In today’s world, shopping in “brick and mortar” stores seems so backward,
dated, and boring. Millions of people each year sit in their jammies while
drinking wine and shop for clothes, household goods, gifts, and just about
anything else you can imagine.
One of the great benefits to shopping online is the various coupon, rebate
and dollar-back programs available. If you click through a link, or use a coupon
code, your savings can be substantial. In addition, you get all the myriad
benefits of shopping online – no children to drag through stores, no gas costs
to get there and back, and no hassle of dealing with crowds.
So, once you’re convinced to shop online, where can you find the savings?
There are several ways to save money online. Let’s start with coupons.
Coupons
This is a fairly standard. Go to one of the coupon sites (many will be
provided below) and look for the store you want to shop with, or search by
category, depending on your needs. Be sure to click “apply” when you enter the
coupon during checkout.
Although in the early days of online shopping, coupon codes were plentiful
and generous (frequently you could find $10 off a $10 purchase with free
shipping), good coupons these days are hard to find. Some stores (like Lands’
End) rarely offer coupons while others (L.L. Bean) often offer free shipping on
any size order. When you order, or even if you don’t order, be sure to sign up
with the website either by registering or signing up for coupons. These
direct-email coupons are often some of the best you’ll ever find.
Here are some excellent coupon sites to get you started:
MyBargainBuddy.com — Here, a mom compiles good deals and coupon codes for
you. Some of the best deals need no coupon at all, but if there’s a good deal
and a coupon to go with it, all the better.
FatWallet.com — Lots of codes here along with active message boards where
other deals can be found.
MyCoupons.com — The most beneficial part of this site are the message
boards, which are alive with the sound of people saving money. Check out the
posts that have stickies on them at the start of each forum – there are often
some good links to printable coupons here for favorites like Toys R Us and Chuck
e Cheese.
One note: If you are looking for a code for a certain store, don’t assume
that if it’s not available at one website, it doesn’t exist. There are different
codes at different sites. Visit several coupon sites before giving up hope that
a code does in fact exist for that store.
Rebates
Here’s how the big daddy of online rebate programs works. Go to Ebates.com
and sign up for an account. There’s a sign up bonus of $5, so you already have a
free $5 coming to you. Then, when you go shopping, check Ebates before heading
directly to an online store. Even if you have a coupon from another site, click
through the store link on the Ebates page for more savings.
Let’s say you choose a new jacket from Kohls and you have a $10 off a $75
purchase. Great. Keeping the coupon code in hand, you head to Ebates and find
Kohls among the list of stores. This store offers 2% back, so you click through
the Kohls link on the Ebates page, and make your purchase. Not only do you
benefit from the coupon code you applied, but also got an extra 2% back on your
purchase. Not a bad deal. Ebates will send money to your Paypal account or send
you a check.
Points
Not everyone knows about the various point programs available, but since you
can earn points without doing any shopping, the points programs are worth
knowing.
Visit MyPoints.com and sign up for an account. My Points will send emails
(sometimes daily, sometimes several in one day). You click a link in the mail
and automatically get 5 points. Sign up for an offer or make a purchase through
that link and earn even more points, from hundreds to thousands of points per
offer.
My Points is most useful, however, when you’re shopping online. It’s like
Ebates in that you click through a link on the My Points site, and you get
points for your purchase. Most stores offer a certain number of points (2 to 4
on average) per dollar spent. Once you have at least 1,000 points, you can
redeem the points for gift certificates for restaurants, gas, travel and
clothing.
You can’t use Ebates and My Points in the same purchase, so if a store is
linked through both Ebates and My Points, you have to decide which is the better
deal for you. Whenever possible, try to combine a coupon code with the My Points
or Ebates deal.