Apr 16, 2011

The Difference between Purchase and Transaction

I don't really consider myself a coupon newbie because I've been using coupons for a while now. But, I've just recently (in the past 2-3 months) really gotten into it full-force. I just ran across this comment on a different site that I frequent (hip2save.com) by a reader named "Melissa", and I thought it was really helpful. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten confused or thwarted by cashiers because of this, and I didn't have the knowledge to back up my claim to use multiple like coupons!

Sometimes cashiers think ‘purchase’ and ‘transaction’ mean the same thing, but they are not. Each item you put on the counter is a ‘purchase’, all of the items combined are a ‘transaction’. Some coupons do say one per transaction, and that means just that – one per transaction. One coupon per purchase means if you are buying 2 items, you can’t have the cashier scan 1 coupon twice, you need 1 coupon per item you are purchasing.

This cleared up so much confusion for me. I think I'm going to print it out and put it in my coupon binder so that I can remember it next time a cashier gives me grief! :) 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Lacey said...

You're saying that if you buy 5 boxes of popcorn that I can use that 1 coupon 5 times for each box? Or, do I have to do 5 different transactions and use that same coupon 5 times?

Lacey said...

ok, i'm trying to post on my computer.

Lisa said...

Neither, actually. A lot of cashiers won't let you use multiples of the same coupon - that's what this is in reference to. For instance - if you are buying those 5 boxes of popcorn and you have 5 identical coupons for that popcorn, they won't let you use but 1 of them, because they claim that since the coupon says "only one coupon per purchase" that you can only use 1 coupon and not 5. But what the writing on the coupon really means is that you can only use one coupon per item. They are using purchase and transaction synonymously. Since you have 5 items and 5 coupons, it should be fine. The only time it wouldn't be allowed is if the coupon says "one coupon per transaction". Make sense?

hollie said...

If you look at the wording on P&G coupons, it helps clear up confusion. They say "limit one coupon per purchase" and "limit 4 like coupons per shopping trip". Every single item you buy counts as a separate purchase. So, 4 shampoos = 4 purchases. Your entire shopping trip (which includes all your purchases) = one transaction. Therefore in this scenario, you could use up to 4 shampoo coupons in one transaction/checkout. Most coupons do not have transaction limits (usually only P&G and Target) so you can use as many coupons as you have items for.
sorry for hijacking your blog, Lisa :)

Lisa said...

Lacey - your test post came through!!!
Hollie - no problem! I always appreciate your help!!!