So you are one of the growing numbers of internet shoppers doing their purchases online! You have narrowed your search down to the perfect item for you, be it a new outfit, a DVD player, a laptop or a pair of shoes. Smart shopping, yes! Without leaving your home you are shopping at any moment of the day or night. But you can make it even smarter with another few clicks and add some dollars to your savings each time by using coupon codes or promotional codes.

Have you ever wondered how websites with coupon codes work? The owners of coupon code websites are affiliates of the retailer which means that they have the retailers? links and banners on their website. If customers that link off from this site make a purchase, the retailer pays the website owner a percentage of the sales which could range from 15 to over 20% or it could be a flat fee in lieu of a commission.

Before you click on the ?Buy Now? button, you will find a space wherein you are asked to feed the coupon code which gives you that extra discount. The good news is that these special codes are just a few mouse clicks away and smart internet shoppers will never make a purchase without first browsing sites to find a promotional code. If they find a promotional code, they note it down, a sequence of letters and/or numbers and return to the merchant's website to feed the code, receive the discount and make the purchase. Many a time the buyer finds that he has found a coupon with a larger discount at a competing merchant's website so he makes the purchase there instead.

If you type ?coupon code? in Google, it will throw you a lot of websites supporting them. The codes are easy to use and the sites are very user-friendly. Some sites give you such simple step-by-step instructions to follow that even the newest online shopper will soon be shopping with confidence.

But there are some drawbacks against which you should guard yourself. First check the expiry date of the promotional code. A lot of coupon sites are littered with outdated codes as the owners don't bother to maintain them. Make sure you type in the promotional code correctly without spaces on either side or else you will not receive any discount. Before you confirm your purchase, make sure that the discount has been applied and the price of the item you are purchasing has come down. Register only on those coupon websites that guarantee that they will not give away your email address to third parties. This can save you from a flood of spam. Once you have found a reputable coupon website and have had positive experiences shopping there, you can sign up for their coupon code alerts. If these websites have logos of e-business watchdogs like the Better Business Bureau or TRUSTe, so much the better.

You can save on travel by using promotional codes. Traveling abroad can prove to be pretty expensive. Starting from your plane ticket to your car rental, accommodation and shopping means a lot of money spent. If you have a tight budget, you wouldn't want to pass up any opportunity to save. Using these codes could help you. There are plenty of airlines that give you these codes with which you can avail of discounts on air fare. If you book your flight a week earlier you can save even more. These codes are available in some hotels as well. And since most of them provide car rental the discount code would apply to that too.