Posted by Tom Tolman :: December 24, 2007 @ 9:29 amMike Smith's post about clipping coupons prompted me to write about how I 'clip' coupons – online. I can't remember the last time that I've used a coupon at the grocery store register but I almost always use coupon codes when I purchase something online. Nearly every major retailer has a place within its online shopping cart for a "coupon code" that gives free shipping or a percentage or dollar value off the total purchase.
Online coupon codes are very easy to find. For example, I recently purchased a Dell computer. A quick Google search for Dell coupons saved me a couple hundred dollars off my final purchase. Here is a small sample of some current coupon code deals:
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Bloomingdale's
25% off your online purchase until December 19th (type in DEC25 at the checkout)
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Kohls
15% off online order (type grcp5007 at checkout); 30% off if you use your Kohl's credit card and type GIVETHANKS at checkout until December 15th
When I am about to make an online purchase, I always head over to Google and search for online coupon codes before checking out. More often than not I've been pleasantly surprised and have been able to save money on something I was about to purchase anyway.
Another way to increase online savings is through sites that give users a percentage of their purchase back, such as Upromise, Ebates and FatWallet. These sites earn money as affiliates of various online retailers and then split that money with users in a "cash back" program. I signed up with Upromise years ago, registered my credit cards with them and forgot about it. A year later when I checked my account, I found that I had accumulated almost $200. You can earn additional rewards by clicking through from their online store to their partner stores such as Wal-Mart, Kohls, Target, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Circuit City, Sears and others. These rewards, however, can only be redeemed through a 529 college savings plan. As with supermarket loyalty cards, you do give up some privacy in exchange for these rewards. I've never used Ebates or FatWallet, but they offer a similar incentive – purchase through their site and they will give you a percentage of the purchase back. Unlike with Upromise, you do not need a 529 account to redeem your reward.
Typically I am able to find current codes by just typing the store name and “coupon code” into Google, but here are a few websites that also maintain updated lists:
The potential savings are not limited to online stores. You often find bonuses and rewards by searching for the term “referral” or “affiliate” with the name of the company you are doing business with. For example, a couple weeks ago Lending Club enhanced their referral program to offer $25 to new members who are referred by current members. Searching for Lending Club referral or Lending Club affiliate reveals several websites with links that will help you receive this bonus:
Before completing any online transaction, I always do a quick search to see if there are any discounts, coupons, bonuses, referral programs or rewards. This has allowed me to save literally thousands of dollars over the past few years.
Please share in the comments if you know of any other good websites or programs for coupon codes or if you have any other online savings tips or tricks.
2 Comments
I have found promotional codes easy to find on line, I simply type the brand or store into Google with the words promotional code, or coupon code. I am often able to save 25-50%.
I recently needed to purchase steel toed boots for work, I found a pair of Sketchers work boots online, and was about to check out with a 40% savings using the code BOOTS4ALL (now expired), when my wife found a two for one promotional offer saving me 50%!
This is a great idea. I read this post right before buying some photoalbums online (from picaboo.com) and saved 20% off my order by using a coupon code from coupon mountain. I need to remember to check from now on before ordering anything online.
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