Sell Coupons on eBay
Filed Under How-To's
Here’s a new trend that I’m interested in trying: There are a number of people who sell coupons on eBay. Even more fascinating is the fact that there appear to be an equal number of people who buy coupons on eBay! Think about it. No inventory storage issues. Shipping is as easy as a regular envelope, a first class stamp and your mail box – no boxes, packing materials, scales or special trips to the post office! And in many cases, your source of inventory is free.
Coupons are normally sold on eBay in lots (see the restrictions below). The listing can be a simple template that includes information on the store/product, the expiration date, any restrictions or requirements specified on the coupon, and a scan or picture of the coupon (altered with a “watermark” so the scan cannot be printed and used). Sources include coupon inserts from your Sunday paper and free coupons sent via the mail. Depending on the coupon, bids currently seem to fetch about 25% – 50% of the their total worth.
Because coupons technically have no cash value, eBay coupon auction listings typically include a statement that specifies that the coupons are free and the bidder is paying the seller for the service of procuring, clipping and compiling the coupon sets.
Selling coupons on eBay is permitted, however the auction site does have some regulations that must be adhered to. Currently, these include:
- No expired coupons
- The coupons must be physically delivered (i.e. via mail). No scans sent by email.
- Free coupons (with no purchase required) are limited to 2 per auction listing.
- No more than 20 coupons for the same item. Additionally, no more than 5 coupons per item if they originated from a newspaper coupon insert.
- No more than 100 total coupons per listing.
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22 Responses to “Sell Coupons on eBay”
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Actually, It is not legal to sell the coupons on ebay or anywhere else. You can however give the coupons away for free and sell the time it takes you to clip them. That is the way it should be done to be totally legal.
how do they people selling Lowe’s/Home Depot coupons get them?
What specific law or laws says that it is illegal to sell coupons? Isn’t this just the manufacturer’s rules/policies on the coupon? Those are not laws. They can not send you to jail if you sell their coupon.
I bought a book of vouchers for local businesses and there are a lot I would use and give away to family and friends, but a lot I wouldn’t use, can I sell these on eBay? I think if I paid for them I should be allowed to do with them what I want
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I can see selling and buying coupons since you can get multiple coupons for items that you buy all the time and save money…the part I dont get is if it is for the TIME and not the coupon…Does it cost more to cut out a coupon that is for 1.00 off or a popular item than a .10 off coupon or a popular item, clipping is clipping and I would think they all should be sold for the same if not very close price …this makes no sense to me and I think that part should be regulated…It takes no more TIME to cut out one coupon more than another.
I see your point Janice, yet the auctions are for the time it takes to clip as well as the time it takes to procure and find the coupons. A really good coupon may be more difficult to find then a not so great coupon. I know that pizza coupons seem to be a dime a dozen, yet a coupon for say 50 % off of infant formula might be a lot harder to find so it is to be expected that this coupon would have a greater charge.
I’ve noticed on some coupons, i.e. Victoria’s Secret, they do say something like… this coupon/offer is not for resale… so would that make selling those coupons illegal? Many people are currently selling those types of coupons on eBay anyway despite the company’s disclaimer.
Again, where is the law that says you can not sell a coupon? Those companies may not want you to sell their coupon but they can’t send you to jail for doing so anymore than they can send you to jail for re-selling a product you bought from them but no longer need. In my opinion, they should be happy that there are legitimate customers out there that want their coupons to legitimately redeem them in stores. What they aren’t happy about is there are some very savvy customers timing sales with coupons and getting GREAT deals – totally legitimate.
Copyright Laws…Terms of use…look it up or you will end up like that mother who got sued by Record Co.
I would encourage you all to look at eBay’s actual policy for manufacturer’s coupons where it states that a seller cannot claim that the selling price is based their time. Per eBay policy the coupon is the item being sold. Stating otherwise is a violation.
Some coupons have a clause in their fine print saying that the coupon is void if transferred, sold, or auctioned. They have the right to enforce that in any way they choose. I think many just choose to ignore it because the final result is that a product gets sold.
so tell me … how does the manufacturer know if I handed susie homemaker one of my extra coupons (transfer) or sold it at cost to list only on ebay? Just curious…. how do they really know?
Stores that have a “plus” card, like Kroger, actually TRACK activity on the cards. A co-worker almost lost her job because she used to many duplicate coupons, they were register printout coupons and she had purchased the products that generated the coupons to print, but because she used them all in one purchase, corporated actually came and she got written up. They accused her of stealing the printout coupons.
So just remember if you using a loyalty card with the coupon, they do know who and where you are.
***Copyright Laws…Terms of use…look it up or you will end up like that mother who got sued by Record Co.***
Wrong, try again.
Once someone legally acquires a copy of something (coupon, CD, etc.) the manufacturer has NO control over what that person does with *that copy*. If I buy or otherwise acquire a book, CD or coupon, I can sell it all day long and there is nothing they can do about it. This is called the “First Sale Doctrine” and it is well-settled law.
Note that I am talking about the object that was legally acquired. It is NOT legal to copy things and resell the copies.
As far as “terms of use”… I don’t recall agreeing to any terms of use when I bought my Sunday paper…
does anyone know how these guys are getting the thousands of kohls $5 coupons that they re selling on ebay,other than the typical open up a couple different yahoo or gmail accounts
Here in our town we have a recycle depot that we can get as many free papers as you want if you look through the piles.. I went today and every single newspaper had a coupon flyer in it and these papers have never even been touched. they end up making so many Also freecycle you can ask for peoples papers. The paper carriers give them away as well as the paper company doesnt want them back.
Now that is illegal; you cannot forage through a recycle bin. It is theft. The paper put in the recycle bin is “sold” by the person or entity that owns the recycle bin. Without permission, it is at a minimum, a misdemeanor.
I have been trying to find coupon “laws”, “statutes” or something in the “US Code” that specifically makes it a crime to sell or transfer a coupon. No Luck.
I would have to agree that just because the manufacturer makes a policy it does not mean it is illegal to do something contrary.
As far as I can interpret, the manufacturer or retailer would just have the right to refuse to take the coupon; however, I would have to presume that it is not going to happen for fear of consumer backlash.
As long as a purchaser is meeting all the other terms of the coupon… size, quantity, doubling/tripling then they will probably accept them.
Try this scenario….I am asked to purchase a newspaper for a relative because I just happen to be going to the store. Then I deliver the paper to them and say not to reimburse me for it as I am nice that way. I have, in fact, transferred that paper to someone else other than the original purchaser and its contents including the coupons. So, that violates the term of the coupons….??
Hmmm…I don’t think so!
I think one needs to remember, that laws must serve some purpose. They must also be enforceable.
The manufacturer has control over how many coupons they distribute, they must also account for them for financial reasons and account for an estimated amount to be redeemed – they want to keep this percentage as low as possible and that is why they have the CIC. I also would like the applaud the CIC for combating counterfeiting…that is truly a crime and that is why the person was sued by the record company….making copies is the same as counterfeiting.
To the person who mentions CIC, I work for a manufacturer coupon processing office, it’s illegal to Buy or Sell coupons online, even if they claim they are just selling “their time and efforts”. Do not buy into it. From CIC’s website directly: “Individuals selling or auctioning coupons often know that such sales and auctions are in violation of the terms and conditions of the coupons. As such, they may include an invalid disclaimer, such as, “I’m selling my time to clip the coupons, not the coupons themselves. Such disclaimers are invalid and do not provide any legal protection to either party. Such obviously invalid disclaimers merely serve to prove that the seller/auctioneer knows that their illicit coupon sales are inappropriate, wrong, and subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, depending on the situation.”
Wrong. All that on the CIC website hinges on a term or condition printed on a coupon which has already been stated is not a law but merely conditions from the manufacturer to redeem the discount.
Everyone is free to buy as many sunday papers as they like and cutout the same coupon from each insert and stack them and if able use them. theres no law against selling said inserts as well. Its the same as selling the sunday papers to someone else since now they belong to you. Remember “First Sale Doctrine”
If the seller takes the time to cut the coupons out of the insert then thats what your paying for. The same manufacturer you process coupons for knows its a hazy road to travel down and i would bet they dont want to attempt it
This is where the manufacturers will be able to stop Ebay from allowing coupons to be sold, err, I mean for the clipper’s time to be sold.LOL
First off, Ebay themselves state explicitly that you are selling the coupons themselves. You will read that in the same area where they state conditions in selling them. So saying you are selling your time is pointless – Ebay disagrees with you. Notice if you read carefully how Ebay advises coupon sellers to NOT VIOLATE the terms of the coupons, and there is a good reason for that.
Most coupons state they are VOID if they are sold, auctioned or transfered. Now, no matter what you claim you are being paid for, as soon as you MAIL thru the US Postal Service, those coupons, you are committing mail fraud, because you are mailing VOIDED items that cannot be used BUT you got paid for them! Ebay, again, states that you are SELLING the coupons. Period.
So you are using the US mail to defraud people when you do NOT state in your ad that the items (coupons) CANNOT be used because they are VOIDED according to the terms of use. Once you attempt to use those coupons,that is fraud since the coupons have been voided (of course there is no way for anyone to know how you got them). Still, the fact is that a VOIDED item that CANNOT legally be used is being mailed to you, and you paid for that useless item.
Fraud.
That is what they will use to go after the sellers. Mark my words.
If selling coupons is illegal, why does Ebay allow you to do to commit this supposed crime?