FREE SHIPPING!!    GET X% OFF!!   BOGO!!

Using paper coupons is one thing.  When you venture into the world of online shopping, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which code is best to use.   Many of my friends are intimidated by shopping online because they think it’s more expensive.  Actually, I find that it usually is LESS expensive for me, but I take a few extra seconds to find the best deal before I click “submit.”

A few weeks ago I placed an online order for a specific item that was only found on one site.  I normally wouldn’t have ordered from this company because the shipping cost was outrageous ($11.95 for something that weighed about two ounces) , but they had something I could only find on that site, so I was out of luck.  My order was around $50 and shipping was $11.95.  CRAZY!!!!    They sent me an email with my first order offering me flat $4.95 shipping on my next order.  Okay…..that might be good.   In my package, there was a paper coupon for $5 off a $30 order.  Hmmmm…..could be even better.

Well, I went online last night and placed a second order.  Like I said, they have what I need and it’s exclusive to this site.   My order was around $37 and shipping was going to be $8.95.  Okay, let’s take a look at these scenarios…..
(1)  $37 + $8.95 shipping – $5 coupon= $40.95 total   (remember, I had to have a minimum purchase of $30 to use this one)

(2)  $37 + $4.95 shipping= $41.95 total

When I was browsing the website, I noticed that there was a different coupon code that could be used for a $25 purchase which gave me FREE shipping.  I had an extraneous item in my cart that was $10, didn’t absolutely have to have it, so I took it out of the cart and used the new code.  Check out my total now!

(3) $27 + $0 shipping = $27 total

Even if I did scenario #2 and took out the $10 item, my total still would have been higher at $31.95.  So you see, it paid off to search for just an extra few seconds to find a better deal.

If you have a hard time calculating which code gives you the best price, just enter the code at the checkout page and click “recalculate” or “update.”  Then pay attention to the total.  I use this often when I’m shopping on Boden or similar sites that have multiple codes at the same time.

Do you take the extra time to find a good deal?  Why or why not?

P.S.  I actually emailed the company and told them that their shipping was outrageously high.  More on what they responded in this post!!