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What are Coupon Codes?

B. Miller
B. Miller

Coupon codes are codes entered in the checkout or payment process of an online order. They are used to save money or receive special promotions. Most online retailers offer coupon codes; you just need to know where to look.

Most coupon codes offer a monetary discount, such as a percentage or a dollar amount off your entire order. Some may also offer free shipping. Others might require you to meet a minimum purchase requirement or purchase a specific item to qualify for a special discount, while a few will simply apply to any order. As with most traditional coupons, coupon codes can usually only be used once, and will generally expire within a certain time frame.

Woman holding a book
Woman holding a book

Coupon codes are often delivered via e-mail or regular mail. To receive these codes, it is helpful to sign up to be on your favorite retailers' mailing lists. "Preferred customers," customers who regularly shop in a certain store, are most likely to receive coupon codes for special deals. If you choose not to sign up for mailing lists, there are other ways to find these coupons online.

There are numerous websites devoted specifically to compiling coupon codes. Visiting these websites and entering the name of the store at which you are shopping will often bring up lists of various possibilities. Another way is to simply search for the name of the store in your favorite search engine, followed by "coupon code." People are often happy to list methods that they found successful for getting deals.

Some coupons found online can be printed and used in traditional stores. Searching for specific items on your grocery list often brings up available coupons. You can then print the coupons out and bring them with you to the grocery store to redeem. Using coupons can be a great way to save money; just be sure to only use coupons for items you would buy anyway. Purchasing something just because you have a coupon for it will end up costing you more money than it saves.

If you run your own online business, creating and advertising coupon codes is a great way to bring more customers to your business. Shoppers will be more likely to browse around your store if they have an easy way to save money available to them. Even if customers are not able to use a provided coupon code, they might purchase something anyway, and return in the future to give you more business.

Discussion Comments

momothree

@snowywinter- I agree with you about checking the sites out first. Usually, your best bet is to go to the store's main website or the product's main website. There are so many false sites out there that are just trying to get your info and start sending you stupid stuff.

SnowyWinter

I have become an "extreme" couponer. While learning how and where to find the best deals, I learned about coupon codes. You have to really find out as much as you can about a website before you start entering all of your information to get a coupon code.

Two of the different sites that I was trying to get coupon codes for asked for all of my information. Of course, being naive, I entered it in. After that, it told me that there were no current coupon codes but they registered me for other special offers. After that, my email was swamped with junk mail wanting me to be all kinds of things.

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      Woman holding a book