Harris Teeter's new coupon policy

My wife went to Harris Teeter to shop for some groceries. While they allowed her to use them this time, she was told by the cashier that Harris Teeter's coupon policy had recently changed -- they will no longer be accepting any free product internet coupons. Which means any awesome buy-1-get-1 free coupons you print online can no longer be used at Harris Teeter.

Here's Harris Teeter's complete coupon policy, but here's the internet coupon policy for your convenience:

Internet Coupons

* We gladly accept internet manufacturer’s coupons for product; however no “free” product internet coupons are accepted.
* With the purchase of two like manufacturer’s products, we accept two internet coupons, per store, per day.
* We do not accept internet coupons that do not appear to be originals or that won’t scan.

Not many people know this since it shatters the tough guy image I've worked so hard to maintain, but I'm a big "mom blog" junkie. I keep a pretty close eye on them specifically looking for good deals or coupons to print. Unfortunately a lot of the best ones are buy-1-get-1 free coupons, which means they'll no longer be eligible at Harris Teeter.

Curious, I dug up Food Lion's coupon policy (PDF) and found they subscribe to the same anti-free internet coupon policy. The nitty gritty:

* We will accept Manufacturer, Store, Internet and Catalina Checkout Coupons.

* We will not accept FREE internet coupons.

You might have some luck cashing in free product coupons at either Food Lion or Harris Teeter for a little while if you're polite to the cashier, feign ignorance like a champ, and wear various disguises so they don't recognize you.

Otherwise, a lot of the best internet coupons won't have much value in Waxhaw.

Still curious, I examine Walmart's coupon policy and it appears they do still accept buy-1-get-1 free internet coupons. The important parts:

Walmart accepts the following types of coupons (see guidelines below):

* Print-at-home internet coupons

* Must be legible, have "Manufacturer Coupon" printed on them, have a valid remit address for the manufacturer, valid expiration date, and have a scannable bar code.

Walmart does not accept the following coupons:

* Print-at-home Internet coupons that require no purchase

So as long as it requires a purchase, it appears Walmart still accepts internet buy-1-get-1 free coupons.

Yet another reason to transit the 521 corridor.