sent when our coupons won’t work, didn’t take or some other problem. I will stick with Target and Walmart as they have a much better selection anyway, great deals and friendly personnel.
Not your fault the company is so weird about coupons. We don’t even shop our Kmart any more beacuse they make us feel like we are stealing from the company (yes that is what the cashier told me last time I tried to use coupons). Thanks for the quick post beacuse to be fair to them I was willing to give it one more go. Out of diapers and need a good sale badly. Thanks for all the hard work that you do to keep you info up to date and legal.
Kmart DID go out of business here in Alaska!
Good thing too-from what I’m reading.
Crystal, it totally isn’t your fault. Stop feeling bad. We couponer’s (and Another!) know who is at fault and a company will not thrive with business ethics like theirs…
Keep the deals coming!!!
Is there a number or address we could “politely” complain to? I work in customer service every day and the rare times we had misprints in advertising, we always honored them anyway which is what a REPUTABLE company should be doing anyway. No particular loss to me though. I don’t usually tend to shop at K-Mart, but was going to start using them and be on the look out for good deals after I printed out the coupons *sigh* Lovely to know that even in the middle of a recession companies will still act this way to consumers.
@Lexy, 1-866-KMART 4U or help@customerservice.kmart.com
I feel the same way toward Kmart when I read this that I did about Snapfishs’ recent “free coasters” offer! I ordered, order went through fine and then about a week later, when I was just beginning to expect to get my coasters, I got an email saying that I had been offered an “expired” coupon in my account and they would not be able to fulfill my order. Because I had ordered these for a birthday present, I politely emailed them asking if they would at least offer me a coupon code of some sort so that I could buy them. I didn’t even get so much as a REPLY back! I ended up ordering them from another company, paying more for them in the long run, than I would have if I would have ordered them full price, with shipping from the Snapfish site! While I’m judging them, it would have at least been more honest to have said “we’re sorry, we did not expect so many people to take advantage of this offer and we cannot simply fulfill all the requests we received”. Arg! I’m a business owner and I have sometimes made mistakes that actually COST me money, but I feel your word is your word. When a company doesn’t share that philosophy, I’ll take my business elsewhere.
It’s certainly not your fault Crystal, and I do thank you for posting all the great information you provide.
@Melanie,
Arg! I had a similar problem with Snapfish except they didn’t contact me for almost 3 weeks and told me that “due to a technical error” they couldn’t access my photos for the coasters? So I will have to reorder(of course PAYING for them bc the coupons are now expired) and they are offering me 50 prints for my “understanding”. Yeah right, won’t be doing business with them anymore!
Thank you for posting the coupon when you did. Even though it did turn into a big pain in the butt for most. I went that night and used two coupons. Got my son the leapfrog tag Jr. for $20, which I have been trying to find for less than $30, so not bad. Then we also got a bunch of toilet paper for next to nothing, and went and returned the toilet paper we had just purchased at wal-mart earlier that day. Then I went yesterday, thinking I’d probably get turned down and although a manager had to key it in I was able to get my 2 packs of huggies for next to nothing!
K Mart also went out I’d business here in Houston tx. The only time I have been in one I was disgusted. I am just disgusted with all the problems people are having and how badly they are being treated.
It was certainly not your fault. You would be apologizing for the idiots at KMart who thought of the coupon and posted in a pdf format not thinking that it can be saved, sent and printed many times w/o limit. They should have thought to create the coupon in another format that does have a limit of prints. I appreciate all the deals you post as it helps our family save tremendously. Thank you.
THANK YOU, Crystal, for posting this clarification. I went to Kmart yesterday evening and was not treated very nicely… needless to say they didn’t accept my coupon and I didn’t really ask for clarification or ask to speak to a manager because it just didn’t really seem worth the fight. I left empty-handed and a little frustrated. But thanks again for clarifying what a FRAUDULENT coupon is vs. a coupon that a retailer is simply no longer honoring.
Thank you for letting us know, but you don’t need to apologize! This is not your fault at all! I might still give it a shot, but I won’t be disappointed if they won’t take the coupon. I love reading your blog, you do such a great job. Thank you!
-Sarah
Didn’t even bother printing the coupon or posting about it because I figured the end result would be this – lots of Kmart hassle over a legit deal. Glad a few folks have had success!
I only go to Kmart once every few years–like when I found they had the best price for a sand & water table. Otherwise, I avoid Kmart like the plague. They’re awful. Even when I got the sand & water table, service was terrible. And they’re going to bring Sears down with them. That was a bad move for Sears. Apparently Martha Stewart avoids Kmart too–her products which were once exclusively carried by Kmart are now elsewhere instead.
Thanks for filling us in. I, for one have had it up to here with Kmart’s bad business practices and I will not be shopping there in the future. This is not the first time I’ve had problems with them refusing to accept legimate coupons.
I WAS going to shop at K Mart today using that $10 coupon but they are not consumer friendly. I’ll just avoid the place….I don’t want to end up in jail…
Thanks so much for this post!
I’ve not always had the best experiences at Kmart due to coupons not going through and terrible customer service. I did try this coupon at our local Kmart (we moved over the summer and have never been to this one) and though the coupon did not run through correctly the cashier and the manager were very polite and made it work so that I got the discount. It made me think I may be able to actually shop there from time to time in the future!
Crystal,
I love your website and all the deals I get through you!! I have had bad experiences at KMart before, so didn’t even try this coupon and am not surprised to hear what they did. Thanks for all your hard work bringing us the deals! It’s KMart that is missing out on good business!
I don’t shop at K-Mart very often, but thought would try to use the coupon despite all the negative comments. I bought items that I needed and would have purchased without the $10/$20 coupon. The coupon beeped, but the cashier put it through and did not say anything. I had a second coupon and decided to try again with diapers. I went back through the same line again. Not only did the $10/$20 coupon beep, the Huggies coupons beeped also (huh?) The cashier laughed and made a comment about computers never working properly. She entered all three in manually and I got 2 packages of diapers and 1 pack of gum (filler) for $4.
As an avid couponer, I know that some coupons will work and some won’t. I have had my fair share of rude cashiers and managers. I have been able to save a great deal of money thanks to your blog. I want you to know that all of your had work has saved me a great deal of time putting deals together and is much appreciated. Thank you!!
So not your fault and a big screw up on K-marts end. I went during lunch on Friday with mine and they told me they got word from corporate not to take them. They were honoring them that morning but no longer. Wish I would have stopped on my way to work, oh well. I had not been in a K-mart for like 5 years and now have no plan on returning to one.
Abby
I hadn’t tried to use mine yet…so this is all good to know!!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Just an update: I heard back from Kmart customer service. The response states that the coupon is an “unauthorized coupon” “circulated on the internet.” The response states that the coupon is only valid at specific locations in certain cities. They did offer to mail me a $10 off $50 coupon for my inconvenience.
@Kelli, I got this same reply from the company as well. I declined their offer.
I used the coupon (with some trouble) in the AM. Later that day it was retracted. I called at 4PM and the CSR told me they just got word from corporate to accept the coupons again. I drove the 6 blocks, picked up 3 items and WHILE I was checking out they once again received word from corporate to retract the coupon again. They did accept mine but one lady was so RUDE about it she wouldn’t even look at my MFQ for a DVD I bought, just said NO!, You’re almost getting it for free anyway! ($10 off a$21 DVD is hardly free)
I hadn’t been in that store for 6 weeks because the manager TOOK my internet coupons and said they were fraudulent the last time I was there! She insisted you can only print ONE of each. I’ve had it with K-Mart!!!!!
We actually just got back from our trip to Kmart when I found this post. We too were told that the coupon was not honored at our Kmart. Frustrating!!
I printed the coupon, as well as the Huggies coupons. Presented them to my local KM store and with a little running around by the cashier and manager, they made it work for me. The mgr’s comment was ‘there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work’, even when I’m in the south. After getting home, I tried to print again– that time it said for specific NYC stores only. Just glad it worked the one time.
My mistake was not checking with the store first. So, my son and I went and tried on a ton of clothes and picked out some great things. Get to the checkout stand and I hold the coupon up to the checker. She points to a sheet that says they will not honor the coupon. I went ahead and bought the clothes anyway. Didn’t want to tell my 7 yo that we were putting the clothes back. Oh, well.
It’s not your fault! I think if kmart won’t honor coupons then they shouldn’t put them out there… or if they want them in localized areas, they need to put it in the paper.
Thanks for all the deals you post!
I figured I’d give it a try yesterday in the Seattle area, and had no problems whatsoever. The clerks were APOLOGETIC that it wouldn’t scan and that they had to take the $10 off manually since that took more time. I had two coupons in two transactions and I got two cans of formula for $24.50 total. I was thrilled, and they couldn’t have been nicer. I am not sure if they are aware of the problem by now, but if not, I may hit up my local store again tomorrow.
Like many of your other readers, I have stopped shopping at K-Mart, because there is an ‘issue’ every time I try to use coupons. The at-home and in-store time and effort that goes into making sure coupon purchases are above board is substantial – and my K-Mart experiences have been repeatedly punctuated with an attitude of wrong-doing by the clerks…so I’ve decided to take my business to other stores.
When I saw this offer I thought it was too good to be true. When I opened the coupon in PDF, I saw the reference to New York right in the URL and figured it must have been for certain locations, and closed it out. Kmart could have done a much better job of clarifying where the coupon was valid right on the coupon and saved everyone a lot of grief!
My work is a 5 minute walk to Kmart in NYC. Honestly, I hate kmart and I find their customer service a Nightmare, but I’ll be trying this coupon on Monday just to see if in fact the coupon was “only meant for NYC” if they will actually accept it in NYC. If not I’ll be e-mailing corporate, and letting everyone know, so you can also complain (if you haven’t already). This is completely unacceptable and I’m so sorry for the way that everyone has been treated when trying to use the coupon. Boo on you Kmart!
I have a strong dislike for our local Kmart. They alwasy fight you to use coupons, even with the couon policy in hand.The staff is horribly rude.I called corporate after I was told the coupon was not good, the store manager called later that day to follow up with me. He told me it was only to be for a few stores, and he didn’tt want to lose my business. I told him he had not only lost me , but my family members as well. In this economy you would think people would be happy to have a job and not treat customers that are coming in their stores to spend their hard earned money in theier store.
Its not your fault at all.
I did send an email to customer service regarding my horrid experience w/ this coupon and the rotton customer service at my local Kmart. I found it incredibly ironic that they offered to send me a $10/$50 coupon–quite frankly I doubt they would alllow me to use it! I responded back to Kmart, thanks but no thanks. Call me bitter, but they’ve had more than enough chances to redeem themselves. They are going to have a hard time digging themselves out this hole.
I had no problem using mine at the KMart in Cleveland, TN yesterday.
This reminds me of the fiasco involving the $10/$10 coupon Sears put out for their juniors department. And then when I tried to use it I was told it was fraudulent. I don’t know if KMart and Sears have the same corporate office but it sure seems like they should know better to put out a PDF coupon.
@Tammy, I TRIED to use that coupon when it came out a few months ago, and after more than an hour shopping around, went to check out and was told they wouldn’t accept it. Ridiculous.
I had no problem using the $10 coupon at my Kmart, but they wouldn’t accept the $3 off coupon for Huggies because it “came from the internet”. They said they could not take coupons coming from the internet unless they started with the numbers “44″. Very frustrating, especially since you can’t actually see the coupon before it prints to know if it starts with the “44″.
@Becky, This is one of the craziest excuses I’ve ever heard! The beginning 5 digits of the coupon code are a manufacturer code…If this theory was even close to being true, that would mean that they only accept printable coupons for XYZ company. This would be exactly the same as posting a sign that says “We are only able to accept internet printables from Ziploc, as we’ve found Proctor and Gamble printable coupons (and every other manufacturer for that matter) to be unreliable and fraudulent” Crazy!
I did email KMart earlier today and got a reply very quickly from their customer service offering to send me a $10 off of $50 – they said that I did have to give them the store location and my phone number first though – my answer was no thanks – I wouldn’t use it anyways.
so it seems i am not alone in my feelings about kmart!
the last time i was there, (after trying to do some deal with coupons & earning a gift card… it took forever, and, though it surprisingly did work out in my favor, i vowed to never try to do a deal there again!)
i even asked my daughter, who’s 4, to remind me.. the next time i say we are going to kmart to get a good deal on something, for her to tell me…
“Mommy, it’s not worth the deal. Let’s don’t go to Kmart.”
Crystal- it’s not your fault! you are awesome!! kmart is the problem!
I was so surprised that I was able to use the coupon at my Kmart yesterday. I even used it with to other coupons for cat litter. I have had very bad experiences with Kmart also and have been treated very badly. During the last double coupon event, I was overcharged for items two different times. They had no idea how to handle the situation “because I used coupons”. I stood at the service desk for almost an hour the first time and 45minutes the second (this time I had to sit in the floor), while they all discussed how to do the refund ” because she used coupons”. That’s what I heard over and over. I was only overcharged about $2 each time, but with me it’s the principle of the matter. Most of our cashiers are rude also. Is this a requirement to work for Kmart? The registers at my Kmart freeze up in the middle of a transaction and you have to wait until it decides to start working again (usually about 10 minutes). I’m sure the rest of the Kmarts will be closing before long.
My Kmart let me use it (twice!) The manager said told the cashier the code to put it. They never even questioned me even though it came up “reward not valid” or something like that. So now I LOVE my Kmart! Especially since they don’t usually do double coupons but they’re on the list for next time!
the fine print was for two states, not all states…thats where the problem lies…freebie sites went balistic with the offer and no one read the rules, NOW that jeapordizes you using printable coupons at the stores because unless they use coupons themselves, the will simply NOT understand….juet let it go, it WILL blow over
@MaryAnne, Wrong
The original coupon was released for ALL KMART LOCATIONS ( I can send the original if you needed it). Then Kmart backtracked and changed the location. I know it seems crazy that a coupon put out on the WORLD WIDE WEB would end up getting circulated everywhere in just a few minutes, but I guess that would mean invalidating the very point of the internet. Do some research and have a great day 
I used to be anti-k-mart. We now live in a smallish town that is fighting off development, so we have a small k-mart and no wal-mart. Our k-mart is surprisingly clean and peaceful to shop at compared to wal-mart. I took the coupon in because I wanted to buy a tool as a gift for my husband. The cashier was polite and called her manager over and the manager made the coupon go through.
It’s good to see the local flavor in big stores like this and I really appreciate the people working here in central KY to make k0mart friendly.
Thank you for the coupon Crystal, I was delighted to be able to get a great value on a surprise gift for my husband!
Does anyone else remember that this is a similar stunt that Sears pulled off last year. They issued a $10 off $10.00 coupon and would not allow customers to use it. It was also a PDF. If I can remember, if makes me question why would it be done again. Hmmmmmmmmmm…….
@Barbi, After the very public embarrassment of KFC and Oprah over their pdf offer last year, you’d think ALL companies would know by now not to put out a coupon in pdf format. DUH! The Sears thing happened a few months after that- same scenario. It really shouldn’t be this hard to learn from other’s mistakes.
The coupon states on it that it is only a valid coupon when gotten through KMart channels. I think that gives them the right to control distribution, and is a legal guard against a coupon going ‘going viral’. It states that any other use of the coupon constitutes fraud (including coupons distributed by a non-K-Mart owned channel) I thought as much when I printed it, since I was unable to get one directly from the K-Mart Website. Since I didn’t get it from the website, what I had would be considered a copy (a digital copy) of the coupon, which is fraudulent.
@Kevin, I see the point you make about your coupon- you know from what source you got it. However, if someone else got it directly from the Kmart website, and it is the same pdf file, and it prints out the same coupon, how is any store employee going to be able to tell the difference? To blindly accuse everyone of using a fraudulent coupon is over the top. Rather, Kmart should have acknowledged the error and apologized profusely for not anticipating the huge response to their campaign. As a thwarted customer, that would be easier to swallow than being accused of fraud.
Just one more reason (and the list is getting really long) NOT to shop at Kmart.
I had problems with K-Mart everytime I would try to shop there, I gave up & do not shop there anymore. The first time I did the double coupon deal at our K-mart in Altoona PA, I was told they were not accepting them, I told her that my friend had just used this deal the day before. She called the manager Dena over & she treated me way worse then the cashier. The cashier was very pleasent & tried to help me, but the manager was just plain rude. She talked very ignorantly to me & said that she was told by coorprate that if someone complained about them not taking the coupons, then they had to honor them. Then went on to say that criminals posted this stuff on the internet & now they she had to loose money by honoring these coupons. I couldn’t understand how she felt SHE was loosing money, unless she is an owner of K-Mart???
I emailed K-mart customer service about the whole incident, but all they did was say they were sorry this had happened & they would look into it. Which I don’t think they ever did, because the next time they had the double coupons, I had to deal with mean, rude Dena again. After that I just quit shopping there, I would rahter go to Wal-Mart or Target & pay a little more without a double coupon, then to give people as rude as Kmart employees any of my business!!
I used the KMart $10/$20 at the Milwaukee store with no problem!
And THIS is why it’s very rare to find a Kmart in Texas! People have gotten tired of dealing with their non-sense and stopped shopping there!
You don’t have to say you are sorry! It’s not your fault, it’s Kmarts fault!!!
I was able to use my coupon Friday afternoon in my local store of Muskogee, OK. Generally I don’t shop at K-mart because the store usually lacks enough cashiers to handle the transactional load coming through but I thought I would give this a shot. I purchased a bedspread for my son that I have been eyeing for quite some time. The cashier received the “coupon not found” pop-up and called for a manager. The manager went to the back and while doing so the cashier and I casually chatted. No one was rude. The manager brought back the email which stated they were not required to accept the coupon. She chose rather to accept the coupon for myself and another shopper using it at the same time next to me. What she did was charge us full price for the items we purchased and then give us a $10 gift card after the transaction was complete. Then they were going to post signs regarding the coupon. I was okay with this as I needed the sheets to go along with the bedspread anyway. So, all in all I saved $10 in total and I must say that the store did what they could to make the transaction right. I may actually shop there a few more times over the big “W” which is MUCH harder to deal with in my experience. Thank you K-mart for doing what you can to make the situation right!
I just called all 3 of my kmarts in my city and all 3 said nope it is meant for NY stores wow it reads”valid at all kmart locations” on the bottom of the coupon. Sears and Kmart officially SUCK!
KMart and Sears went off my shopping list years ago, basically because of the way they treat us and the terrible state of the Kmart stores I have been in.
As far as coupons, I have experienced another store that ‘takes the cake’ here in my city. My local Food City told me they didn’t take internet coupons, so I let it go till I had no choice but to save money any way I could. Since they are the closest store for groceries and usually the best prices, I contacted corporate offices and they said the store would accept the coupons. Next trip, my local store accepted them with no comment but a lot of dirty looks. Now, a few months later, they suddenly say they can’t accept them. Three visits later with different explanations and requirements, the manager says they will accept up to one dollar max per coupon and NO coupons for ANYthing free, even with purchase. They claim they were receiving way too many fraudulent coupons!
I used mine on Friday without any trouble. It was great!
When I heard about this deal and then saw it was for Kmart…I quickly decided I wasn’t up for a hassle. And yup, here are the reports rolling in. I can’t believe they are still in business….even Martha Stewart bailed on them.
I think all of us couponers should boycott K-Mart!!!!!!
@Kim,
I agree with Kim! For all of us who tried to use the coupon without success, I believe a boycott is in order. There is power in numbers! I believe we should let K-mart know that as customers, we will not stand for this type of treatment. If you print a coupon that states “valid at all kmart locations”, that is exactly what should happen and the coupon should be honored as such.
Regardless of whether the coupon was only intended for use at certain stores, it CLEARLY states on the coupon – “VALID AT ALL KMART STORE LOCATIONS”
There is a whole paragraph of restrictions – if they didn’t want it to be used at all stores, it should say NOT VALID AT ALL KMART LOCATIONS, or “FOR USE AT PARTICIPATING STORES ONLY”
I was not allowed to use my coupon last night and sent a complaint to corporate when i got home. This morning, I got a response saying they value their customers, so they are sending me a new coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase. WHAT??? Yes, you refused to take your own coupon, costing me $10 I had no intention of spending… so to make up for it, you expect me to spend even MORE money at your store? I THINK NOT.
Crystal, thanks so much for posting this. I was excited to use the coupon on some shoes and tried getting the coupon to open again yesterday morning and it just opened a blank document, so I thought something was wrong…and I’m a web designer. I figured I could ‘fix it’ myself. Thanks for the note and we don’t hold you to any blame! Thanks for all you do.
My Kmart had signs posted on all the entrance doors stating the coupon was not valid. At least I knew before I had my cart full!
I emailed Kmart and they could care less. A good company would have taken care of this PR problem by now. I don’t know if I can personally put them out of business but I plan to stay AWAY from Kmart and advise others to do the same.
I just wanted to let you know that my local KMart in Pineville, LA allowed me to use the coupon. The cashier figured out that she had to hit the “Food Coupon” button on her cashier for it to work instead of running it as a regular coupon…I used the coupon for curtains, not food and it still worked
Maybe some others out there will read this and try it. Thanks!
I did get to use it at the Plattsburgh, NY store, but I only got to use it once. I went back the day after I used the first one and they told me I couldn’t use it again. Since the code was the same (I printed it multiple times), their system said “could not find” when scanned. I had 2 managers rudely telling me that “you can’t just keep getting the discount!” I tried to argue the 1 per transaction…not 1 per customer, which was printed right on the coupon, but they refused to honor it. So, I left my items at the store and took my business elsewhere, where I ended up getting a better deal anyway…Thanks for posting though
@Mindy Wojewodzic,
! last thing…I paired the coupon with 2 of the Huggies coupons, so I got 2 Huggies for $4 total when the coupon went through…so at least I got something out of Kmart besides grief!
I havenever had a problem with coupons and my local K Mart. I always go to customer service if they *may* be a problem with a cashier, which was the case over the weekend at my local Shaws and a $3/2 coupon for Suave and Degree deodrant. The singles were on sale for 1.79, and sold out! So I grabbed a two pack, went to customer service and he approved the coupon on the 2 pack. The cashier tried to refuse me!
Anyway, moral of the story is, I have never had any problem locally!
On their Facebook page:
A coupon for $10 off a $20 purchase has had unauthorized circulation and we have had to stop accepting it at most stores. The coupons will still be honored in the intended stores in the New York, Baltimore and Chicago area. We regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Thank you for your continued patronage… and we do look forward to sharing other deals and offers with you in the future.
You know, Kmart is going out of business sooner rather than later. Unorganized stores, narrow isles, unmarked prices, long waits in line add up to customers who just avoid shopping at your store. Knowing this, I thought, “wow! a good coupon to get people in the store – this is a good way to start to turn it around, Kmart.”
Of course, they just baited and switched me – for the last time. There are no double coupon deals worth the trouble of shopping there.
And, no, I’m not e-mailing them to tell them about my bad experience…I’m voting with my pocketbook elsewhere.
Like the Tom Cruise character in Rain Main said, “Kmart sucks!”
I used that coupon four times last week with no problem. One of the cashier’s even said a lot of people were coming in with it. Didn’t bat an eye at accepting it.
Now, today, the cashier said it needed a store number on the coupon to be valid. What? I called for a manager. The gal from CS came over and rudely told my it won’t go thru. Told the cashier to scan it. It did after a few seconds and I got my discount.
It’s good until 5/15/10 and I plan to use it (and challenge them, if I have to) again.
I am NOT a thief but that’s what I felt like. How embarrassing!
It was on K-Mart’s website, for Pete’s sake! What are they thinking?
I think that they just should have sucked it up and admitted their mistake and taken the coupon everywhere. Its fine to take it down and kill it on their site, but for anyone that had already printed it, it should have been honored. Period.
I havent been to a kmart in forever it seems.So could someone tell me when do they double coupons? is it all the locations? How many can you use & is it up to a certain $ amount only? Thanks You
The coupon didn’t work for me.
I spent 45 minutes shopping in the store only to spend another 20 at the register before the cashier wandered over to customer service then came back to tell me the coupon was only good in NY. When my husband questioned her on where it said that on the coupon she went to the next register over and picked up a small card that said they were not honoring the coupon! We left all of our purchases at the register.
The sad thing is, we even had to argue with the cashier to get back the “regular” coupons we intended to use! She was going to keep ALL the coupons we handed her, even though we didn’t buy anything!
KMart has been so frustrating in the past, I thought I would give it another try with this deal. But, no luck. The store is usually out of what I want anyway, so I don’t intend to take any more business there. They are usually higher priced on items than my other local stores, I just thought it would be worth it with a really good coupon.
Bad business practices, rude customer service, no thanks!
Although I must say THUMBS UP to Kmart for promoting OTHER local businesses – since that is where all of my money is going from now on!
Kmart $10/20 Corp. Update
http://digg.com/d31Ms4O
To Crystal and other commenters on this site,
First allow me to apologize for not finding this post sooner. Typically we see these much more quickly and are able to reach out in a timelier manner. My name is Brian and I’m part of the Sears Cares Escalations team. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had these issues with the K-mart coupon. Crystal posted it in good faith and it has caused you folks unintended frustration and for that we do apologize. It was intended for only a select number of cities as a promotional offer. It got posted to our website incorrectly and it caused many customers to be inconvenienced and to become frustrated. When we realized this we pulled it immediately. Of course we want all K-mart customers to not be frustrated by this unfortunate event so we are offering to send a coupon that does not have any limitations on what store will accept it. We are offering a 10.00 off any 50.00 purchase coupon redeemable at any K-mart store. The coupon is good through 12/31/10. If you would like my team to send this coupon to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we’d be happy to send it to you. At your convenience, please contact our office via email at searscares@searshc.com. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and we will call you directly, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Brian J.
Senior Case Manager
Sears Cares
P.S. Since we have merged with K-mart and both entities fall under the Sears Holdings incorporation, we have been working very hard to brink K-mart to the level of service that customers expect. It is a work in progress so please bear with us while we work through this process. Your feedback is absolutely necessary as we cannot improve what we don’t know frustrates you as our customer. Having negative experiences with K-mart representatives is unacceptable by any standard of ours and we are working very diligently to change that behavior. This is our first goal for the future.
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