Last week, I purchased a $20 gift certificate to Soap.com for $10. I used this gift certificate to buy 20 double rolls (Equal to 40 single) of Cottonelle and 6 SOS scrubber sponges for .97 cents with free shipping. I shopped through Ebates, so I also received .06 cents cash back. I’m very pleased with my order – sponges and toilet paper are two items which are hard to find deals on locally, so this was a great use for my Groupon. The package arrived just in time, because I was on my very last kitchen sponge!

Soap.com also sent me a special coupon code to share with you. If you use coupon code SUPE8183 on your first order at Soap.com, you will receive 15% off your order. Unfortunately, this cannot be combined with the Groupon gift certificate; however, I thought it was worth sharing because some of you may have missed the Groupon deal. I’m actually impressed with Soap.com and will likely purchase from them again – Ebates also has a list of coupon codes for Soap.com, so I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for future deals on items like these which are usually expensive in my local stores.

At the beginning of the year, I entered a blogging contest and won a $100 Amazon gift card. I used part of it to buy a birthday gift and some tooth whitening trays (Because I had the gel and needed trays to go with it!), and put the remainder aside for the next time I needed something. Last month, I decided to purchase a bluetooth headset for $47.95 and a bottle of my favorite hairspray for $24.75. Between my gift card and a free trial of Amazon Prime that I received by signing up for “Amazon Mom” – more details on this program can be found here – I spent a whopping .50 cents for both items and received free 2-day shipping on the headset.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: $25 for hairspray? Has Super Coupon Girl lost her mind? You might be surprised to learn that I mostly use salon products on my hair. The reason for this is simply that they work 10 times better than anything else I’ve tried. Frugality isn’t just about getting the lowest price; It’s also about the value of what you’re buying. I used to constantly purchase new hair products at the grocery store, always searching for something that would work the way I wanted it to – so honestly, I don’t know if I really spend that much more now buying salon-grade products. One can of this hairspray lasts me about 6 months, and I buy it on Amazon with gift cards when possible in order to save. And it’s all relative: If I were destitute, I wouldn’t be blowing my money on hair products. But since I do have some wiggle room in my budget, I can indulge. Some people enjoy going to the movies; I like my fancy hairspray!

I’m also excited about this bluetooth headset. I’ve been considering one for a long time, and I think it will be quite an asset. Not only does this mean that I can listen to music at the gym without getting tangled in headphone cords, but it also has a built-in microphone, meaning it can be used with my computer to make phone calls. I’m always looking for ways to save on international calling, but have been very hesitant to give up my cordless landline phone. Half my family are in England, so I make long phone calls overseas several times a week – and it’s nice to be able to get up and make a cup of coffee if you’re going to be on the phone for 2 hours! Now that I have this headset, I’m going to look into alternatives such as Skype for international calls. I’ve already been enjoying my headset for listening to music, and have also placed several free domestic long-distance calls with it via Google Voice. (I don’t have a cell phone, so I’ve still been paying for long-distance in the US on my landline!)

Click the thumbnail above to see a screenshot of my receipt

I’m putting together a few articles that talk more in-depth about how I use contest prizes, such as Amazon gift cards, to expand my budget and save on things I need – so watch this space!

I’ve heard a lot about Groupon recently, but this is the first time I’ve actually used it for myself! Today only, you can purchase a $20 gift certificate to Soap.com for $10 on Groupon. It also says “1–2 day shipping included”, which makes it sound like you will also receive free shipping with the gift certificate. Soap.com offers a variety of household products, from cleaning supplies to skin care, so this is a good opportunity to save on items which you might normally pay full price for. To get the deal, click here to visit Groupon.com, click “Visit more cities” and select Atlanta (This is an online deal, so it is open to everyone regardless of location). From there you will be able to sign up/login to Groupon and purchase the voucher, which will be available for your use starting September 30th. Please note, if you purchased this gift certificate last week you will not be able to buy it again. Be sure to shop through Ebates, as they are offering 6% cashback on Groupon purchases – which I only learned after I had purchased mine, darn it! (Never heard of Ebates? Click here to read my article “How I Save Money With Online Rebates” for more info.)

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads-up about this deal!

Money Saving Mom tipped me off to a good online deal this morning: Allergy Superstore is offering $10 off with no minimum purchase required. Shipping is a flat rate fee of $3.99, and you can also get 5% cashback through Ebates. To get in on this deal, click here to go to Ebates and search for “Allergy Superstore”, then click through the “$10 off any order” coupon. If you’re new to Ebates, you will also receive a $5 bonus for signing up – learn more about online rebate programs be reading my article “How I save Money With Online Rebates”. (You can also click through Money Saving Mom’s link to get the deal, but you won’t receive cashback.)

Not only is this a good deal for those who need to buy gluten-free foods or hypoallergenic products, but for those without allergies as well. I bought one Almay Intense i-Color eyeliner pencil and a Thai Kitchen Rice Noodle Bowl and paid $3.99 total. Your total can be under $10 and it will just deduct the purchase amount – in this instance, I bought $9.28 in merchandise, which is what the coupon deducted. I’m not sure if I will receive the 5% cashback since I only paid for shipping, but I’ll be curious to find out. This was a worthwhile deal for me, because I am particular about my eyeliner – I stocked up on this Almay eyeliner about 2 years ago when there was a sale at Rite Aid, and as luck would have it, I was down to my last pencil when I found this deal. It retails for $7, so getting one eyeliner plus a meal for $3.99 was a fun deal for me!

My Famous Footwear order has arrived – a pair of cute slippers & a reusable bag for .98 cents shipped. Not too shabby, especially since I have been wanting to pick up a new pair of slippers. They are pretty small – the only size they had left was “Medium”, and I had no idea what shoe size that equated to – but I can still squeeze my feet into them, so it’s all good!

Readers, did you order anything from Famous Footwear with the $10 off $10 coupon? What did you get?

Facebook users, click here to read Money Saving Mom’s post to learn how you can easily get a coupon good for $10 off a $10 or higher purchase at FamousFootwear.com, along with free shipping, just for “Liking” their Facebook page. This promotion appears to be well thought-out, so I think it’s worth looking into – I ordered a pair of pink polka dot slippers and a reusable shopping bag and paid .98 cents total. This offer is good for 48 hours only.

Well, the last MedCo deal was a flop, but there were no issues with the $10 off promo. My order arrived yesterday – three 20-count boxes of Tampax for $2.96 shipped.

One thing I’ve learned about online promotions is that they can be hit or miss. I’ve gotten some fab deals – like 8 hamburgers for $1.98, cheap stuff at Victoria’s Secret, $3 coffee and .38 cent Snuggle, an inexpensive coat, and so on. But not every deal is a winner – my recent Barrie Pace order was cancelled and they have not returned my email asking why; my photo stamps order was also cancelled, because the image I uploaded – my Super Coupon Girl button – was deemed “inappropriate”! (But as far as I know, everyone else got their stamp orders – Snapfish just didn’t like my logo.)

The reason for online deals being patchy is because the ad teams of many companies don’t understand how to create campaigns for an online audience. There have been too many instances where I’ve seen a legitimate company advertise a coupon code on their website (“$10 off ANY purchase! No minimum!”) – and naturally, since it’s a good deal, news spreads quickly and the company is deluged with offers. The company then panics and cancels all the orders. It’s an unfortunate scenario, because it should be entirely obvious that news of your good discount will spread like wildfire – that’s the point! Your ad campaign has succeeded! – and if you don’t establish a minimum purchase requirement for your $10 coupon, you can’t be shocked when a consumer uses it on a $10 item. Ultimately, the companies suffer because of the negative press – and resulting unhappy customers – when orders get cancelled like this. PR teams will eventually catch up to the new medium and learn how to craft appropriate offers for an online audience, but for now, we’re in the Wild Wild West of online deals.

That being said, I have never been scammed or lost any money because of online deals. I’ve had orders get cancelled, but all I’ve lost is a little bit of time placing the order. For me, it’s worth the speculation to take advantage of legitimate online coupon codes – if the corporation decides to cancel a valid offer because of their ill-thought-out marketing, that’s their prerogative, but other companies are savvier and anticipate the response their coupon codes will receive. And this has resulted in many good deals for me!

Bearing all that in mind, I wanted to let you know about this deal for $10 off at MedCo. Many readers over at Money Saving Mom have reported that their orders have already shipped, so I am cautiously enthusiastic. New customers can use coupon code MHS10 at MedCo to receive $10 off any purchase, and the company also offers .99 cent shipping. I ordered 3 boxes of Tampax (Something we always need to buy – right, ladies?!) and paid $2.96. Just FYI, I could not get the second coupon code that she posted, TENOFF, to work. I’ll keep you posted on what happens with my order!

Readers: What was the best deal you ever got online? Which was the most disappointing?