Coupons.com Zip Code Box is Here to Stay

Just when you thought the never-ending saga involving zip codes was over. There’s a new wrinkle, but it’s a good one for fans of the ability to change zip codes on printable coupon sites.

Coupons.com has confirmed that it will be rolling out its new “look” to sites associated with its Brandcaster affiliate program over the next few weeks. Not necessarily good news for those who abandoned the main Coupons.com site in favor of affiliate sites (like Coupons in the News’s Coupons.com page) that featured the older, simpler look.

But take a look at the screen grab above of the new format – notice something in the upper left corner? It’s a box where you can enter your zip code. Coupons.com confirms to Coupons in the News that “the new Brandcaster design will include the zip code box.” That means affiliated sites will feature the zip code box, though there’s no indication the main site will be changed.

The zip code feature disappeared from the main Coupons.com page when it unveiled its new look in December (read: “Coupons.com Changes Again – and Zips Up Zips”). And many feared it was only a matter of time before all sites that offered Coupons.com printables would be changed as well.

Previously, when asked (repeatedly), Coupons.com would not take an official stand on what some see as a gray area – changing zip codes in order to access coupons that are not nationally available, but targeted to a specific region. Its removal of the zip code-changing option from its main site was largely perceived as a move designed to discourage the practice. But the appearance of the zip code box in the new affiliate redesign appears to contradict that.

RedPlum.com briefly removed the zip code box from its own redesign last month (read: “‘Pinterest For Coupons’ – A Redesign For RedPlum”), but brought it back shortly afterwards. A spokesperson later told Coupons in the News that the feature was there for the benefit of people who may live and work in different zip codes, or otherwise have reason to visit stores in other areas. “We would prefer that it wasn’t used to print coupons for one area and then try to use them in another area.”

SmartSource, however, had no opinion on the matter. “I haven’t heard that this is an issue,” a spokesman told Coupons in the News, and said there were no plans to discourage users from entering whatever zip code they’d like (read: “To Change Or Not to Change? The Couponing Zip Code Question Answered”).

So, the question remains: to change or not to change? On the main Coupons.com site, that decision is no longer ours to make. And only one printable coupon provider is officially discouraging the practice. If anything, for those looking for a definitive answer, the latest Coupons.com redesign just makes a gray area – even grayer.