Call Sears before TRYING to Use Your $10 Off Coupon

Like many here on Gather, I recently found out about the offer for $10 off junior fashions at Sears, so I printed the coupon.  (I saw a banner for it rotating on their web-site over the weekend as well.)

The coupon clearly states that this offer is valid from 9/15-11/14.  It does not say the promotion may be canceled, etc.

So, today, I went to my local Sears (in Dubuque, Iowa) and tried to use my coupon when I was told that these coupons were no longer being accepted, and I was shown a printed sign that stated this as well.  Thinking it was a store only thing, I said that I would just use the coupon online, then the sales girl told me that she did not think it could be used there either.  (It didn't work there on Saturday, but I chalked that up to the poor performance I have always experienced on the Sears web-site.)

I was offered 15% off instead, and she offered to call a manager for me.  I asked if it was a Sears policy and not a store decision, and she said it was Sears in general, so I declined.  I plan on e-mailing corporate tomorrow when I am more rested, as I plan on chewing.

I basically see the whole $10 coupon as a bait and switch just to draw people into the store.  (No, you can't save $10 today, but I will give you 15% off.  Thanks, but no thanks!)  I know that a lot of people who immediately used it (within the first week) have already got their goods, but there are still plenty of people who printed coupons who can, apparently, not use them anymore.

Considering that the promotion was supposed to run until 11/14/09 and only lasted a week signals a huge error on Sears' part.  If they needed to end the promotion, they could take down the coupon online and honor those that have already been printed while ensuring that the discount would no longer be published on their web-site.

Update:  As of 11:24 pm CST, the Sears web-site is still offering the $10 off coupon in a prominently placed banner.  I have included a screen capture below.

If you have not used your $10 off coupon yet, I would strongly recommend calling your local Sears store to check and see what their policy is on the coupon.  If they tell you it cannot be used, I would recommend e-mailing Sears and voicing your dissatisfaction as well.