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With the economy the way it is right now many families are turning
to coupon clipping to make the most out of their weekly budgets.
Unfortunately, many of these families looking to save money are getting
sucked into scam sites that provide little or no real value. With these
tips you should be able to save money shopping and avoid being a victim
of an email farm or worse. Deal savings sites are essential for the new
coupon user but getting scammed isn't!
Did you get an offer for
free cookies or jelly beans? Chances are you are being sent to a site
that is considered an email farm. These sites pay affiliates to direct
you to the site. The affiliate gets paid when you enter your email
address. You never get the free coupon but instead your email gets lots
of spam! Avoid this time of email farming by always checking that the
site you are entering your email is the manufacturers site or a trusted
party like a major store.
Another trick used is the 'complete
offer'. This is typically used for free magazine subscriptions but
other products are used as bait as well. This offer looks a lot like
the email farming site but takes it one step further by requiring you
to sign up for a free offer to get the product. Be careful with these.
The free offer almost always expires long enough away for you to
completely forgotten about it and then the monthly charge that was in
the really fine print of the original free offer expires.
Another
type of site that I consider a scam is a paid information site for
deals. Many of these exist in the bargain shopping world. They promise
that they can deliver exclusive news about deals. These sites are very
upfront about their charges so calling them 'scams' is a bit harsh but
the reality is that there are plenty of offer sites that give away the
exact same information for free. Great sales information can still be
found without signing up for a pricey membership. Try using Twitter and
searching for the many real people that will share their favorite sites
with you. On of my favorites is www.thecouponcupboard.com but you can
find others by using the google to search for 'grocery coupon forums'.
Hopefully
your bargain hunting will be a little safer and easier now that you
know how to spot a scam site. There are a few really good coupon forums
out there ready to connect you with real people who are more than happy
to help a new person get started!
Katelyn Grace is a mother of two boys and owns her own business. She enjoys writing freelance articles and surfing the web for money saving ideas. Katelyn recommends this coupon forum as a safe site for to find bargains!
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