Coupons can save you a lot of cash, but when you're out shopping you might not have the right coupons for the right store. Surprisingly, some retailers accept coupons from their competitors. Here are the common retail stores that will let you save a buck with some unexpected coupons.
This post originally appeared on Rather-Be-Shopping .
A couple weeks ago my wife was checking out at our local Michaels store and noticed a lady in front of her whip out a JoAnn coupon from her purse and hand it to the cashier. She was like, "Wow, that's cool! I didn't know you could do that." She came home and told me about her findings and suggested I write a blog post about the topic. So, being the amazing (and smart) husband that I am, I did exactly what she told me to do. I spent some time, both online and on the phone, figuring out what other retailers will accept coupons from the competition. Here is what I discovered.
AC Moore
If you're not familiar with AC Moore, they have over 130 craft stores in the eastern United States. They'll happily accept coupons from Michaels, JoAnn, and Hobby Lobby. According to ThriftyGirl, "A.C. Moore does NOT accept (competitor) coupons that are off your entire purchase. You can use Michaels coupons, so long as you use it in a separate transaction (one coupon per transaction, meaning if you have more than one coupon to use then you have to break up your purchase). You can only use one Michaels and one A.C. Moore (not two of each) coupon total and that they have to be off single items, not entire purchases."
Bed Bath & Beyond
The Bed Bath & Beyond coupon policy, when it comes to competitor coupons, is pretty liberal. They'll accept coupons happily if the store where the coupon originated also carries the product you are buying from BB&B. The coupon must not have expired and it is up to individual stores to determine what qualifies as a "local competitor". Although it has been my experience that they are fairly lenient on this.
Dick's Sporting Goods
I couldn't find much online about the Dick's Sporting Goods competitor coupon policy so I decided to give my local store a buzz. I told the guy that I had a 20% off Sports Authority coupon (which I actually do) and asked if they'd accept it. He said, "We'll price match them anyways, but if the item you're looking to buy is the same price or higher in our store then we'll accept the 20% off coupon." So the next time you're shopping at Dick's and can't find a coupon, just pull up the Rather-Be-Shopping iPhone app and grab a Sports Authority coupon and use it when checking out.
Home Depot
Home Depot does have a competitor coupon policy in place, but certain locations are more lenient than others. I actually read on this forum that some Home Depot locations will accept a 20% off any one item coupon from Harbor Freight, even though the two retailers do not carry any of the same brands. It is always worth a shot, but often the coupon will have to be from a local store that carries the same exact item you are trying to purchase. Your best bet is to be extremely friendly and polite and speak with someone in a management position when trying to use a Harbor Freight coupon at Home Depot.
JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts
JoAnn's will take coupons from Michaels, Hancock Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby. They also let you use more than coupon per purchase. So if you have a 40% off any one regular-priced item coupon from Michaels, Hancock, and Hobby Lobby, you can use all three if you are buying at least three items. The one major exclusion is that JoAnn will not accept a competitor's coupon good for an item they don't carry. For example, you can't use a Michaels coupon when buying fabric at JoAnn's since Michaels doesn't sell fabric.
Lowe's
If you find that a local competitor has a sales flyer or coupon which would beat the Lowe's price, just bring in evidence and not only will they match the price, they'll beat it by 10%. The one major caveat is that the competitor's price cannot be a clearance or sale price, it must be their "every day" regular price.
Menards
The Menards coupon policy is definitely one worth knowing if you shop there regularly. They'll happily accept coupons from local competitors. It is up to individual stores to determine what qualifies as a "local store" but it should definitely include Home Depot, Menards, Lowe's, and Ace Hardware. The one caveat is that competitor's coupons will not be accepted on sale or clearance items and the most savings they'll allow is 10% which is kinda weak.
Michaels
Michaels will happily accept competitor coupons from the following retailers: AC Moore, JoAnn Fabric and Crafts, Ben Franklin, and Hobby Lobby. The cool thing about Michaels is they'll let you use more than one coupon per transaction. So for example, if you have a Joann coupon good for 40% off any one item, you can use it with a Michaels printable coupon good for 25% off your entire purchase. Keep in mind that the item you got for 40% off will be not be eligible for the 25% discount as well.
It is also worth noting that Michaels will not accept competitor coupons good for a flat percentage off your entire order. They won't take a 25% off your entire order coupon from Ben Franklin but they'll happily accept a 50% off any one item coupon.
Office Depot
Office Depot will honor competitor's coupons at the local store level according to the their Price Match Policy. In other words, they want to make it really confusing. I waded through the boiler plate and discovered they will accept local competitor coupons for exact match products that are not on sale at the competing store. Major retailers whose coupons they will accept include Office Max, Staples, Costco, Best Buy, Kmart, Sears, Target, and Sam's Club.
Sports Authority
I called my local Sports Authority and asked it they would accept a $10 off $50 coupon from Dick's Sporting Goods, and they said, "Heck yeah! Any major sporting goods store we will take." Good to know. So this should also include Big 5 Sporting Goods and Modells.
Walmart
The big ol' Walmart will take your competitor coupon if, and only if, it falls into these categories. The Walmart website says: Must be a specific item for a specified price, for example, $2.99. Can be a buy one, get one free (BOGO) coupon for items with a specified price. Must have a valid expiration date and are acceptable in black and white. The big no-no's are as follows: Dollars/cents off coupons at a specific retailer. Percentage off competitor coupons. Buy one, get one free (BOGO) coupons without a specified price and double- or triple-value coupons.
Know Which Retailers Accept Coupons from Competitors | Rather-Be-Shopping
Kyle James is the founder of Rather-Be-Shopping, a website updated daily with the best online coupon codes, printable coupons, and bargains that we can find to all your favorite online stores.
Photo by Chris Potter (StockMonkeys.com).
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