Are you new to online coupon sites? For those new to bargain shopping online, since around 2008, there has been a wave of deal websites sweeping countries across the world. You may have heard of the name Groupon, but there are also many other well known ones such as Spreets, Scoupon, and Ouffer. You may have heard of people getting amazing deals, but also perhaps some bad experiences and stories from some customers. Before you make up your mind on whether or not explore online coupon sites, you should know how these deal sites work!

Let’s start out with the term, coupon. As you know, it is a form of promotion or discount used to entice customers to make a purchase. You may think of physical coupons you would cut out of newspapers and promotional pieces. You would take them to the store or supermarket with you to get the discounted prices. With deal sites, you have access to wide range of businesses, products, and services at your fingertips. The savings are also much larger than usual, sometimes starting out at 50% (as seen on Groupon). Why is that? Because these sites are built around the concept of collective buying. What is collective buying? It is when a group of people come together and leverage their size in exchange for discounts. The deal usually is only "on" or possible if enough people purchase the coupon.

What can you get from deal sites? You can get anything from yoga classes to baby products, and anything else you can imagine. You can check out deals for vacations, dining, entertainment, and specific products as well. Many of these sites will have a single deal of the day to entice you and there is usually a lot of detail about the offer. Like the coupons you remember, there are also expiration dates on these vouchers and certain rules, such as the availability of the voucher. In some cases, you may only be able to use the coupon on weekdays. Other limitations may exist, so it is important to always read the fine print.

How do you get in on a deal? You pay up front, but your credit card is not charged until the collective buying power is strong enough. What does this mean? In order for a voucher to be activated, a certain quota of people need to purchase it. Then, the deal is technically "on." If a deal is activated, your credit card is charged and you received a coupon in your email. You can print this out when you use the coupon.

As we said earlier, you will come across good sites and bad sites, good deals, and bad deals, good customer reviews and bad customer reviews. Before you go to any site, do your due diligence and go to a site like Coupon Advisor in order to get a lay of the land. Find out what people are saying about a variety of sites, post questions to the group, and write your own review of your experience. Enjoy!