eCoupons Explained

I get questions all the time about eCoupons and how exactly they work.  Here are a few basic things you should know to get you on your way.

What are eCoupons?

eCoupons are coupons that you can load onto your shopping card through various providers on the internet.  First, you will need to create a profile and input your shopping card number for the stores that provide services.  Then, you will be able to simply click to select the coupons you want and then load them onto your shopping card.  When you scan the card at checkout, those coupons will come off and you should see them noted on your receipt.

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Where do you get eCoupons?

The largest sites for you to load eCoupons are cellfire.com, shortcuts.com, UPromise, P&G esaver, SoftCoin and your favorite grocery stores including Vons.com and more!

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How can you best use eCoupons?

Cellfire releases coupons in batches every two weeks.  Two weeks after they are released, they are no longer available to load but they will stay in your account and available to use for another two weeks.  After one batch of coupons is pulled, a new batch of coupons is released and available to load.  If they release the same coupon in subsequent batches, you could still have one coupon loaded from the first batch and be able to load another ecoupon for the same item from the second batch.  This is so hard to put into words so let’s try a visual.

January 1st Huggies eCoupon released and available to load until the 14th.   January 14th no longer available to load but still in account till 1/31.  January 14th new Huggies ecoupon released available to load until 1/31.  Jan 31st no longer available but still in account

1/1——————————–1/14—————————–1/31

                                             1/14—————————–1/31—————————-2/13

As you can see, if they release a coupon for the same item in two subsequent batches, you could have 2 ecoupons for the same product to use on one item.  This allows you to save even more off one item or be able to cash in on a great sale more than once.  For this reason, I always load them all to my card as soon as they come out.

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Shortcuts.com has the same possibility as well.  Shortcuts ecoupons and cellfire ecoupons are not from the same provider but they frequently have eCoupons for the same items.  If you load an eCoupon from cellfire for Huggies and an eCoupon from shortcuts for Huggies, both of them should come off the purchase of one item.  If you had 2 from cellfire and 2 from shortcuts, all 4 would come off.  You see how this can be a major savings?!

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UPromise ecoupons are a little different in that the coupon values do not come off your receipt.  Instead, the coupon amount is added to your UPromise account that can then be linked to a college savings account to save for your child or use to pay off school loans.  These can also be used in conjunction with the above ecoupons.

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A few question answered:

1. If I load a .50 off eCoupon and buy 2 appropriate items, will the .50  come off for both items? No, eCoupons can only be used once before they come out of your account.
2. Can I use a paper coupon for an item that I have an eCoupon loaded for?  No.  You can only use one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon per item and since ecoupons are mostly manufacturer coupons, they can not be combined with paper coupons.

Can you see now why eCoupons are a great way to save? Set up your accounts and start loading yours today at cellfire, shortcuts.com, UPromise, P&G esaver, and check your favorite grocery store’s website for more.