Coupons and discounts have been mushrooming all around these days. Housewives, especially those who deal their everyday lives on a budget, have seen couponing as a way of scoring great deals on groceries and other items and saving money.
Before, we used to snip up those coupons from magazines. A lot of us, especially the more hard-core shoppers, used to keep these coupon clips in their folders until they entered the grocery stores, ready to rake in enormous purchases. And we do this even in this high-tech era, as magazines and other publications are still offering coupons.
Nothing has fundamentally changed with people’s shopping habits, but the method has remarkably become more convenient because of the advent of e-commerce and online shopping. Like traditional shoppers, you are also looking to score great discounts and deals online.
There are two best ways to enjoy the best bargains out of your online shopping: to get coupon codes or to go to discount websites.
Also known as a “discount code” or “promo code,” a coupon code is a computer-generated code which consists of either numbers or letters or both. When you go to the retailer’s website, simply enter the code inside the box on the shopping cart, click the “apply” button, and finally, you’ll get the discount or deal out of your purchases.
At first, online retailers didn’t directly offer coupon codes on their own websites; instead, the codes appeared on their affiliated websites or third-party websites. The purpose of this was to re-direct the shoppers to the retailer’s online store. But today, retailers have also started offering coupons on their own websites in addition to having coupons on related websites. In addition, they also offer promotional coupon codes in their regular e-mail newsletters to their customers.
So how to find coupon codes or great discounts online? There are several ways:
Via search engines
Use a search engine like Google or Yahoo!, and type in the words “coupon code(s)” on the search box, then click or press “Enter.” Your search will lead you to hundreds and thousands of lists of the retailer’s websites (as well as third-party websites) that offer coupon codes, and their deals are quite diverse. Go to any websites that you prefer, and compare their coupon savings to see which one of them, that you think, will help you to get the best deal and save the most money. You can open as many websites as you wish in multiple tabs or in browser windows to expand your search and comparison. It will also help if you have a pen and paper handy to write down the coupon codes that catch your fancy.
Before you embark on the coupon codes search, first make sure that you know what specific item or brand you’re looking for, and the retailer where you want to shop.
It’s always best to consider lots of coupon code options, so keep a long list of them! The more options, the better your chances will be at scoring the best deals and saving the most money. Plus, more coupon code choices also mean more chances you will have at getting a code that applies most suitably to your next purchase.
Via aggregate coupon tools
If you dislike going through the search engine results for coupon codes, you may want to install an automated coupon add-on to your favorite browser. This tool will automatically show you the coupon codes whenever you visit a retailer’s website, or upon online checkout. You can use any of the displayed coupon codes to get your discounts and promo deals. According to many people’s claims, the best discounts are found by using this tool, but still, you have to try it to see for yourself. Among the most recommended and popular sources to get the coupon tools are Coupons at Checkout, Honey, and PriceBlink.
Via coupon codes websites
Going directly to coupon codes websites definitely saves you the time and the trouble from going through the search engines results. This is good if you’re looking for a certain coupon code (like free shipping). Good coupon websites include:
RetailMeNot (https://www.retailmenot.com/) – The most popular coupon code website to date, hugely in part because of their massive number of coupons they offer — over half a million coupons from more than 50,000 stores! While the figures may overwhelm you, don’t feel intimidated because you can browse them by brand or retailer. It also features the “best deals of the day” section and an app which you can readily download to your mobile device.
Coupon Cabin – (https://www.couponcabin.com/) Not only does it provide coupons, but Coupon Cabin also offers sweet deals such as unlimited cashback earnings for its members. It also features the “best deals of the day,” and rolls out an app for iOS and Android.
Slick Deals – (https://slickdeals.net/) Compared to other coupons websites, Slick Deals encourages user participation. Members can submit coupons and promotions to the website and vote for the most popular coupons, which will then accordingly be ranked and displayed prominently on the website. You can search the promo codes by retailer, brand or category. Even recently-expired coupons can also be found on this website.
Offers.com – (https://www.offers.com) – Offers.com features an enormous number of coupons from over 10,000 stores and brands. Plus, it also boasts exclusive coupons that you can’t find on any other coupons websites. These offers are hand-picked by their own staffers to ensure that you will get the best deals possible. To avail of the top offers for the day, you have to sign up by entering your e-mail address.
These coupon websites have carefully curated the discount coupons they show on their website, like the ones you can find at https://www.dontpayfull.com. They have a long-standing partnership with great brands, and you’ll often see remarkable coupons from popular and global e-commerce platforms like Amazon.
Via social media
Via social mediaSince a lot of people use social media these days, many retailers are eager to take advantage of its popularity by building up their pages on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Users may “like” or “follow” these retailer’s accounts and keep themselves updated of the latest coupon offers and deals. Some retailers offer special coupons via these social media platforms as their way to maintain their followers or attract new ones or increase their sales, especially during off-peak selling periods.
Via e-mail
Via e-mailA lot of retailers offer exclusive-only coupon deals to their members, so if you want that, you can sign up with them using your e-mail address. Be sure to create a separate e-mail address specifically for this purpose.
Your favorite brands collect email addresses as part of their lead generation tactic, and often, the reward they give to leads like you are discounts and special offers. Signing up to their email list can give you access to special unique discounts. Moreover, brands who value their customers will even give you a customized discount, you only need to send them an email to ask for it. But if they decline, don’t feel bad. There are other ways to score discounts.
Via discount websites
Discount websites don’t generally offer coupon codes, but hey, they’re also a great way to score the best bargains, right? Most of their offers run for a limited time only, so be aware of that whenever you spot some items there that you like — and be sure to have some cash or wide credit limit handy! However, general discount websites allow you to enjoy bigger discounts and savings than you would by using coupons.
You have to take note that on discount websites, you have to buy deals, but these deals are often already worth the price you’ll pay because they may give it to you at a price that’s less than 50% off the actual price. If you think about it, it’s also a great deal and even better than a coupon. But using the offer may be a little daunting, especially if it’s something like a hotel stay or a ticket to an amusement park. You may have to choose only the dates they provide you, which can be a little frustrating because you can’t avail of it on the date that you want, especially if it falls during a peak season.
Some of the most popular discount websites include:
Groupon (https://www.groupon.com/) – Subscribe to Groupon and enjoy incredible deals on a wide range of products and services from electronics and home services to spa and restaurants. It is by far the discount website with the most subscribers (115 million and counting). It has a “deal of the day,” where it features a coupon or a discount for any of the services (such as a health spa, a restaurant or a hotel) in your area. If you are able to snag that certain service within 24 hours of that offer, you will get to enjoy up to 40%-60% discount.
Ben’s Bargains (https://bensbargains.com/) – Ben’s Bargains offers deals on items culled from over 2,000 stores and features up to 200 deals every day. Members can sign up for the best deals updates based on the item, brand, retailer or price range. What users like about Ben’s Bargains is the line of their hottest deals that are even significantly cheaper than Amazon’s lowest discounts (you can check out the offers of both websites for comparison if you still find that incredible!).
LivingSocial (https://www.livingsocial.com/) – LivingSocial offers great discounts and deals on fantastic shopping items, dining, events, and travel. You can browse the website’s hottest deals by category, brand or retailer. This website ensures that you’ll get the most unique deals that you can’t find on anywhere else.