We told you last week about savvy online shoppers who realized that a JCPenney coupon code for $10 off purchases of $10 or more could be used to snap up a washcloth/towel combination that cost exactly $10. It also looked like the code could be used repeatedly, so some folks just kept ordering these items until JCP ran out of every possible color. But now the retailer is saying “not so fast” to customers who placed multiple orders.

A number of Consumerist readers who attempted to buy more than one “free” washcloth/towel set have passed on e-mails they received from JCPenney last night, explaining the situation:

At jcpenney, we always want you to have the best. The recent $10 off $10 MORE2BUY coupon you received was part of that intent. However, that offer was designed for one-time use only. We will honor the $10 off your first order but any subsequent orders placed using this discount will be canceled. We apologize for any confusion and invite you to take advantage of all the great offers currently available at jcp.com. Come back and see what’s new and enjoy 10% off your next online purchase… May 14 through May 20, 2013. Thank you for shopping with us, and we look forward to serving you in the future.

Most of the readers who received this e-mail knew there was a very slim chance that all of their orders would be fulfilled; many were just curious to see what would happen.

This case is similar to the recent Razer incident, in which a third-party business working with the computer peripheral company accidentally posted a 90% coupon code for the company’s UK web store. In the end Razer decided to honor the discount on single purchases and not for multiple units of the same product. Of course, given the price of computer hardware, Razer probably took a much bigger hit to the wallet than JCPenney did by giving away some free towels and washcloths.

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