Frank is confused. Sort of. He finds the “clipless” coupons that Costco brags about on the cover of their latest coupon book appealing, but wonders how this whole “clipless” thing works. While you don’t have to cut the coupons out, you do have to bring the entire book with you to Costco if you want to use the coupon. Or pick up a new copy at the door. So why require coupons at all?

Normally, “Clipless” would mean that the coupons are loaded on your card automatically, which makes sense for a warehouse club where all shoppers must have cards anyway. The smartphone app is pretty “clipless,” and maybe most people who shop at Costco do have a smartphone, but requiring customers to carry the book to the checkout is silly.

Frank writes:

A while back [Costco] introduced clipless coupons which I love, especially because I always forget to bring them. This past weekend I went to Costco and noticed a change to the clipless coupons. The cover on the book still emphasizes ‘new’ clipless coupons (as you can see in the one photo).

In the second photo you will see a new caveat. Many of the items now have a blue arrow (as you can see on the second photo). On the lower right corner of the page you can see the arrow denotes that in order to receive the discount you must bring the book with you or show you have the Costco app on your smartphone. I still love Costco and the fact is they have plenty of the coupon books in the store so I doubt it would be a problem for anyone, but should they emphasize clipless coupons on the cover?

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