Non-Costco coupons

I like coupons. I like finding them, clipping them, and using them (I do not have a little coupon file book though…most of my coupons are crumpled in my bag or coat pocket). I know that coupons are not exactly “cool”, especially for someone in her thirties. Perhaps I should be embarrassed to use them, but I’m not. It may have been kind of odd to bring a coupon on a date, but he was appreciative, as he had been planning on treating.

I know that one complaint about coupons is that people may then buy things in which they normally wouldn’t be interested, just to use the coupon (in which case they likely spend more than they save by buying excess products). However, I would consider myself a savvy coupon user. I often wait to use them until the item is already on sale, thereby making my savings even greater. Furthermore, I only use them for items I buy anyway or for a product I had already wanted to try. Therefore, the coupons are a bonus, rather than an excuse to spend more.

One limitation of Costco is that it does not accept manufacturer’s coupons. (They do have their own coupons.) Other warehouse stores, such as BJs do. It is not a huge problem, given how many Kirkland items I purchase, for which no manufacturers’ coupons exist. But there are occasions when I have a coupon for a product (e.g., bread, orange juice), and am disappointed not to be able to use it at Costco, where it is already cheaper than at a grocery store.

Given my affinity for coupons, I was curious about Costco’s reasons for not accepting non-Costco coupons. Although I did not find an official policy from Costco, I found some articles speculating about why Costco does not accept coupons. One article (http://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2014/05/13/1022781_costco-manufacturer-coupons.html) suggests that, because Costco strives to provide efficient checkout services, coupons would create too many snags. I can understand this reasoning…even though, as I said, I frequently use coupons, I admit that I still inwardly (or outwardly if there are people around with whom to commiserate over the additional wait time) groan when I am behind someone with a stack of coupons in a self-checkout line. And then groan more when I hear the little machine “voice” say “savings: 12 cents” and see that the person has a cartful of these items and a handful of coupons. Therefore, I can definitely appreciate the desire to avoid these hassles. Checking out at Costco is always a quick, seamless process, so it would be a shame if coupons interfered with it.

As I mentioned, Costco does have their own coupon books, which come out monthly. While most products are not for me, I generally use about 2-5 of them each month.

What are your thoughts on coupons? Do you use them? Do you wish Costco accepted them? Do you use Costco coupons?