Becky today has written an excellent post describing the cost of store theft that I suggest everyone reads, after she found a case of shoplifting on the store shelves.   I get just as upset as she does on this subject!  Taking this one step further, I suggest that if you are a couponer and you see or hear suspicious behavior in the aisles, to alert the store management.  I've done so before when I see someone bragging about coupon tricks that aren't ethical or legal.  One sale a guy had loaded his cart with a certain expensive drink, and was bragging to others in the store that he was going to get them for $1 each.  I knew which coupon he was referring to, saw it in his open binder, yet it wasn't for the size or variety of drink he was buying.  It was clearly marked.  By the volume of his order for these drinks, and the attitude of his bragging, I knew something wasn't right.  I warned the manager, who was able to step in and do the checkout himself, and made sure to vocally point out the error of the purchase and the coupon.  The guy blustered and threatened, but as I watched from a distance, the store stood firm.  By his demeanor I think it was a rare thing for him not to get his way.  That report alone saved the store more than $20.  During another big sale, I stumbled upon a group with a woman sharing information with the group on how to use coupons for less products than stated on the face of the coupon.  Since she was speaking with newbies I stepped in immediately--but I also went to the store manager to point her out and warn them. Coupon fraud is no different from shoplifting, if done knowingly!  It is one thing to make a mistake or to have learned improperly.  It is a total other issue to know it is illegal and to push it through anyway.  The say "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" really applies here.  Just because a register doesn't beep at a coupon used improperly, that does not mean that the usage is allowed by the store.  It just means the store's system didn't catch on.  There are many who wrongly think that because a store accidentally accepted an expired coupon without it beeping, that it accepts expired coupons as a matter of policy.  No local stores do.  If you'd like to know more about the "Don'ts" of coupons, check out our Dealbreakers page. There are several big sales this week and next, with more to come!  If you see or hear something suspicious, report it!  We can really step up and make a difference if we work together!