I get more questions in my "real" classes on this topic than anything else. People get confused. Maybe it is the way I explain it, I don't know, but I am going to explain it here.

So let's take a moment and forget about coupons (yes, you heard me!)

If a store has an item on sale B1G1F, who is eating the cost of the free item?

THE STORE

Your receipt may ring up something like this:
Halls Cough Drops $2.50
Halls Cough Drops $0.00

Now let's forget the store is having these on sale for B1G1F, and you have a B1G1F coupon. If you use that coupon who is eating the cost of the Free item?

THE Manufacturer of the Coupon

Now, let's take the best of both worlds. The store is having Halls on sale B1G1F and you have a manufacturer coupon for B1G1F

If you want to use your coupon how many do you have to buy?
2

Here is the logic:
The store is eating the cost of the first FREE item to get you in the door. The manufacturer is eating the cost of the 2nd item via a coupon. You get both for free, but tax if appropriate.


Now here comes the fun part. In most stores you may use the same number of coupons for each set(s) of items you buy. (by sets I mean you may have 1 coupon of more than 1 item).

So in the above scenerio of buying 2 bags of Halls, you may use 2 coupons, even though one of the items is free.

So your receipt would be something like this:
Halls Cough Drops $2.50
Halls Cough Drops $0.00 Free sale from store
B1G1F coupon -$2.50 B1g1F coupon
-$1.00 $1/1 Coupon any Halls product

You are now owed $1

Now they are not going to give you $1 back, so purchase something to eat the cost of that $1. Some stores may not allow you to put that additional coupon on, but most will.

If not, during a b1g1f sale and a b1g1f coupon, you will still get both for free, but not make the extra.

I hope this clears anything up!

Ask if you have questions

Moonflower

My Coupons are my American Express Card - Don't leave home without them!

just to add it does also depend on your local stores. I know my local wags, will not allow b1g1 coupons on their b1g1 sale. Plus, they won't let you use a coupon on the free item. So for me, on a b1g1 sale, i can use 1 coupon for $ off, and that's it. i know all seem to have their own policy, so you want to find out for your local store.

My store stopped the b1g1 coupon with the b1g1 sale, back in jan when oust was b1g1 and everyone was using the coupon.

Using two coupons on a BOGO sale is great and is DOESN'T hurt the store!!!! Think about this: They were going to eat the cost of one of the items anyways, and they will get reimbursed for the coupons!!! So by using two coupons, you can really maximize your savings!!!

Great Post!!

Thanks. This really helps a lot.

Thanks so much for breaking this down I guess the logic is what really cleared this up.

Will Walmart let you use 2 Q's for a BOG1F?

My Walmart has a difficult time even taking the B1G1's... They don't like to let us use the get a product free coupons... but I think it's up to each store (regardless of their policy - which can be viewed at Walmart.com)...