The Concept Of Coupons

A coupon is a ticket. It is a promise that the bearer will be rewarded for doing something. This reward can be anything, but commonly this is thought of as money off an item in a store. In some cases, coupons can be quite powerful and offer rewards far exceeding what the coupon originally cost to produce.

This business model has been in use since the early 1800s when flyers were given out by tradesmen to customers for products such as nails or paint to cover expenses associated with providing services such as hammering a nail or painting your house. Even before this time, cash was known to be fairly worthless. Stores held a lot of cash in reserve in case of emergencies or problems with paying customers. In today's world, with the centralization of money and credit, coupons have become more valuable than money itself.

Coupons are usually given out by stores or retailers and are typically redeemable at that store for the specific product which the coupon is valid for. Coupons should only be redeemed at that store as they can only be used as advertised. New coupons are often printed up by retailers to encourage customers to shop there, though other factors have led to the printing of new "coupons".

There are many types of coupons: Some are issued by the manufacturer of the product, others by stores, and others are created and issued by a specific manufacturer to encourage competition among retailers. Manufacturers issue "coupons" for their products to inspire competition in two ways: 1. They will offer to lower their costs for said product if a retailer will advertise or promote this fact. 2. They will offer rewards like free merchandise to consumers that choose to buy from them rather than a competitor (most commonly seen in grocery stores). This is also known as loyalty programs, where customers can collect stamps, points, or increase their reward by buying more of the same product or using special offers included on the coupons.

Coupons can be found in newspapers, magazines, or even the mail. Some are mailed to a collection agency who will notify the customer when new coupons have come in. They can also be viewed online or on their phone. Today, coupons can even be found on social networking sites. Many of these coupons are completely free and can be sent directly to the customer's email address without leaving the site where they were logged on. The business model behind this is simple: Use their products and services to make money, then give them free stuff to keep them coming back for more.

To reward customers for doing business with them, businesses sometimes offer these customers enrollment in loyalty programs. The customer signs up for the loyalty program and then the business rewards them with bonus points or entertainment tickets in an effort to keep them coming back. Some common examples of this are: free movie tickets at cinemas and game tickets at arcades or sports venues. However, many other types of entertainment would fall under this category as well. Video games that include items like virtual clothes, swords, or other cosmetic items will often give you points in a loyalty program (examples: GameFly and Xbox Live). Many shops will put off an annual special with a coupon for customers that shop there at least once a month.

Conclusion:

The financial value of coupons is based on the price that customers pay for the actual coupon. There are many different types of coupons, ranging from the manufacturer providing a coupon for a discount to customers in an attempt to attract new business (very common), to stores printing new coupons and sending them out themselves in an effort to keep customers coming back (common). The most common type is where the customer gets it for free or at a discounted price. However, there are many other types which can be either completely free or offer a monetary benefit such as free movie tickets or video game points. One interesting aspect is that each type of coupon has its own level of financial value, sometimes as high as $500 or more.