Monday, July 15, 2013

How the Concept of Couponing Began

For sure, you already have known about discount coupons as far as your memory can go back. But, did you ever wonder how the idea of couponing was born?

If you are one of those shopping buffs who are also avid grocery discount card users, might as well check out how the concept of coupons really started.

An Extract Set for Stardom…

Who would have thought that everything would begin with an extract of a Peruvian Coca leaf mixed Kola nut and sugar syrup, a drink now widely known as ‘Coca- Cola’? John Stith Pemberton, the creator of this now famous beverage, initially had the product distributed as a ‘fountain drink’ following an accidental addition of carbonated water to the mixture.

In the effort of spreading the word about the new liquid refreshment way back 1887, Pemberton with the assistance of his bookkeeper handed out tickets that offered free sample drinks. However, this strategy unfortunately gained a very minimal attention from the market.

A Fateful Sale…

In 1888, Pemberton decided to sell Coca-Cola to a businessman named Asa Candler. It was Candler who took the ‘free sample ticket’ marketing strategy to what later on would become a phenomenal advertising technique.

Candler started giving out thousands of coupons in exchange for a free glass of Coca-Cola. He called such coupons as ‘couper’, a French word which means ‘to cut’. He had the coupons sent to homes throughout the country, had businessmen distribute them on the streets, and had them inserted in various magazines.

A Resounding Success…

The campaign reaped a massive return of 8.5 million coupons redeemed nationwide between the years 1894 to 1913. Such astounding result paved way to making ‘coupons’ official household names and commercial strongholds like they are today.

How do you find such colorful back story about how discount cards came to be? Now, you already know who to thank for the special discounts that you often enjoy nowadays.


So, are you up for a family discount? Then start grabbing as many coupons as you can!


Thursday, July 04, 2013

Tips on Finding More Discount Coupons

Discount coupons are the pocket’s best friends. Saving more is always a major plus in your day to day transactions. In order to enhance your skill in collecting this budget perk, here are a few ways you might want to use.

  • Magazines are excellent sources of coupons and discounts. This is really an advantage to those who regularly subscribe to magazines. There are even stores that issue or even give away free magazines full of these budget friendly goodies.

  • You may also directly contact manufacturers or just sign up on their sites. Signing up to their websites will give you the advantage of being among the first in line in case they give out special discounts to their regular consumers.

  • It is kind of funny to think about but there are those who really sell out discount cards. These are usually done through online shopping sites. In fact buying them is a good stratagem especially if you regularly purchase supplies or you have to buy in bulk. A good example is a grocery discount card.

  • Social networking sites are also used by companies in order to directly communicate with their consumers. Try checking and subscribing to the page of your preferred manufacturers, who knows you might one day hear a knock in your doorstep delivering your discount cards.


The internet is the greatest marketplace for coupon trading. You might encounter one who wants to dispose something that you actually need. Finding the valuable ones like those granting a family discount might be difficult but these simple tips might lead you to several of them.