I Have A Black Belt In Shopping: Lesson #2 - Stacking for Savings With Promo Codes

FYI, from time to time I'll include links in a post that take you to whatever it is I'm talking about.  I may get compensated if you purchase something from clicking the link.  My blog is purely for my personal amusement, but if you make a purchase because of something I said, well, it's cool to get something back from the provider. 


Let's get back to one of my favorite topics... food, er, shopping.

Okay, to recap Lesson #1: if we can't tailor clothes to make them fabulous at whatever size or shape we might be, we do some serious comparison shopping. We look at brick-and-mortar cost, Google the item to see where else it might be at a lower price. I devoted some decent real estate in that post to clothes, but this applies for ANYTHING we want, be it hardware/software, big ticket items, household appliances, hotel rooms, WHATEVER.  If you're not comparison shopping you're doing it wrong.

Now that you've homed in on that which you desire and you've found where it's sold and calculated TOTAL cost including any tax or shipping... it's time to stack.

Stacking?

I didn't make up the word "stacking" - I heard it in reference to those super couponers you hear about getting a year's worth of groceries for two bucks and change. (Sidebar: as focused as I am on getting the best deal online, I rarely do this with groceries.  I'm probably spending needless coin at Tom Thumb, but I just can't bring myself to peruse circulars and clip coupons and map out a multi-store car ride. So I'm loyal to this one chain - they've got the best produce outside of the super expensive chi-chi grocers - and they have virtual coupons that I use via their app.  One trip in the car is all I'm good for.)

Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurant

(Sidebar to sidebar: chi-chi in the above paragraph is pronounced shee-shee as a derivative of chic which is pronounced sheek. There used to be a Midwestern chain of Mexican restaurants called Chi-Chi's which is pronounced chee-cheez. And there's a Greek letter chi, which looks like an X, and is pronounced Kii, rhymes with eye. There's also the Roman numeral X which is pronounced eks, and represents the number ten. True story: in college one of my sorority sisters referred to the Mexican restaurant Chi-Chi's as kii-kiiz because she was all about the Greek system.  She is now a professor at Wharton. And the chain has the dubious distinction of being named one of the worst restaurant chains ever made.)

I digress.

Stacking!

Stacking. As in piling things on top of each other. In the brick-and-mortar world, coupon stacking means layering a sale price (layer 1) with a coupon (layer 2), and sometimes even a rebate (layer 3) and/or a loyalty card discount (layer 4a) or app discount (layer 4b). Again, I choose not to do this because finding the sales (base layer) usually means stopping at multiple stores when I'm getting my groceries and, well, ugh.

The same concept holds true for online shopping. You've started by finding prices - maybe even a sale price. Now you do another Google.  Yes, this is getting complex but unlike brick-and-mortar stacking you can do online stacking in your pajamas with no makeup and a fierce case of bedhead at any time of the day or night on any day of the week. 

Anyhow, you're going to do another Google with the name of the site + "promo code" or "discount" or "coupon code".  So, like, macys coupon code or ebay promo code. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy. You will get pages of results for these searches. It's up to you how deep you want to go in your quest, but basically you go to these sites, copy the coupon code provided and add it to your shopping cart - lather, rinse, repeat until you get a hit.  Sometimes it's a quick process. Sometimes it's work. I'd say my success rate is about 67%. And I get piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssed if I can't find a workable code. I feel like I've been outsmarted by The Man.  Grrrr.  Gets my blood pressure up just thinking about it.

BUT... there is a potential way around the slog of hunting up coupon codes. Yes, I'm talking about signing up for their damn emails. If that's what it takes to save 15% then do it.  You can always unsubscribe or block the emails later. Already on the list and the savings code is only for new subscribers? It takes 10 minutes to create a new gmail account. Yes, this can be a PITA. Some would say keep the item(s) in your shopping cart and hope to get an 'abandoned cart' email from the retailer with an incentive to complete your purchase. I've been known to call the retailer's customer service line and just ask.  I'm not above that. How much of a PITA process this is is simply a matter of personal preference.  Go forth and stimulate the economy!