Ordering Coupons Online

After my post about how I get my coupons since I am no longer receiving the Sunday paper, I had lots of emails with questions about ordering coupons online.  I thought it's be best to do a whole post on this topic to kind of walk you through the process of ordering them online.

Most of you wondered "Is it worth it?" because it seems you do spend more out-of-pocket than you would on a Sunday paper. While this is true, you are only paying for the coupons (and multiples of the same coupon) that you will use - unlike most of the Sunday coupons that tend to go to waste.

First and foremost, you may have noticed on your coupons some wording like "cannot be sold."  So, the sources that sell "coupons" aren't actually selling the coupons, but you are rather paying for their services --  you are paying for their cost, their time to cut, organize and assemble and shipping. 

Now that that's clear (so I don't receive any calls from the Coupon Police), there are several options for where to buy your coupons.  I tend to frequent The Coupon Clippers and Ebay the most  but, again, you can order entire inserts at Coupon Dede .

Let's use The Coupon Clippers for our example...  You can use the Tracker button at the top of the homepage to browse through the coupons by date and insert.  OR, click on 'Coupons' and 'Hot' to see the most sought after coupons or the 'New' coupons.

The coupons I look for are the high-value ones (that will yield at least 50% off), coupons that will double, and ones with a long expiration date.  My absolute favorite coupons are Buy 1, Get 1 FREE 1 Qs since you can (usually) pair them with a BOGO sale, depending on your store's policy.

If you are brand loyal to a specific deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. I would definitely stock up on those coupons - again, assuming it had a long expiration date.  I recommend buying at least 2 of each coupon because if there is a BOGO sale, you'll score a better deal if you have two coupons.

One of my top reasons for buying coupons online is because I can also score coupons that I would have never get in my Sunday paper.  Since coupon inserts are regional, the East coast may have gotten some great coupons that I'd never be able to get my hands on otherwise.  Case in point, I just placed an order a couple of weeks ago and found lots of coupons that weren't in the Sunday inserts.  They included regional coupons, but they also included some blinkies (you know, the ones you can find on the store shelves?).

As you get more familiar with the store ads and what kinds of items go on sale, you'll get in the habit of spotting which coupons can yield a really good deal.  I tend to get coupons for yogurt, shampoo, cosmetics, eggs, dairy, the rare-produce-coupons, and skin care.

My recent coupon delivery cost me $5.38 shipped and the calculated savings for the coupons I ordered is $51, so I'll save almost $46 for spending under $6.  To me, it's totally worth it! 

Still have a question?  Let me know! :)