I take it back.

Since I moved to Minnesota, my favorite craft store has been Crafts Direct in St. Cloud.  They have a huge selection, and they always let you use any competitor's coupons.  I loved when I had a doctor appt. in Cloud and looked forward to wandering the aisles in search of things that I never knew I needed.  A few months back I even found out that you could use as many coupons as you wanted on any transaction, as long as they had different UPC codes.  One visit I used two joann's and one micheal's coupon... and the only other item I bought was on sale.  I loved it!  I also told everyone about the policy.

Well, now I take it back.  I HATE Crafts Direct right now.  I went yesterday, and was mildly annoyed that they didn't have the two items I wanted the most, but I knew that the items were fairly new and pry would show up there at some point.   I still found things to purchase.  BUT... when I went to the checkout, I saw BIG signs proclaiming the new coupon policy.  You can use as many coupons as you want on each transaction, but you have to PAY A DOLLAR FOR EACH COUPON YOU USE.   They say it is a "donation" and it will go to the charity they choose.  EVEN if you use a Crafts Direct coupon.

Is it legal to charge someone if they want to use a coupon? 

The only time this would make sense was if you were buying some big-ticket item.  Then you still have to watch out because they have two prices on those- one is the price you pay, and another is much higher (higher than even the MSRP) that they use if you want to use a coupon.

I tried to google if the practice of forcing someone to donate money to use a coupon is legal, but I couldn't find anything about it online.

However, I am going to let the MN Attorney General decide. 

Have a good week,

Anne