What are coupons and how to use it?

• February 23, 2014
• By Sinisa Svilar
• Coupons
• 0

What are coupons and how to use it?

Definition of coupon:

A coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a discount when purchasing a product.

Typically, coupons are issued by manufacturers of products or retailers, who use them in retail stores as part of a sales promotion. They are often distributed through the mail, in envelopes, magazines, newspapers, on the internet (social media, email newsletters), directly from the seller, and on mobile devices.

In 1887 the Coca Cola Company was established in Atlanta, Georgia. They were the first who started to distribute complimentary coupons for Coca Cola using mail and magazines. In 1909 coupons saw widespread use in the United States. Today more than 2800 consumer packaged goods companies offer coupons for discounts. 4.6 billion dollars consumers managed to save on their purchases in 2011.

Types

Today, as coupons are becoming more popular, there are few different types of coupons: free shiping, different types of discounts, free trial, first time customer coupons, buy-ne get-one, launch offers, giveaways and grocery coupons.
Most coupons have an expiration date after which they will not be honored. There are coupons for special events like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving Day, Valentine Day… Those types of coupons are valid only throughout this period.

Clipping coupons from newspapers has been the most popular way to obtain coupons, though Internet and Mobile Phone coupons are gaining wide popularity. Online coupons are also known as “coupon codes”, “promotional codes”, “shopping codes”, “voucher codes”, “reward codes”, “discount voucher” or “discount codes”. Coupons found on internet typically provide a specific dollar or percentage discount, free shipping or some other offer to encourage consumers to purchase products or to purchase from specific retailer. Internet coupons consist of secret words or codes for consumers to type in at checkout.

With big prices for basic goods, saving is even more important than ever. Coupons, when used wisely, can help you get good deals. Process of using coupons online is different than clipping paper coupons out of newspapers or magazines, but the savings haven’t changed. But, let’s get started…

How To Buy Online With Coupons?

Step 1.

Find a coupon code or discount for the item you want to buy on websites like coupondraft.com. There is wide variety of deals and promotions available. Some of the deals include coupon code and the other gives you a discount in percentages or other types of saving like, for example, free shipping. Click on  or Coupon code is automatically copied into your clipboard.

Step 2.

This will open another window in your browser and give you an access to the shopping website where you want to buy something. Go through the process of selecting items you want to buy or one item if code is valid only to that specific item. This part of shopping is completely identical to normal shopping without coupon code.

Step 3.

Start the checkout process for the website where you are shopping. Be sure you are buying products you want. Go through the rest of checkout process and, at each page see if there is option for a coupon or promotion code.

Step 4.

When you find the appropriate box enter the coupon code for the product you want to buy. It is enough to paste (ctrl+v on Windows, command+V on Mac) in appropriate box, code is already in your clipboard. Click the “OK”, “Continue” or similar button.

Step 5.

Scan your shopping cart to confirm that the coupon code is valid and is reflected in total price. If not, go back through the whole process and try again.

Step 6.

Finish the order.

Something to keep in mind:

• You can save a lot of money by using coupons, promotions or discounts every time you shop online.

• Whenever you use coupon codes check for expiration date.