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Many coupons contain a statement such as "cash value 1/100¢" in the fine print. This does mean that if you send 100 coupons to the manufacturer, they must give you one penny in return. This legal statement dates back to trading stamp problems during the 1930s. To protect consumers, several U.S. states passed laws that required trading stamps and coupons to be printed with a common value. These laws are still on the books in a number of states, so it's simpler for manufacturers to include a cash value on all nationally
distributed coupons. Of course, the cost of mailing 100 coupons to the manufacturer is more than the one cent they're worth, so there are really no savings to be had. And that's not even factoring in the cost and time of collecting 100 of the same coupon (photocopies don't cut it). People who really stretch their dollars with coupons know you need to be organized and comparison shop to make sure you're getting any kind of bargain. Many times, the brand you have a coupon for is not the best deal.
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