SCOP.

On Monday night I was lucky enough to attend an Extreme Couponing workshop. Seriously fascinating stuff people! This gal has created this 2 hour, jam packed, workshop and does it all over Alberta. She charges $10 (all of which she donated to the service trip of our local Christian School), and you get a giant stack of coupon flyers (SmartSource, Red Plum, BrandSaver) along with your admission, not to mention her 30 page e-book. A fairly fantab deal if you ask me.

I must admit, I kind of walked in there thinking, now what on earth could she really teach me? I mean I've been at the coupon game for at least 3 years now, and just a few weeks ago, a lady behind me in line said, "Wow, I feel like I just watched an episode of Extreme Couponing." Why thank you, thank you very much. Ahem.

Well, she did have a lot to teach me, and I'll be pouring over her e-book for years to come. Lots of handy tips, and things that some people just plain don't know. For example, who knew that the tear pad coupons (that you find in front of the product on the shelves) come out the first week of the month? Not me. Did you know there are a total of 11 places to find coupons? Nope, I didn't either. And who knew you could get "overages" at Walmart? Meaning if you have a $3 off coupon, and the item is on sale for $2...you get $1 back, in change. Fascinating.

One thing that she addressed at the workshop that I would say over 50% of the people didn't know about, was SCOP, or the Scanning Code of Practice. This is a Canadian policy that was enacted on a National level in 2002. It is voluntary for stores to participate, but the majority of them do (the only ones I know that don't are The Bay/ZellersHome Outfitters). Most major chains, including Walmart, Superstore, Costco, Shoppers Drug Mart, and most major grocery stores participate. The idea behind the code is for stores to demonstrate a commitment to accurate price scanning.

So what does this mean to you? Well, if you purchase an item and it scans in at more than what it was ticketed at, for example, an item advertised for $4.99 comes in at $6.99, you point this out to the cashier and you get it for free. Absolutely free! If the item is over $10, you get $10 off of the sale price. So if its advertised for $12.99, but scans in at $15.99, you get it for $2.99. Um, yes please!

This is the technical jargon of the code, "If the scanned price of a non-price ticketed item is higher than the shelf price or any other displayed price, the customer is entitled to receive the item free, up to a $10 maximum. When the item has a price tagged, the lowest price applies. When identical items are incorrectly priced, the second one will be sold at the correct price."

A few rules about the code. It can only be on the first item (so don't run back and grab 10 more). Any additional items will just have the price adjusted to the sale price. It does not apply to items that don't have a set price (eg. weighed items, like bulk or produce). So only items with a UPC (Universal Product Code), bar code, and PLU (Price Look Up). It also does not apply on pharmacy items and price-ticketed items (I'm thinking this means items priced with a ticketing gun).

The CBC did a little segment on the code to let Canadians know about it and test out the code to see if it actually worked. You can watch that video here. Studies show that 2% of of items are incorrectly scanned, so if you are spending $500/month on groceries, that's $30 per month you could be getting free, totaling $360 extra in your pocket per year. Again, yes please!

So next time you're out shopping, make sure to check the shelf price and then watch as items scan through. Or check your receipt afterwards. I know when you have 40 items on your bill during a big grocery shop, its hard to remember them all, but if something just doesn't look right, go back and check. That extra 30 seconds might mean up to an extra $10 in your pocket!

The policy is there, so make sure to hold companies to it (espcially since they volunatrily participate in it). And if they give you any trouble, you may register a complaint with the Scanner Price Accuracy Committee, by calling 1-866-499-4599 (toll free). They will deal with your complaint directly with the store and let you know the outcome.

Hooray for policies that are there to protect the customer!