Time For A Bragging Rules Discussion

[Tinkerbella]

And I am not a fan of using coupons to get stuff for free just to give to charity. Most, if not all, large corporations have their own charitable giving schemes. If you don't have money to donate hard goods then donate your time.

I am a huge fan of giving free stuff to charity, and will continue to do so

[HuneyB]

I love the brag section and love reading the deals everyone gets. My personal favs are baby related and food related as those are so hard to get good deals on. "Little brags" to me are the best those big crazy brags are out of control. But that is my preference, nothing against those that do and post them. As long as it is honest and rule following I have no problem. Personally if I don't agree with something I move on, no comment or like. Questioning should be viewed as just that a question, defense is not needed or wanted, or is negative comments.

[ericaraina]

Maybe I misused the word shelf clearer. It's the term typically associated with the purchase of large quantities.

I just mean that (IMO) people shouldn't be judged for purchasing mass quantities of products, and assuming that they are purchasing more than they need. As someone said, they shop for 5 families. I for example shop for 3 families and donate a ton to a nearby charity. If I can obtain free stuff for myself, and to share, and the store will let me, then I will. I hate that I sometimes have to hide this type of hauling from this community for fear of judgement. It should be a cool thing to get a boat load of toothbrushes, right?

Why is 5 toothbrushes an okay brag, but not 50? Same deal, different quantity. Readers learn about the deal either way!!

The only 100+ transaction I ever did was for Campbell's soups, which I donated most of. I was just giving an exaggerated example for the sake of discussion.

And, if I do know in advance, I will preorder, or call to check stock. I have a few stores that are used to my requests.

[theo44]

I am a huge fan of giving free stuff to charity, and will continue to do so

Me too! I donate blood, donate money when people are fund-raising, donate used clothing/household goods and I volunteer for the VON's SMART program. And I even donate food.

When I read some of these brags I can get the feeling that some people just want to get things for free and then justify obtaining the mass quantities by giving them away.

Added:

I have read many fewer brags about donating items obtained with higher value FPCs than ones about items that are already inexpensive to begin with and can be obtained free with cents off coupons.

[Bargain Seeker]

When I see a brag I know right away if the person misused the coupon or not. Most of the time I will not say anything since I am not the coupon police. So my problem with these brags is that newbies who joined this site to learn from more experienced people will see this and think it is ok. While some people on here will think it is ok I think most of us are honest and will not agree with it.

My opinion is that these posts should be deleted as soon as it is realized that the coupons were misused.

[megansavingmoney]

I love reading brags! It is absolutely one of my favourite parts of Smart Canucks. I find out about great deals and I just find reading them interesting (it's like US Weekly or something to me). I love the 90% off brags, I love the $5 off my groceries for the week, I love the life brags, I love the found coupons brag, all of them.

I personally think if someone has a problem with a brag and suspects it might be fraud, they should report it to the mods.

And for shelf clearing, I always assume people who bought a lot either spread it around multiple stores or called the store ahead of time. I guess that's probably naive of me.

I like to post my own brags because I hope they help out others. If I just grabbed a couple things that have already been talked about by others, I don't bother posting. And sometimes I'm just lazy.

[Decaf]

I may add that if no body else said anything about the obvious misused coupon brags (either by choice or not allowed to)... any ones (manufacturer representative, non SC members) who comes across this forum will think that everyone in SC are like that...like we are all bunch of greedy dishonest couponners.

[ahatt]

Honestly, I think a few bad apples have ruined it for the bunch. The brag section is not what it used to be when I first signed up on SmartCanucks 4 years ago. I think the legitimate couponers have been scared off of posting their brags. There is so much negativity and misuse that I see in the brag section now, that I just try to avoid this section all together and just browse the deals and coupon forums. I hate seeing select few users posting stuff that is teaching the newbies unethical couponing. It's no wonder coupon values just keep going down and down ($0.25 Tide brandsaver coupon anyone?). I would like to see the users that are blatantly misusing coupons banned from this site. It should be on a strike system, where 3 strikes and you're banned and your IP address is banned as well. Mistakes do happen and I'm sure we have all unintentionally misused a coupon, but there are select few people that are taking advantage of the system and going out of their way to misuse coupons or go around policies. Just my honest opinion.

[Darth Penguin]

TBH, I rarely read the brags. I like the I/we are getting married/buying a house/having a baby/conquering another planet and as such those are the ones I tend to read and comment on.

However, there are those that I hav read recently that violate the spirit of the coupon/offer rather than being totally illegal/immoral. I don't like reading those kind of brags very much.

[mammalion]

Me too! I donate blood, donate money when people are fund-raising, donate used clothing/household goods and I volunteer for the VON's SMART program. And I even donate food.

When I read some of these brags I can get the feeling that some people just want to get things for free and then justify obtaining the mass quantities by giving them away.

Added:

I have read many fewer brags about donating items obtained with higher value FPCs than ones about items that are already inexpensive to begin with and can be obtained free with cents off coupons.

First ly i think it wonderful that you donate so much time and even blood to charity ( high five for that ) I unfortunately can not.......I dont feel that donating my time, effort and gas money to purchase ( coupon) for staples ( food) personal hygene products ( deodarant , soap toothpaste and tooth brushes) or home care items such as dish soap and laundry soap, have any less charitable contribution to yours, and again, text has no tone, but your comments here are the kind that prevent people from being honest. I am handycapped, a 5 tonne truck drove over my car, i am unfortunately not able to work at the age of 43, I do not have alot of money as i can not work, i sometimes have to goto the food bank for assistance, ( should i be ashamed of that as well?) i was raised that you give back in the way you can, no help is ever to little. So please dont condesend to those out here who are trying to help out. Want to know what the board of extras always is out of at the food bank i have had to goto ? personal hygene products ( deodarant , soap toothpaste and tooth brushes) or home care items such as dish soap and laundry soap and toilet paper.

Did i mention i was a very very talented executive before my accident? im not ignorant, stupid nor otherwise.......please dont insult those who are trying to give back in our own way.

Thanks a bunch and happy couponing to you

[shopperwho]

So happy this topic is being discussed. I have been on SC for about year and a half and have really learned a lot. I read the brags so I can go out and get the same deals. I have learned most of my couponing skills from here. Here is my opinion on the topic.
- I really haven't noticed a lot of negativity on the forum (except today about the SDM gift card controversy.)
- Couponing is such a grey area. I once tried to use coupons on sale items at LD and the CS wouldn't allow it as she said the coupon states "not to be used with any other offer" her reasoning was that a sale was an offer. We've all had the experience of a cashier not allowing a purchase of more than one item with a coupon because of the wording "one coupon per purchase".
- It's also hard to say what amount is okay and what's clearing shelves. It's frustrating to go to get a good deal and it's not there to come and see on here that someone purchased a 100 of that item. I would never clear a shelf or take the last of a coupon book, but then some people can justify it for themselves to do that. And I think most couponers donate items even if they don't brag about it. It's hard not to want to share when you get free stuff.
- As for the posts on this forum. I post brags regularly and if someone sees something that I could improve on in the way of my coupling practice. I want them to tell me. This is how I learn to be a better couponer and person. I want to get the best deals but I don't want to scam or be unethical.
- There has been some shady posts on here lately and I have wanted so bad to reply with some concerns but the policy on no negative is very restrictive. I am glad when someone does say something. If the poster feels they are right then they can reply with their story and how they feel the coupon/deal was legit.
- It should be an open forum with people being able to challenge shops. This is how we will all learn to be better shoppers. If a comment or post is offensive then the Mods can delete it and contact the members directly.
- I assume we are all adults and if you post something that others may or may not get away with you should have to back it up. I again, want others to help me if I do something out of line.

IMO - keep it an open forum where feedback is given even if it's in the form of a concern over coupon use. If the poster did what they feel is fair practice then they can reply that way and that's it.

[FallenPixels]

I don't think anyone means to insult those who give back, but there are a lot of people on fixed budgets who would like to get one or two for their own use, rather than pay for them leaving less money for food too. Especially those who do not drive or need to make a trip into a city for shopping, cleared shelves generally upset people.

Most stores are happy to preorder cases for you if you speak to the manager in advance, it is one of the reasons we try to get as many flyers posted early as possible on SC, so people can preorder

[lotsasavings]

For a while we have tried to have no "negative" comments on brags but to be honest, people are taking it a little too far (someone left the forum for example when a newbie asked them which coupon they used - just because the newbie wanted to get the same deal but the other person felt it was accusing her of misuse of coupon).

The moderators also receive a lot of complaints and reports asking us to remove brags where the coupons have obviously been misused, or shelves cleared - something I am sure most of us can agree hurts couponers.

So what do you want to see in brags as far as rules?

People are put off by negative comments but there are a lot of SCers who used to be active in brags who don't brag as they feel unless you get everything free - even if it means misuse - its not worth bragging anymore because people see the crazy brags and want those

I can see you all reading, don't be afraid to reply even if you disagree with the majority - we need as many opinions as possible before changing the rules

So far this has been a very respectful discussion with no personal attacks, lets keep it that way pls

If you look at the bragging section, you'll notice that there are far fewer individual brag threads posted than there used to be. (I've been a member of SC for 5 years.) In my opinion, it's the comments that are responsible for this. Personally, I no longer post separate brags. (Yes, I'm one of those "sensitive" people who prefers not to take a chance on being the "target" of another member's critical judgement.)

Instead, on occasion, I'll post here: WHAT is YOUR best deal this week?????
If someone approves or finds my post helpful, they may choose to add a "like". If not, they'll simply move on to the next post in the thread. It's a low-risk method of sharing a good deal that others may benefit from.

Just out of curiosity, for those who have commented thus far in this thread, when was the last time YOU PERSONALLY posted a new thread in the brag section? And then ask yourself why or why not. And, if it would be possible to positively define and regulate a "bragging rules policy", would it change how often you post an individual brag?

In my opinion, it's not the comments that lead to fewer brags. It's the feeling that unless you are "beating the system," or getting everything free, or making money on your whole purchase, that no one cares.

When someone posts a brag that several people find questionable, and yet people are posting things like, wow, i wish i could be like you, and omg, you are the queen/king of whatever...how do think that makes people feel, those who are more inclined to post regular brags?

I've read through the four pages of dialogue so far and there has been a wide spectrum of opinions expressed. That's expected when you have this many people joining in a conversation . . . and it's helpful to be able to discuss and work through ideas to improve the bragging section. So, to return to FallenPixels initial post:

(1) What, specifically, do you want to see as rules?

and, if I may, I might add:

(2) What would it take to encourage people to post brags or to return to posting brags . . . not just the spectatular "I got all of this for free!" (but please do brag if this happens to you ) but also the regular, everyday, makes you feel good kinds of deals (like today when I bought Oasis 8's juice boxes for $1.99 and received 20 Air Miles . . . = $2.10 value . . . for every 3 packs I bought )?

[dahliagrower]

I have tried to hold back from responding ... but alas - here I can't help myself....

I've never enjoyed reading the brags until Momi made them seem real - small shops that were great value - I could relate to those .... and for the first time in 4 years I was inspired to post a brag of my own... not an SDM shop - and not free product -or clearing shelves but just a good day and good value. I've only ever posted the one brag

I set my own moral code - it's not dictated by anything I read here. There have been many reasons why I have avoided the brags before - mainly I believe couponing should be for your own use - so I don't agree with brags that clear shelves. I started to get turned off when the stacking brags promoted buying so much of the product that a normal family couldn't possibly use/consume within a 1 year period (ie. the dove coupons come to mind)... do I disagree with the idea of stacking to get something free - absolutely not - but 100s of body wash ? yikes.... Not judging anyone here as I can get sucked in just as easily as the next person But as a result of the "clearing of shelves" with stacking ... it's basically come to an end here in BC....and that was very sad

And yes - I agree wholeheartedly with the donations and charitable purchases - but charitites need "FOOD" items more than tooth paste or body wash.... just my opinion.

There have been lots of brags on here in the last 4 years that I have fundamentally disagreed with -- they seemed too good to be real...and in most cases they were - just accidents by someone in marketing who hadn't thought through the whole process .... Zellers and Canadian Tire come to mind as having many, many errors in their campaigns and marketing....

There is a responsibility of anyone posting a brag that the coupons used are valid on the product bought - this is because other people are then depending on the validity of that information to make their product purchases. It should be a requirement that they have indeed done their best to confirm the validity of the information they are spreading.

My two cents ....

[sam786]

Reading all these thoughtful and respectful comments has helped me understand everyone's position better.

I just wanted to mention that while I am "supporting" the SCers that stretch the rules, or request permission specifically, etc., I personally do not try to replicate them. I just do not like reading negative comments regarding them. I actually do not like reading negative comments even when I also disagree with the OP. Each couponer makes their own decisions for themselves, and when posts contradict the OP's deal, I find it just changes the tone of this board, rather than serving as an educational tool.

As a Newbie, I still believe we ultimately form our own set of rules for ourselves, regardless of what others are doing. I just don't want the board to become a nasty environment, because understandings and escalations happen quickly when we are not face to face.

Completely agree