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Coupons for Holiday Shopping
Date: December 16, 2008
Author: David Smidt, SeniorDiscounts

When looking for senior discounts, be careful not to overlook one of the most tried and true sources of savings – coupons. Although 80 percent of grocery coupons are still found in local papers, coupons are not just for groceries anymore, and they’re not just in the papers. Many can be found on the Internet and are available for most online retailers.

Internet coupon sites offer significant discounts on everything from travel to electronics, as well as your favorite brand of chicken noodle soup. Most online discounts will come in the form of a promotional code. This code must be entered in the appropriate field when finalizing your purchase at a particular vendor. Other web sites like Valpak.com have coupons that can be printed and used at a local merchant or business.

Searching for Coupons:

Searching for a Specific Product: If you are looking for a particular item, try using a web search portal such as Google or Yahoo. In the web site’s search area, type the product name and the word “coupon.” For example, if you are looking for Nike shoes, type “Nike coupon” in the search area.

Searching for a Specific Merchant: Searching for coupons or promotional codes for a specific merchant is similar to searching for discounts on a specific item. For example, if you are looking for coupons or discounts at Target, type “Target coupon” in the search area.

Coupon Web Sites:

Most online coupon sites are free, and their searchability makes it easy for you to find the deals you’re looking for. While coupon sites give you access to an array of savings opportunities, you should be wary of sites that require registration. Such sites could fill your inbox with junk mail. You should also be careful about signing up for newsletters offered by most of these sites. While they sometimes give you valuable information, they may often feature items of limited interest or thinly veiled ads for their sponsors.

Coupon.com
This site provides coupons on many items found at local grocery stores. To print the coupons, special software must be downloaded to your computer. No registration is required to gain access and local discounts are available with a zip code locator.
http://www.coupon.com

Valpak.com
Many of you may be familiar with the Valpak blue envelope that arrives in the mail, but did you know you can also find these coupons online? Valpak offers a list of their available coupons on their web site to print yourself. Valpak also allows you to search by geographic area and then by category to locate specific discounts.
http://www.valpak.com

CouponMountain and CouponCabin
For discounts on big ticket items, try your luck at these sites. Both sites provide you with printable coupons for in-store purchases and promotional codes for online sales. These sites cover thousands of retailers, making it easy to save as much as 25% on non-sale purchases at retailers like the Gap, Gateway Computers, or Overstock.com.
http://www.couponmountain.com
http://www.couponcabin.com

ThePromoCodes.com
If you’re ready to act fast, ThePromoCodes carries limited-time coupons and information on sales at many retailers. The coupons on this site often expire quickly, but checking back regularly can land you some really great deals. The site also hosts forums where users can post bargains as well as detail “the catch” when an offer appears too good to be true.
http://www.thepromocodes.com

Flamingoworld.com
If you’re the kind of person who wants coupons to come to you, Flamingo World lets you sign up for email notification when particular retailers offer discounts. The site also has user forums in addition to a section listing items that have recently been marked down.
http://www.flamingoworld.com

Couponmom.com
Couponmom.com is essentially a portal for other coupon sites, but it also provides links to printable local grocery store coupons as well as promotional codes for online merchants. This site also highlights free offers and samples on many products.
http://www.couponmom.com

Promotioncode.org
This web site focuses primarily on discounts available at online merchants and allows you to search by specific merchant or by product category.
http://www.promotioncode.org

This list is far from exhaustive, but it’s a good start in rediscovering the fruitful world of coupon discounts on the Internet. Happy shopping.

© SeniorDiscounts

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