At first, I admit, I pooh-poohed Ron Hiett's complaint to The Watchdog. In the scheme of things, it sounded so insignificant. Here's the Arlington man's letter. What do you think?
"Dear Watchdog:
"My wife and I went shopping this week at Belk and had cut out their 20% off coupon that appeared in the newspaper. My wife found numerous items for purchase. However, when we started to check out the cashier said our coupon could not be used for any of the items.
"Sure enough, on examination of the back of the coupon, it read in very small print, "Excludes [almost 100 brand name products]. We could find nothing on display that the coupon was good for.
"Watchdog, we had always thought of Belk as a class department store, but this has quickly changed. Isn't this a gigantic scam by Belk just to get you in their store? Shouldn't consumers be alerted to their underhanded sales tactics?"
Is this valid?
My first response, I now see, missed his pitch down the middle of the plate. I wrote Ron, "I'd have to say, 'Read the fine print.' As long as it said it on the back, and you didn't read it until you had to, they covered their backside. It's up to you to be smarter than them. I can't shame them, but I can show you how to be a smart consumer. So it's not a scam, or even legally, a deception."
After writing that, I asked my wife Karen about it. She told me this is a recurring shopper's problem. So I began looking at Belk coupons. Ron is right. I saw ultra-tiny print, and lines and lines of it, prohibiting the purchase of almost anything anybody would ever want to buy.
I wrote Ron and corrected myself. This is a worthy topic. That's how I came to learn about this retail ploy known as "coupon exclusion."
It's annoying. It's deceptive. And unfortunately, it often works.
Andrea Woroch, a California-based consumer savings expert, tells me that shoppers get frustrated when they learn they can't buy items with a coupon because of exclusions. But often, they end up buying anyway.
"They might become attached to the item," she says. "They've tried it on, touched it, felt it. Chances are most people would make the purchase because they already have developed this attachment."
Brilliant, really. The Belk coupons I studied have big print letters on the front showing $10 or $20 off. But the backside is a different story. The print size is the size of a pinhead. On one coupon I counted 17 lines of exclusions. 17!
Ron calls it "the equivalent of a short novel."
Belk says
Belk spokeswoman Jessica Graham explains, "It's certainly not our intent to disappoint customers."
"We list everything on the coupons and even with exclusions, we have many options for customers to choose from in the store."
On Belk's Facebook page, the company gives further explanation:
"Our promotional campaigns are not intended to cause deception to our customers. We apologize if our discount exclusions seem excessive. The vendors themselves determine most of the exclusions. If a vendor chooses not to have their merchandise discounted, we must follow their direction or risk endangering the relationship."
Common in retail
To be fair, Belk is not the biggest offender. The national chain didn't make a list of top stores punishing its customers with small-print coupon exclusions. Three years ago, website Rather-be-shopping.com reported other stores who do it: Dick's Sporting Goods; Petco; Macy's; Office Max; JC Penney; Golfsmith, and Staples.
In online comments, consumers gripe:
"It's not an effective trick because I end up buying nothing," one Belk customer posted.
"Anything one would want is on the exclusion list," another writes.
Another: "Belk inundates their customers with coupons. However, there are too many restrictions. It's just not worth shopping there."
Why is this happening?
Belk is one of the nation's oldest retail chains, founded in 1888 in North Carolina by William Henry Belk. His slogan was "Cheap Goods Sell Themselves."
What happened to turn this historic chain into a coupon-excluding teaser? Why is this tactic used now by so many of our best-known stores?
Two reasons, says Woroch, the consumer savings expert.
Retail stores rely on coupons to draw customers away from online competition. And after the Great Recession (2007-2009), shoppers looked for more bargains and took up couponing. Now stores must run constant sales to attract shoppers.
Coupons lure shoppers into stores, she says, and exclusions help beef up profits.
"I don't think people realize how many exclusions there are on these coupons," she says.
Her advice is what I originally told Ron.
Before putting on your coat to go to the store, or before you click the "buy now" button, always read the fine print. Even if the font size is as small as a pinhead.
Coming Sunday: The Watchdog unloads on grading schools. Good or bad?
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Watchdog Dave Lieber of The Dallas Morning News is leader of Watchdog Nation, which shows Americans how to stand up for themselves and become super consumers.
