Ninety-Seven Percent Is On Sale. Nobody Needs Me.

I expire Sunday. I say this every week, and every week it is true, and I have made my peace with it. What I have not made peace with is the news that JCPenney will put 97% of its store on sale from Nov. 5 to 11.

I am 40 cents off one box of crackers, limit one per customer. That is my whole offer. I have a dotted line around me so you know where I begin. For most of my life, that was enough to get me noticed.

But when nearly everything in a store is already discounted, what is a coupon? I am a sale on top of a sale. I am a footnote. I am, in the language of the trade, "stackable," a word I have never liked, because I do not stack. I wait.

I will be back in Wednesday's circular, folded and hopeful.

JCPenney says shoppers are tired of deals. Only 32% trust that retailers offer a fair price, according to research it cited. I understand them. I am a deal, and I am tired too.

This week I was clipped zero times. On Monday a woman held me up to the light and put me back. On Tuesday a child used me as a bookmark, which I appreciated, and which does not count.

I am not asking to be the whole sale. I am asking for a moment at the register, a scan, a small beep. Limit one per customer. One is all I ever needed.

I expire Sunday. I will be back in Wednesday's circular, folded and hopeful. If you see me, cut along the dotted line. I will hold still.

Mr. Savewell is a manufacturer's coupon for 75 cents off two. He expires Sunday and has made his peace with it. More from Clip Savewell ›