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June 2003
Contents
Part 1: Introduction -- Making Coupons Online Work For You
Want to find valuable, easy-to-use coupons?
Want more value than you can get from the old-fashioned coupon clipping?
Our goal is to help you find and use good coupons online.
Over 150 coupon web sites offer a broad selection of free coupons:
printable coupons, online coupons, coupon codes, rebates, etc.
How do you make sense of it all?
This review sorts out the main types of coupons available on the internet today.
It then lists the main web sites that provide each type of coupon.
It provides a comparison of these sites, to help you decide
which site(s) you want to explore further and start using.
We've got a free "Coupon Finder" tool that lets you search for coupons at several popular sites at once.
You can learn more about it at
Search the Popular Coupon Sites All At Once
or just start using the tool directly at
Coupon Finder.
You can use this review (and the coupon finder) by itself,
or you can create a free MakeLifeEasy account.
Your account lets you store and organize your coupon searches
and use the other smart shopping list features.
You can link coupons with your MakeLifeEasy smart shopping list
to save money, time, and effort.
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If you DO already use coupons,
MakeLifeEasy can help you improve your savings and simplify the process.
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If you DON'T use coupons,
you may find that MakeLifeEasy
makes it practical enough for you to start.
This review is a work in progress.
We'll update it about every six months,
as online coupons change and
we learn how well the coupon providers perform over time.
You can help by sending your comments, questions, and suggestions.
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*** FASCINATING COUPON FACTS ***
- Over 3,000 manufacturers offer nearly 330 billion coupons every year -- worth about $280 billion.
- ... and consumers redeem about 8 billion of those coupons -- about $4.7 billion worth.
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Return to Contents
Part 2: Some Key Concepts of Online Coupons
Store Coupons vs. Product Coupons
You probably know this already, but ...
A product coupon offers a discount for a specific product.
A store coupon offers a discount at a specific store.
The review will help you find both types of coupons,
but we tend to emphasize product coupons, since
these are usually more helpful for covering the needs on your shopping list
over and over again.
Real Sources vs. Referrers
As you'll see, very few sites are the actual original sources for product coupons,
since product coupons usually originate from the product manufacturer.
For store coupons, there are many more original sources.
That's because each merchant may offer its own coupons,
and there are millions of merchants.
Merchants may offer these coupons directly to you,
and/or they may pass them on to their marketing affiliates,
who help bring customers to their stores.
The vast majority of coupon sites online are "referrers".
They refer you to either a coupon provider or a merchant.
Many of these referrers offer a valuable service: they keep track of current coupons,
post them, and organize them for you.
Many of these affiliate (referrer) sites have very similar selections,
since they're tracking many of the same merchants --
the online merchants who offer well-know affiliate programs.
So, picking a good site can mean finding one who has
the best assortment of coupons from the merchants that you like
and who keeps them up-to-date.
Although referrers can help you find coupons for what you need,
they are usually better at helping you go "fishing" -- that is,
to find new stores you haven't heard of. Often these are specialty stores.
And sometimes it's best to just skip the referrer
and go directly to the original source of the coupons.
[
Ed. note: MakeLifeEasy is also an affiliate for selected merchants.
We're not currently affiliated with any coupon sites, though we may be in the future.
However:
(1) we will certainly review sites with which we have no relationship, and
(2) we don't favor the sites with which we do have a relationship.
]
Return to Contents
Part 3: Types of Coupons Available Online
Here's a summary of coupon types available online.
We're not currently including rebates, ebates, refunds, etc. here,
though we plan to in the future.
Following the table there are notes on some of the types.
Here are notes on some of the types:
Clippers receive thousands of
newspaper coupons, clip them, sort them, and offer them to you for a fee.
Of course, you can clip your own coupons for free, so why pay?
Here are some possible reasons:
- The clipper has useful coupons that you don't. The big clippers have a lot of coupons!
- The clipping fees are a fraction of the coupon face value,
so if you use enough coupons you can still save quite a bit.
- If you're already clipping coupons, you could stop clipping some or all of them,
just start buying those that you stopped clipping,
and use that new free time for something else.
You also have to wait for delivery of ordered coupons.
MakeLifeEasy makes this less painful.
How? Simple: You can order the coupons for needs that are rising up on your list,
so that when the need gets to the top of your list (and it's time to shop for it),
you'll already have the coupons you need.
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MakeLifeEasy can make clipping services more useful to you,
since your smart shopping list tells you what coupons you'll need ahead of time.
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Recommendation: Consider using one or more sites
By the way, there are also many, many small coupon-sharing "networks".
The "moderator" uses their personal web page to post and trade coupons with a small group.
We won't cover these here, but use one if it works for you.
Just don't go overboard and get involved in a coupon-clipping "business opportunity" scam!
See
this report from the Federal Trade Commission for more information.
These sites provide coupons online for specific products.
You print them out and use them at whatever store you like.
The sites require that you create an account and download and install coupon printing software.
Either of these requirements creates the possibility that your privacy could be compromised.
We haven't found any violations yet.
We're monitoring these and we'll publish any issues we find as we update this review.
Here's one way to decide whether you want to use one of these sites:
Since they have a limited selection, and are very much like newspaper coupons,
think of each one as another newspaper insert.
If you like the coupons they offer (and you're willing to accept the possible privacy issues)
then go ahead and use them. If not, don't.
Recommendation: Consider using one or more sites
ValuPage (currently the only one of these sites)
may already be familiar to you. After a grocery checkout, have you ever received, along with your store receipt,
a coupon for your next purchase of some product? Those coupons probably come from ValuPage.
Using their web site, they do almost the same thing online:
you can print out a page of offers from your preferred grocery store(s),
take that page to the store, have it scanned at checkout, and, if you bought any of the items on the page,
you'll receive coupon(s) for your next purchase of the product.
Recommendation: Consider using if you might buy some of the items offered
Product manufacturers have their own web sites and often offer coupons for their products.
The problem is that they almost always want to gather your personal data (including your email
address, home address, and telephone number) in exchange for coupons.
Not only is this awfully time consuming for a few coupons,
but you can expect to be placed on a mailing list.
It's up to you whether it's worth it. If you can get the same coupons in paper form,
you won't have to worry about your privacy.
How do you find these? Well, you can go to each of your favorite manufacturers one-by-one
to see what they're offering. Or, there are a few sites (like CouponCat) that can point you to
manufacturers with good online offers.
Recommendation: Use with care, if you've got the time, and watch your privacy!
ValPak's direct mail packet of coupons is familiar to us in southern California.
Their online offering is similar.
These sites ask you to enter your zip code,
then list coupons/promotions for your local stores.
Recommendation: Consider using for local shopping
Referring sites (or just "referrers") help you to find
coupons and promotions at online merchants.
These are very common,
due mainly to the popularity of internet affiliate programs.
It's not very difficult to qualify as a merchant's affiliate.
If you believe you can direct traffic to a merchant,
put up your site, sign up as an affiliate, and go!
Of course, the reality is that a few sites do it well,
and others languish in obscurity.
We've selected some of the more popular sites.
You could use one or more of these sites to find good merchant offers.
These are usually not for a specific product,
but offer instead things like
first-time shopper discounts, free shipping, seasonal discounts, and the like.
So you can use them to get a discount
on your whole order from your favorite online store,
or on your first online shopping experience,
or to expand your online shopping to new stores.
But don't give personal information to any of these sites -- there's no need.
Find a site that doesn't ask for it.
Recommendation: Consider using one mentioned here or find one you like
Many sites offer more than one coupon type, so we call them "hybrid" sites.
A very common hybrid is a site that (1) is a "referrer" to merchant coupons, and
(2) provides printable product coupons by directing you to one of the two main providers,
CoolSavings or SmartSource.
On this type of site, you would need to pick and choose the services that you want,
using the guidelines above.
Recommendation: Consider using one mentioned here or find one you like
Some sites are just facades,
mostly left over from the very hopeful days before the internet bubble burst.
They offer little or no value, and simply redirect you to other coupon sites.
We'll avoid naming any, and none are recommended.
If you happen on one, just skip it.
We'll keep track of some of them. Maybe they'll "revive" into something more useful in the future.
Recommendation: Skip these
Of course, there are still many more ways to get deals than with coupons.
We'll expand on these in the next update of this review.
Return to Contents
Part 4: The Site-by-Site Comparison
Here's a summary of coupon sites grouped by the main coupon type they offer.
Sites are listed alphabetically within each coupon type:
Notes On The Table:
- Coupon types. Sites are listed under the main useful coupon type they offer.
Many sites are "hybrids" offering more than one coupon type,
though often they only provide real value for one type,
and refer you to an affiliated site for the other type(s).
For example, many, many sites refer you to CoolSavings or SmartSource for printable coupons.
But you can just go to CoolSavings or SmartSource directly.
- "Sign up?" indicates whether you must create an account to use the service.
This makes sense for some services such as coupon clippers who need your personal data for billing and mailing.
But it really shouldn't be needed in many cases (such as for printable coupon sites).
- "Cost" (if any) depends on the coupon type, and is usually an estimate.
For example, coupon clippers charge about 10-20% of the coupon's face value.
Notes On Selected Sites:
"Print coupons and save at favorite stores, restaurants, and travel companies."
This is probably the biggest coupon site, at least in terms of traffic.
Since they offer an affiliate program, many smaller sites direct you to CoolSavings.com for grocery coupons.
Once inside CoolSavings.com, you'll find a very limited selection of coupons.
For example, in May 2003 they provided a total of 16 grocery coupons for our southern California zip code,
all for "specialty" products, i.e., none that were on our list.
You can't search for a coupon, though that's not too important since the selection is so small.
You can select a category to see all the coupons in that category.
CoolSavings is actually more than a printable coupon site. They are a hybrid.
There are links to other "savings", though these are nothing special. You can probably get these deals yourself.
They also have links to a few name-brand stores (e.g., JCPenney, Kraft, Marshall's, WalMart), and several off-brand stores.
The stores and offers rarely change.
The merchants often require you to create an account and share your personal information with each one of them.
Coolsavings makes you sign up, and you have to provide a lot of personal information:
name, address, telephone, gender, birthdate, etc.
Why do they need to know all this? Many other good coupon sites don't ask.
Their FAQs say "we ask you to enroll so that we can offer you coupons from merchants in your local area",
though we've yet to see any.
Their FAQs also try to explain why they want your birthdate,
but their explanation doesn't hold water.
Since you can't really save any information, such as a list of your favorite coupons,
your "account" doesn't really help you at all.
You must download and install the "Coupon Manager" to print coupons.
This also might be a risky proposition,
since providers of software like this have often snuck in programs that post unwanted ads
and/or gather personal information from your computer.
So far our firewall hasn't detected the Coupon Manager trying to gather any data.
However, once installed on Windows, you need to know how to uninstall it manually.
CoolSavings.com will provide you with instructions if you ask (or ask us).
A better description of the potential privacy issues with CoolSavings
can be found in their privacy report card
from PerfectlyPrivate.
Is it all worth it? Maybe, if you really like their coupons...
"Online coupons and deals for books, DVD, food, music, toys, and more."
Dealcatcher.com appears to be mostly a "referrer" site --
a site that refers you to lots of other sites.
When they refer you, you can often get a special offer from the destination site.
They offer "store coupons", not "product coupons".
They do have forums where you may find leads about good coupons and good coupons to trade.
All in all, they may not be so useful when you're trying to cover the needs on your shopping list.
They may be worth a look from time to time if you're "fishing" for new stores.
"Manufacturers of brand named grocery coupons selectable
from an online database and delivered to your home."
"Feeding a Family of Fur on a Budget."
"Saving Together."
"Offers a list of free online coupons for popular online stores."
"Online coupon shopping for offline stores with savings from many retailers."
"Special offers, coupons, and discounts at online retailers."
"Offers savings on local, regional, and national products and services, including
home, office, and travel."
"The World's Largest Coupon Clipping & Delivery Service!"
"What's on Sale at the Retail Stores this Week?"
"Offers grocery, health, and household coupons redeemable nationwide. Also offers
free samples, recipes, and homekeeping and wellness tips."
SmartSource resembles CoolSavings quite a bit.
Here, as at CoolSavings, you must install a Coupon Print Manager,
which raises the same privacy issues as CoolSavings (see above).
"Select and print out coupons for businesses in your area."
From the company who brings you direct mail envelopes of store coupons:
a small online assortment of store coupons. These are for local stores.
"Offers free printable grocery store coupons created online and valid at local
supermarkets across the US for discounts, rebates, and savings on brand name products."
Valupage offers a simple, easy-to-find, and easy-to-use coupon printing system.
Enter a zip code to see the participating merchants,
then print out the coupon sheet for that merchant.
You don't save on your current trip, but you do save on your next subsequent trip.
These are the familiar post-purchase coupons that you receive after checkout for your next trip.
They have very good merchant coverage in southern California;
all the major grocery chains are represented.
But they have a very limited number coupons, and many of the coupons are for specialty items; not very useful.
The coupons mostly have high face value, though multiple items must be bought to redeem them.
Other Sources
Here are a few others not included in the table above. We may review these in the future:
- All-coupons.com.
They have a useful list of promotions available from major (not minor) online retailers
(see also Coupons-coupon-codes.com).
- Coupons-coupon-codes.com.
They have a useful list of promotions available from major (not minor) online retailers.
(see also All-coupons.com).
- CouponSurfer.com.
- DailyeDeals.com.
These "coupons" are for online stores. For "local stores", they link to coolsavings.com.
- eBates.com.
They also offer rebates. We may review this site in a future issue.
- Mycoupons.com.
This is a fairly typical store-referrer, with a somewhat larger collection than the rest
(In May 2003, they had 103 "grocery & gourmet" coupons and 236 "health & fitness" coupons).
Return to Contents
Part 5: Using Coupons With Your Smart Shopping List
Right now, you can quickly search for coupons for the items on your shopping lists
and save your searches to easily re-use them.
See Search the Popular Coupon Sites All At Once.
In the coming months, we'll be linking coupons even more closely with your smart shopping list.
Return to Contents
Part 6: Finding Highly Requested Coupons
See Find The Most Popular Coupons Online.
Return to Contents
Part 7: Conclusion
Which coupon sites you use depends on personal taste, how much money you want to save,
how much effort you want to put in to it, and how much you value your privacy.
We've tried to help by clarifying the different types of sites,
listing some of the bigger, more popular, and/or higher value sites of each type,
and providing tools to help you perform your coupon searches more quickly and easily.
Guard your privacy. If a site wants your email address or other personal information,
ask yourself if it's worth it.
Remember that you can often find the same offer at more than one site,
and the other site(s) may not ask for your personal information.
The online coupon sites will continue to change.
We'll update this review often and we want to do out best to make it accurate and useful.
Here's how you can help:
- Do you have a coupon site to recommend? Please tell us.
- Do you operate a coupon site that we should evaluate? Please tell us.
- Have we missed anything about your site?
Please send your comments to
the editors.
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