Online Coupon Codes

What Is A Coupon Code?

A coupon code is a coupon only meant to be used online. Businesses like to offer coupons as an incentive to do your shopping with them. If there were two stores in the same mall with similar goods and prices, wouldn't you go to the one offering you a 20% off coupon? The same principle applies online, but there's a catch. Since there's no cashier to scan a bar code and check the expiration date on a coupon when you order online, merchants had to create a new system for offering discounts to their customers. Coupon codes took the place of the usual paper coupons.

They're called codes because they're often a jumble of letters and numbers resembling a strange code. What sense are you supposed to make of a word like "KHFID76"? Other times, the coupons are a word or two related to the purpose of the sale, reminiscent of a secret code word used to gain entry into a clubhouse or secret society. Except secret societies probably don't ask their members to utter the word "bigspringdeal" before entering their meetings.

Why Use Online Coupon Codes?

It's a simple fact; online coupon codes save you money. They may offer free shipping, a certain percentage off your total order, a free product with purchase or a simple dollar-off amount. The deals are as varied and just as good as coupons you'd find to use in traditional stores. Too many people miss out on savings because they don't take a few minutes to search online for a code before placing their order at an online store. Would you rather spend $5 on shipping or use the money to buy yourself a gourmet coffee before work?

Where Can You Find Coupon Codes?

Coupon codes are freely shared on the Internet. Many sites are devoted purely to compiling page after page of codes, while other sites offer the coupons as part of a larger deal-finding site. Here are a few popular options:

• CurrentCodes.com
• DealCatcher
• Coupon Craze
• CouponMountain

If you feel like browsing current offers, one of these clearinghouse sites will be the place to start. If you already have a shopping cart full of items ready to be purchased, you time will be better spent searching for a specific merchant code. If you have a store in mind, you can search for "store name" and "coupon code" to go directly to the relevant pages. You will have to sift through numerous ads to find the information you want, and if you click on a link directly from the coupon code site, it may be an affiliate link, but there's really no harm in that. A good number of these sites are similar with many of the same online coupon codes in their lists, but after you've completed a few searches, you'll start to get a feel for which sites list the stores you're most often to shop at, which sites have user-friendly interfaces, and which sites are updated the most frequently with the best codes.