Thoughts

I figured I could not be the only person to ever wonder why the back of my coupon read that it had cash value. I also figured that I could not be the first person who for a brief moment considered that to be the solution to my money woes: gather up all of the Burger King coupons I can find and send them in, redeeming them for that 1/100¢ each. Before you know it, I will have amassed a king's ransom. I was immediately disappointed in myself for not having a handle bar mustache that I could twist between my fingers while I schemed.

But wait. 1/100 of one cent. That means 100 coupons equals one penny. 3900 coupons covers postage. I would probably need another 500-1000 coupons to cover the cost of my envelope. But 5000 coupons will not fit in a regular envelope. This is simply not economically feasible. My plans have been thwarted again...

If it is inconceivable that anyone would ever attempt to redeem the coupons for their stated cash value, why are they even given cash value in the first place?!

Well I did some digging around. Here is some of what I found.

Q: I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE BOTTOM OF MANY COUPONS SAY, CASH VALUE ONE TWENTIETH OF A CENT. WHY IS THAT STATEMENT IS ON COUPONS?

A: WE CALLED THE COUPON COUNCIL FOR YOUR ANSWER. AND IT SAYS, SOME STATE LAWS REQUIRE THAT IF A CONSUMER DOES NOT WANT TO PURCHASE THE PRODUCT ON THE FACE OF THE COUPON, THAT THE CONSUMER CAN REDEEM THE COUPON FOR ITS CASH VALUE.

AND SINCE MANY COUPONS ARE PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED ON A NATIONAL BASIS, MOST MANUFACTURERS HAVE DECIDED TO PUT THE CASH VALUE ON THE COUPON TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS. THINK OF IT AS A PROMOTION THAT HAS TO HAVE A STATED VALUE.

http://www.nbc4.com/answerstoaskliz2002/1448491/detail.html

Who knew there was such thing as a Coupon Council? Cool.

Another site suggests that the whole thing started around the Depression when the government provided books of stamps (not-so-distant relative to today's coupon) to the citizens. Rather than redeeming the stamps for items one did not necessarily require, he or she could redeem the stamp for its stated cash equivalent. It was then state laws around the country that have predominated over the issue.

More information on this story and more is available at the following sites: http://www.geocities.com/srivathsajoshi/lukuchap53.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/20030808.html