essays & effluvia: Extreme Bargain Hunters

Friday, November 25, 2005

Extreme Bargain Hunters

A Deal Seeker's Cheat Sheet

Veteran online bargain hunters employ a variety of strategies to secure the best prices. A look at some of them:

STRATEGY	WHERE TO GO	COMMENTS
Look for promotional coupon codes	CouponMountain.com⁹, WOW-Coupons.com¹⁰, CouponCraze.com¹¹, slickdeals.net¹²	These and similar coupon Web sites list promotional codes and offer print-out coupons for discounts at many online retailers and stores. A Google search for a retailer's name and "coupons" can often lead to savings.
"Stack" mail-in rebates	fatwallet.com¹³, GottaDeal.com¹⁴	Learn of multiple mail-in rebates—a shopping strategy known as "stacking"—by monitoring the forums of these two sites. Occasionally, the value of the rebates can exceed the cost of the product, earning money for the buyer.
Shop via sites that share their commissions	fatwallet.com¹⁵, Ebates.com¹⁶, mrrebates.com¹⁷	These Web sites earn commissions from referring customers to hundreds of online retailers and split some of the money with their members. Membership is free, but you must click on the participating retailers through the sites to qualify. One downside: As with mail-in rebates, it can take months to receive the cash.
Sign up for email alerts	fatwallet.com¹⁸, FareAlert.net¹⁹	Fatwallet sends out an early-morning, daily email alert filled with new and expiring online bargains, plus "hot deals" discovered by its members. FareAlert.net sends out occasional email alerts for "extraordinary" travel deals, including airline price mistakes.

Source:
Obsessive Coupon Disorder
VIRTUAL REALITY
How the Web's extreme bargain hunters get deep discounts -- or even make a profit -- when they buy
STEVE STECKLOW
WSJ, November 19, 2005; Page P5
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113234748894101688.html

Posted at 06:42 AM in Shopping | Permalink