Finding a deal on the Web
Want to know what?s in the Toys ?R? Us holiday ad weeks before it?s published? Lusting after a bargain-priced plasma television? Hate hefty shipping costs? Need a tutorial in ?coupon stack*ing?? (Coupon stacking is a method of using more than one coupon on a single item.) At Web sites designed to help you find every discount, sale and coupon code available, savvy savers are sharing ways to conserve cash.
The following are good places to start:
Dealtaker.com:
It boasts a membership of 150,000 shoppers who swap info on the day?s best buys. ?Most of the deals posted offer 50 percent savings or more,? says Neal Rapoport, a former Microsoft employee who founded DealTaker.com in 2004. ?Sometimes our folks even find the trifecta or the Holy Grail of deals.? (A trifecta occurs when you can use a coupon on a sale item and get free shipping. If that same item also features a rebate, you?ve found the Holy Grail.) DealTaker.com features a coupon section with discounts for 1,500 online stores; a price search and comparison engine with more than 15 million products; and a Free Stuff section, where users can sign up for freebies offered at various Web sites.
FreeShipping.org:
A destination for online consumers seeking the no-charge shipping deals offered by 850 online retailers.
Dealnews.com:
Shoppers can get their spendorphins flowing with bargains offered by 2,000 online retailers. Site operators verify that each deal is valid, offered by a reputable retailer and the lowest price they could find.
BlackFriday.info, Bfads.net:
These two sites post holiday ads in advance so you can plan your day-after*Thanksgiving shopping.
Retailmenot.com:
Features coupons for 20,000 online stores.
Cleverbabies.com:
Posts the latest sales on toys and gear for small fry, offers coupons and coupon codes and hosts forums on baby bargains.
Coolsavings.com, valpak.com, wow-coupons.com:
Visitors print coupons for grocery items, services, restau*rant offers, local retailers and rebates. (Some sites require you to download software to print offers.) DealCatcher.com: Helps shoppers find rebates, promo*tions, discount coupon codes, free shipping deals and the best prices for 500 online merchants.
Naughtycodes.com:
Hate finding those discount-code boxes when you?re buying online and not knowing the magic word or number for additional savings on your purchase? At naughtycodes.com, scroll down the list of stores until you find the one you want and click on the link to get the code. (Other sites featuring discount infor*mation include currentcodes.com, dealhunting.com and discountcodes.com.)
Rather-Be-Shopping.com:
Bargain hunters can find coupon codes for 500 e-tailers, including Old Navy, Macy?s, the Gap, Home Depot, JCPenney and American Eagle Outfitters, along with free-shipping offers and printable coupons for brick-and-mortar stores. All coupon offers are verified before being posted. The site also fea*tures consumer blogs and a special request e-mail service. (If you?re looking for a particular coupon and can?t find it, let the site know and they?ll try to track it down for you.) FatWallet.com: It has a community of more than a half*million consumers who raise their shopping IQs in such forums as ?Hot Deals,? ?One Time Coupons? and ?Free Stuff,? and get cash back on stuff they buy from the site?s retail partners. ?The people who post in our forums are people who are looking for the down and dirty cheapest price on everything,? says Brent Shelton, director of mar*keting at FatWallet.com. ?They?re experts in uncovering amazing savings.?
So when Restaurant.com offers 60 percent off gift certificates (plus a free $10 gift card) and when Uggs are marked down at Bloomingdales, these folks are on it. ? Korky Vann, Hartford Courant
Want to know what?s in the Toys ?R? Us holiday ad weeks before it?s published? Lusting after a bargain-priced plasma television? Hate hefty shipping costs? Need a tutorial in ?coupon stack*ing?? (Coupon stacking is a method of using more than one coupon on a single item.) At Web sites designed to help you find every discount, sale and coupon code available, savvy savers are sharing ways to conserve cash.
The following are good places to start:
Dealtaker.com:
It boasts a membership of 150,000 shoppers who swap info on the day?s best buys. ?Most of the deals posted offer 50 percent savings or more,? says Neal Rapoport, a former Microsoft employee who founded DealTaker.com in 2004. ?Sometimes our folks even find the trifecta or the Holy Grail of deals.? (A trifecta occurs when you can use a coupon on a sale item and get free shipping. If that same item also features a rebate, you?ve found the Holy Grail.) DealTaker.com features a coupon section with discounts for 1,500 online stores; a price search and comparison engine with more than 15 million products; and a Free Stuff section, where users can sign up for freebies offered at various Web sites.
FreeShipping.org:
A destination for online consumers seeking the no-charge shipping deals offered by 850 online retailers.
Dealnews.com:
Shoppers can get their spendorphins flowing with bargains offered by 2,000 online retailers. Site operators verify that each deal is valid, offered by a reputable retailer and the lowest price they could find.
BlackFriday.info, Bfads.net:
These two sites post holiday ads in advance so you can plan your day-after*Thanksgiving shopping.
Retailmenot.com:
Features coupons for 20,000 online stores.
Cleverbabies.com:
Posts the latest sales on toys and gear for small fry, offers coupons and coupon codes and hosts forums on baby bargains.
Coolsavings.com, valpak.com, wow-coupons.com:
Visitors print coupons for grocery items, services, restau*rant offers, local retailers and rebates. (Some sites require you to download software to print offers.) DealCatcher.com: Helps shoppers find rebates, promo*tions, discount coupon codes, free shipping deals and the best prices for 500 online merchants.
Naughtycodes.com:
Hate finding those discount-code boxes when you?re buying online and not knowing the magic word or number for additional savings on your purchase? At naughtycodes.com, scroll down the list of stores until you find the one you want and click on the link to get the code. (Other sites featuring discount infor*mation include currentcodes.com, dealhunting.com and discountcodes.com.)
Rather-Be-Shopping.com:
Bargain hunters can find coupon codes for 500 e-tailers, including Old Navy, Macy?s, the Gap, Home Depot, JCPenney and American Eagle Outfitters, along with free-shipping offers and printable coupons for brick-and-mortar stores. All coupon offers are verified before being posted. The site also fea*tures consumer blogs and a special request e-mail service. (If you?re looking for a particular coupon and can?t find it, let the site know and they?ll try to track it down for you.) FatWallet.com: It has a community of more than a half*million consumers who raise their shopping IQs in such forums as ?Hot Deals,? ?One Time Coupons? and ?Free Stuff,? and get cash back on stuff they buy from the site?s retail partners. ?The people who post in our forums are people who are looking for the down and dirty cheapest price on everything,? says Brent Shelton, director of mar*keting at FatWallet.com. ?They?re experts in uncovering amazing savings.?
So when Restaurant.com offers 60 percent off gift certificates (plus a free $10 gift card) and when Uggs are marked down at Bloomingdales, these folks are on it. ? Korky Vann, Hartford Courant
