Mouse Clix

By: Hobie Lunin

Shopping on the Internet, Part 2

Last month I wrote about how to make purchases on the Internet. Prices are competitive and mostly no sales taxes are involved. The ease and convenience makes this as good or better than catalog shopping. This article is about other ways to save by using the Internet.

For starters there is www.valupage.com. Here is a place to get a sheet or two full of discounts off many items that you can buy at the supermarket. All the large local markets are listed. Click on your favorite store’s logo after you have selected your Zip Code and see the list. The list has the items on “sale” and how much the “discount “ is. You check which ones you think you may buy. Then you print out the sheet(s). You take the sheets with you when you shop and then you buy the items on your list. If you decide not to buy something, that is OK. When you get to the checkout counter, you give the first page to the checkout person and they scan it in the price scan window. Now they check out your entire order and when you receive your change from the payment, you will receive “Web Bucks” that are generated from the little machine that gives you other kinds of coupons from the store. These Web Bucks are in the amount shown on the Valupage sheet and will be good for paying your bill at that market the next time you shop there. I have used this system many times and I think it works fine, with nary a glitch. On that site there is a place for you to put in your e-mail address so they can inform you when the latest pages are available. These are only good for one week at a time.

What other savings are available? Go to the home page of the any company whose products you use. As an example, I chose to look at the page for Kelloggs.com (cereals).

I found a coupon there that I printed out and can now take to the store for a discount. To find other manufacturers or food processor sites, look on their packages or use “Cue: Cat” (see my article of Feb.1, 2001).

Here’s another way to save: find the page of your favorite food store, and look there for on-line coupons to print and cut out. A look at www.pathmark.com found a coupon for a head of lettuce for $0.01! Just print it out and take it to the store. You can probably find the web address for your store by guessing at it or asking at the service desk next time you are there

Another page of incredible savings is www.overstock.com. I looked through this site for computer prices and saw some of the lowest ever. Some of these are remanufactured. (I have no fear of remanufactured computers. I own one myself. I tend to think that those computers that were returned to the manufacturers for one reason or another will get better attention than those just coming off the assembly line.) .

Here is a list of other sites that can help you locate savings not only in PA, but anywhere you travel: www.next50.com, has a large site for senior savings. Www.benefithouse.com offers a free discount prescription card and www.seniordiscount.com says it all. Www.continental.com offers seniors discounts beyond the regular 10% for senior flyers. Www.seniorcitizens.com offers other savings and www.friendly4seniors.com lists many places where senior discounts are available all around the country.

For an even larger list of sites offering savings for seniors I would like to suggest the use of a search engine. If you refer to my article, “Seek and ye shall find”, dated 11/16/2000, you can get specific information on how to conduct a search but briefly, go to any site that has a search engine. I usually recommend www.yahoo.com. The search field is down from the top just a few inches. It is a short wide window with the word “search” at the right end. Click your cursor in the window (field) and you should see the insertion point (a flashing vertical line). Type the following: senior+discounts+Pennsylvania, and then click on search. (The plus sign is available just to the left of the ”backspace” button.) A large list will appear. It may take you a while to check out all these sites and web pages but I am sure you will be surprised at all the things that are available to you.

Another suggestion for all readers is http://247malls.com, a site loaded with coupons and other bargains for malls all around the country. Another site with many bargains is www.bargaintraderonline.com. “Ebay” is an auction site on the Internet which has a search engine to help you find bargains at: www.search.ebay.com, and there are plenty of them. Start by buying an inexpensive item to see how it works and you will probably become an “Ebay addict.” And lastly, a few words about www.priceline.com:

I was in Denver trying to get to Portland when weather made it advisable not to take my car. I got on the Internet (travelocity.com) to get a price for plane travel between the two cities. I applied a large discount to that price, and made contact with www.priceline.com offering that low dollar amount for a flight. This is a simple process, but you must give them your credit card number with your bid. If you get it, it’s yours. They took my bid and I did not even need a ticket, my driver’s license was all that was required to get a boarding pass at the check-in window and I was on my way.

Happy flying (and shopping) to all you Internet shoppers.

Hobie Lunin is a Computer Instructor and Consultant, and will answer questions at hlunin@email.com. To see previous columns and other information, go to http://mouseclix.tripod.com