Post by DIzzIE on Jul 29, 2003 22:52:19 GMT -5
COUPONING GUIDE v1.0
BY: DIzzIE [c]opyleft2003
Seeing as how this has become a popular activity lately, I thought I’d write up a few brief tips.
So let’s start at the beginning:
I. Where to Get Coupons: Before you can start sharing, you need to have something to share in the first place.
a. Online Coupon Mills
i. www.coolsavings.com
ii. www.couponpages.com
iii. www.teenfreeway.com/newdesignfiles/coupons-new1.htm
iv. Etc. (‘print at home coupons’ search on Google)
b. Online Coupon Forums
i. forum.couponforum.com/
ii. dealslist.com/forum/
iii. Etc. (‘coupon forum’ search on Google)
c. Miscellaneous
i. Print Resources
1. Coupon books in newspapers
2. Special store promotions/giveaways (flyers)
ii. Well so far most of these have been discount coupons, only some of which get you ‘free’ merchandise; however, for coupons which guarantee a free product try the Complaint Letter Scam ( www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/scams_and_rip_offs/complaintlette169147.html or dizzie.serein.us/complaint.txt )
II. Sharing Coupons: Now that you found some worthwhile coupons, it’s time to share them with the rest of us .
a. Using your scanner’s software (or a renowned program such as Adobe Photoshop or Abbyy Fine Reader) scan the coupon in the highest resolution possible. Do not sacrifice quality for file size.
b. If you do not have a scanner:
i. Use one at the office/university/school/friend’s house
ii. Read How To Scam Scanners and Other Hardware (http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/irresponsible_activities/168224.html or dizzie.serein.us/kodak.htm )
iii. If you feel that your digital camera is of sufficient quality to produce clearly readable images, go for it.
c. If it is a fairly simple coupon you may be able to reproduce it without a scanner.
i. Retype the text, keeping fonts/colors as close to the original as possible
ii. Insert any applicable logos/images that you may find online.
iii. Insert a barcode if need be. ( download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=barcode+&tg=dl-2001 )
iv. When sharing the coupon, try to post an original image (scan) of the coupon as well, simply for comparative purposes…
d. When sharing the coupon, be sure to note any peculiarities (and tell others about them):
i. Paper type/colour
ii. Any backside information (whether it be the ‘small print’ or advertisement cut outs)
iii. Any perforations, patterned borders, etc…
iv. Where was the coupon gotten from? (‘Sunday paper,’ ‘my school,’ etc…)
v. And so forth…
e. Feel free to share your coupon in various formats to increase compatibility
i. Jpeg
ii. Tiff
iii. psd
iv. Etc.
f. Put your coupon(s) on an anonymous site such as Geocities, Yahoo! Briefcase, etc…Feel free to make mirrors, as the sites will likely not last long
g. Finally, when sharing, don’t incriminate yourself. For example, ‘I found this website with these coupons’ versus ‘I just scanned some coupons at put them up here…’
h. If you want to share the coupons off-line, go to your local electronics store and locate a miniature color scanner/copier on display. Proceed to duplicate the coupon.
III. Printing Coupons
a. Chances are your 450 Deskjet won’t be able to print out the scanned coupons in too high of a quality, hence forcing you to pursue other venues…
i. School/University (Depending on the university you may not need to log/sign in anywhere to obtain access to the printer…)
ii. Work
iii. Friend’s House
IV. Dealing With Difficulties: Shit Happens
a. If you can not get access to a high quality printer, or the scanner did a crummy job and the printed coupon looks like shit, go back and read the first section of this guide. In other words, if questioned about the authenticity of the coupon, simply say that you printed it from…..(I.A), complain about the shabbiness of your printer, etc…
b. Stores vs. Restaurants: It is important to realize that there is a big difference between using coupons intended for stores (free popcorn, etc..) and using coupons intended for Restaurants (free Big Mac, etc…). Each has its own advantages/disadvantages. For instance, while grocery store coupons will usually require barcodes, restaurant coupons will usually not. On the other hand, the restaurant employees (particularly if you’ve drawn the manager) will most likely be familiar with what their coupons look (or should look) like.
c. Once again, if asked where you got the coupon, and you feel that stating I.A. is inappropriate, refer to II.d.iv
d. Finally, if the phrase ‘we can’t accept this’ is heard, proceed to briskly, albeit angrily, proclaim your dissatisfaction. Stating that you will call/write the headquarters, walk away.
V. Mainstream Links
a. The Security Risks of Print-at-Home Coupons Whitepaper
www.securitymanagement.com/library/CIC0701.pdf
b. Domino's Smells Free Coupon Fraud
www.statenews.com/editions/090600/p1_dominos.html
c. U.S. Grocery Coupon Fraud Funds Middle Eastern Terrorism
www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1997/vo13no05/vo13no05_coupon.ht
d. Costly Coupon Scams
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/coupon.htm
e. Counterfeit Coupons Corner Cape
thecaperock.com/old/coupon-bandits.shtml
BY: DIzzIE [c]opyleft2003
Seeing as how this has become a popular activity lately, I thought I’d write up a few brief tips.
So let’s start at the beginning:
I. Where to Get Coupons: Before you can start sharing, you need to have something to share in the first place.
a. Online Coupon Mills
i. www.coolsavings.com
ii. www.couponpages.com
iii. www.teenfreeway.com/newdesignfiles/coupons-new1.htm
iv. Etc. (‘print at home coupons’ search on Google)
b. Online Coupon Forums
i. forum.couponforum.com/
ii. dealslist.com/forum/
iii. Etc. (‘coupon forum’ search on Google)
c. Miscellaneous
i. Print Resources
1. Coupon books in newspapers
2. Special store promotions/giveaways (flyers)
ii. Well so far most of these have been discount coupons, only some of which get you ‘free’ merchandise; however, for coupons which guarantee a free product try the Complaint Letter Scam ( www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/scams_and_rip_offs/complaintlette169147.html or dizzie.serein.us/complaint.txt )
II. Sharing Coupons: Now that you found some worthwhile coupons, it’s time to share them with the rest of us .
a. Using your scanner’s software (or a renowned program such as Adobe Photoshop or Abbyy Fine Reader) scan the coupon in the highest resolution possible. Do not sacrifice quality for file size.
b. If you do not have a scanner:
i. Use one at the office/university/school/friend’s house
ii. Read How To Scam Scanners and Other Hardware (http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/irresponsible_activities/168224.html or dizzie.serein.us/kodak.htm )
iii. If you feel that your digital camera is of sufficient quality to produce clearly readable images, go for it.
c. If it is a fairly simple coupon you may be able to reproduce it without a scanner.
i. Retype the text, keeping fonts/colors as close to the original as possible
ii. Insert any applicable logos/images that you may find online.
iii. Insert a barcode if need be. ( download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=barcode+&tg=dl-2001 )
iv. When sharing the coupon, try to post an original image (scan) of the coupon as well, simply for comparative purposes…
d. When sharing the coupon, be sure to note any peculiarities (and tell others about them):
i. Paper type/colour
ii. Any backside information (whether it be the ‘small print’ or advertisement cut outs)
iii. Any perforations, patterned borders, etc…
iv. Where was the coupon gotten from? (‘Sunday paper,’ ‘my school,’ etc…)
v. And so forth…
e. Feel free to share your coupon in various formats to increase compatibility
i. Jpeg
ii. Tiff
iii. psd
iv. Etc.
f. Put your coupon(s) on an anonymous site such as Geocities, Yahoo! Briefcase, etc…Feel free to make mirrors, as the sites will likely not last long
g. Finally, when sharing, don’t incriminate yourself. For example, ‘I found this website with these coupons’ versus ‘I just scanned some coupons at put them up here…’
h. If you want to share the coupons off-line, go to your local electronics store and locate a miniature color scanner/copier on display. Proceed to duplicate the coupon.
III. Printing Coupons
a. Chances are your 450 Deskjet won’t be able to print out the scanned coupons in too high of a quality, hence forcing you to pursue other venues…
i. School/University (Depending on the university you may not need to log/sign in anywhere to obtain access to the printer…)
ii. Work
iii. Friend’s House
IV. Dealing With Difficulties: Shit Happens
a. If you can not get access to a high quality printer, or the scanner did a crummy job and the printed coupon looks like shit, go back and read the first section of this guide. In other words, if questioned about the authenticity of the coupon, simply say that you printed it from…..(I.A), complain about the shabbiness of your printer, etc…
b. Stores vs. Restaurants: It is important to realize that there is a big difference between using coupons intended for stores (free popcorn, etc..) and using coupons intended for Restaurants (free Big Mac, etc…). Each has its own advantages/disadvantages. For instance, while grocery store coupons will usually require barcodes, restaurant coupons will usually not. On the other hand, the restaurant employees (particularly if you’ve drawn the manager) will most likely be familiar with what their coupons look (or should look) like.
c. Once again, if asked where you got the coupon, and you feel that stating I.A. is inappropriate, refer to II.d.iv
d. Finally, if the phrase ‘we can’t accept this’ is heard, proceed to briskly, albeit angrily, proclaim your dissatisfaction. Stating that you will call/write the headquarters, walk away.
V. Mainstream Links
a. The Security Risks of Print-at-Home Coupons Whitepaper
www.securitymanagement.com/library/CIC0701.pdf
b. Domino's Smells Free Coupon Fraud
www.statenews.com/editions/090600/p1_dominos.html
c. U.S. Grocery Coupon Fraud Funds Middle Eastern Terrorism
www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1997/vo13no05/vo13no05_coupon.ht
d. Costly Coupon Scams
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/coupon.htm
e. Counterfeit Coupons Corner Cape
thecaperock.com/old/coupon-bandits.shtml