Coupons

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

Travelocity turns 16 this year with a birthday offer for fans: Make a hotel reservation or book a vacation package for three days or longer and receive a travel coupon for up to $200 for a future trip. The deal: The Sweet 16 Birthday Celebration works well for those who are willing to reserve at the list of selected hotels or vacation packages. Here's how it works: Stay three days at a GoodBuy Hotel (they're listed on the website) or take a three-day flight and hotel vacation package and receive a $100 coupon for future travel.

Besides letting their fingers do the walking, thousands of Orange County residents starting today will get a chance to let their scissors do the clipping through their new editions of Pacific Bell's Smart Yellow Pages. In a bid to compete with direct-mail companies and newspapers for national advertising, Pacific Bell is test-marketing a new phone book that will include a pullout section of ads, coupons and special ad pages.

Thieves seem to be embarking on an anti-grime spree, some media outlets are reporting, saying thousands of dollars in Tide detergent is being swiped from shelves across the country. One Minnesota man stole about $25,000 worth of the liquid laundry detergent from a West St. Paul Wal-Mart over 15 months, authorities there say. Some stores, including a CVS in Prince George's County, Md., have taken to wrapping anti-theft devices around the handles of the orange bottles. Several publications have described the thefts as a widespread crime wave, even calling the detergent "liquid gold," but law enforcement authorities and some retail operators aren't so sure.

Been staring at a blank TV picture since June 12, when broadcasters switched to all-digital? That's a likely sign the television is of the old analog type and can't process digital signals without a converter box. The federal government has been issuing $40 coupons that nearly offset the price of the boxes, which are available online and in many consumer electronics stores. But next week could be your last chance to get in on the discount program.

Katie Temme lost her job as a television producer recently, but that didn't keep her from buying herself a bouquet the other day. She wouldn't have done it had she not found a coupon through What's the Deal DC, a website that persuades merchants to offer discounts by guaranteeing a certain number of customers. Temme got $20 worth of flowers for just $10 at A Little Shop of Flowers near the nation's capital. "I lost my job a few months ago, so this is kind of up my alley," she said.

Want a gigantic mansion but just can't stand paying list price? The owners of a 15,000-square-foot waterfront beauty in Florida want to talk to you. Rich Ricciani and his wife, Linda, know how important it is to make every dollar count in this down economy, so they've issued a coupon for $1 million off their European-style manse, where the kitchen alone takes up 650 square feet.

In the Jan. 21 Jack Adler article on travel rules in Eastern Bloc countries he stated that when visiting Poland you have to buy $15 worth of coupons for each day of your stay. That is no longer true starting this year, nor do you have to spend a certain amount of money per day there. I love the Travel Section and have a regular file where I keep many, many articles from it. MRS. DOROTHY SMOTRYSTorrance

The coupon is back, thanks to the recession. After several years of decline, 2009 is on track to mark the first year that coupon use has grown in the U.S. since 1992. Coupon clipping for the millennium isn't just for detergent and cereal. Retailers of all stripes, including Walgreens and Neiman Marcus, have latched on to the coupon to entice consumers to spend. And the Internet and mobile devices are making coupons more widely available. "Coupons are just more accessible to more consumers than ever before," said Todd Hale, senior vice president of consumer and shopper insights at Nielsen Co. "Without question, the economy has caused consumers to make pretty significant shifts in where they shop and how they buy and use promotions."

Good news for bargain hunters: There's an untapped bounty of money-saving coupons available online. Online coupons offer savings on everything from grocery store purchases to restaurant meals. Trouble is, according to the New York-based NPD Group Inc., less than half of Internet users who clip coupons know about their online counterparts, which can be printed from the screen.

Put gay and Groupon together and what do you get? Gaypon, of course. It's one of the many online coupon companies trying to attract a niche audience. Gaypon, which launched last year in the Detroit area and is seeking to add more national and regional deals, basically operates in the manner of Groupon -- it offers pre-bought, limited-time deals on various goods and services. But the company only sells coupons from entrepreneurs and firms known to be gay/lesbian-friendly.

Pay for coupons? Sure, for a fiver it's fine - if you'll use them. Name: http://www.whereyatravelin.com What it does: It's a new deal platform that lets you choose five restaurant, activity and/or tour coupons for Hawaii, San Francisco and Seattle for a $5 fee. What's hot: It's terrific for those who buy entertainment coupon books. The deals are similar, with $5, $7, $10 or 15% savings. Keep an eye on it - you could find some deals worthy of your Abraham Lincoln.

Lots of people are Groupon groupies; they sign up for this daily deal coupon site (or others like it) to get discounts where they live. I'm a fan of these discounts at home, but I also use them for deals when I am on the road. Whenever I have an upcoming trip, I'll sign up for Groupon deals for my destination city a few weeks out and take advantage of discounts that occur while I'm visiting. By doing this, I find it possible to save on meals, entertainment and tours. In fact, I don't remember the last time I went to a restaurant without a voucher.

As shoppers gear up for another mad holiday scramble, smartphones and tablet computers are emerging as Santa's electronic helpers. And if the big guy up north isn't in touch with the times, shoppers are. Stuck in a humdrum economy and facing continued high rates of unemployment, consumers are increasingly finding that their mobile devices can come in handy. With a gadget in hand, shoppers can compare prices, research gift ideas, redeem electronic coupons and watch for special deals.

Would you pay $51 to get a $1,699 stainless-steel refrigerator when you buy a house from a major builder in Tampa, Fla.? How about paying $30 to receive $1,000 cash back at closing when you purchase a home through Prudential Carolina Sun Real Estate in Charleston, S.C.? Or $48 for $1,200 toward the design and installation of solar panels in Metairie, La.? All of these are real-life examples of group coupons offered through HouseTipper, a collective buying platform aimed at the housing and home-and-garden sectors.

My husband, Eric, and I are usually do-it-yourselfers, but on our first trip to the Boundary Waters between Canada and Minnesota, we paid an outfitter, who provided the tent, sleeping bags and meals - even a first-aid kit. Our fully outfitted vacation was half-price, thanks to an online group coupon site: $616 for us and our two children for three days and two nights, plus a night at the outfitter before venturing off. Because Groupon and the...

Cold cash and cold cuts are merging at Union Bank of California ATM machines in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Customers who use Union Bank cash machines will receive coupons redeemable for free sandwiches at Subway. The so-called "client rewards" are the first of several planned marketing programs, according to bank spokesman Gary Marvin. "There may come a time when everybody can just clip coupons at the bank machine," Marvin said.

Yahoo Inc. is offering coupons or refunds to users who find songs they bought inaccessible after Sept. 30, when the company shuts its music-download service. The decision to close the Yahoo Music Store had added fuel to criticisms over copy-protection measures known as digital rights management. The firm said it was offering coupons on request for people to buy songs through Yahoo's new partner, RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody.

My daughter thinks they are spying on us. The "74% Off Haircut Package" offer arrived from Groupon just as she was putting away her credit card, after paying the bill at her beauty salon. Amazon's "Half Off Carpet Cleaning" coupon showed up on her cellphone moments after a friend's text message about getting the carpets cleaned at his house. Daily Deal's "Laser Vision Correction" discount landed in my inbox while I was walking out of my optometrist's office, with a new pair of eyeglasses in my purse.

Groupon Inc. may be the undisputed king of Internet coupons in the United States. But with its March launch in China, the Chicago company has stepped into a cutthroat market saturated with thousands of competitors — including a copycat that's already using its English name. Rechristened in China as Gaopeng.com, which evokes a famous saying to gather honored guests, Groupon is hoping to seize a foothold in a country that's increasingly turning to the Web to buy and sell goods and services.