January 8th, 2012

Are Your Coupons Missing a Barcode?

coupons format past

Coupon with original barcode

Are Your Coupons Missing a Barcode?

Well it seems this has been happening more and more often lately. Just last week I stopped by Walmart to redeem my favorite coupon for $3/1 K-Y Jelly product ( 😉 ) printed straight from Coupons.com, but sadly I wasn’t able to redeem the coupon because there was no UPC barcode to scan.

coupons format future

Coupon without original barcode

This week, we are hearing reports that the company that creates the bar codes, GS1, has been making significant changes to their system to include no bar code (as shown here and in the image above) and only the DataBar barcode. The purpose is to ultimately make for faster shopping trips and for the coupons to be followed as stated by the manufacturer or store. The downside to all this is that most retailers have not updated their scanning systems yet to accommodate these major changes, so you may come across issues redeeming your coupons as I did last week. Best thing to do is ask your store to make these changes!

To learn more about any of the changes, visit Coupon Standards on GS1’s website. Are you having any issues redeeming the new DataBar barcoded coupons? Feel free to share your experiences below!

(thanks @couponsense)

Find more in : Frugal Talk




Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Mary January 8, 2012, 2:17 PM

    They had to hand enter mine at HEB yesterday I had 6 of the new coupons. The cashier gave me no issues just told me that he didnt know why it wouldnt read the ones with just one code.

  • Tabitha January 8, 2012, 2:19 PM

    Shoprite rejected 8 of my coupons last week because of this… is there a way around it??? or just wait it out until the store’s systems get caught up to coupon changes?

  • Cathy January 8, 2012, 2:51 PM

    Some of our Target stores, Dollar Generals, Family Dollar rejected some of ours. The balked at entering the coupon codes manually. On the other hand, at another Dollar General with a “seasoned” clerk, coupons were pushed through as fast as if they had of been scanned. We thanked her profusely and went on our way with 16 tubes of free Nivea lip balm.

  • K. January 8, 2012, 3:37 PM

    So that’s why Rite Aid rejected my coupons last week! It’s very frustrating! I don’t know how long it will take for Rite Aid to update their system, so I guess I’ll have to be very careful with the coupons I take there now.

  • Sarah January 8, 2012, 3:56 PM

    I work at Target and we have had issues with these new barcodes scanning but we just enter them manually.

  • kara January 8, 2012, 6:18 PM

    most stores will just enter them manually, it is still a valid coupon even though the store hasn’t updated their system yet

  • CJ January 8, 2012, 7:24 PM

    My $1 Reach (Smart Source printable) wouldnt scan at Walgreens this morning but the cashier manually entered it. Doesnt make much sense that the company that makes these printable coupons would change them over before stores are ready to accept them. As always it’s to the detriment of the customers 🙁

  • Madeline January 9, 2012, 1:56 AM

    I don’t like the “new” barcodes, either! Most of the time they won’t scan, usually the cashier will push it through, but it always beeps. I wish they would have just left it alone!