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Want to Be a Canny Clothes Shopper? Join the Mailing List

Isn’t it always the way when you’re looking for a bargain, either trawling through boutiques and department stores or surfing the never ending choice of online brands, you think you’ve found the steal of the century but you’re knocked back by these four horrible words – ‘Terms and Conditions Apply’. Lets face it no likes to hear these words, you feel cheated before you’ve spent your money.

Even on the increasingly popular coupon and voucher code sites that have appeared in the wake of the latest recession there are the dreaded Ts & Cs – they pull you in with the bait ‘25% off luxury leather gloves’ then when you’re on the hook they tell you it only applies when you spend over A�200 (or $330 depending on where you’re reading this). You can understand the reasoning behind these strategies; retailers want to get prospective customers interested in their offer while at the same time they need to keep one eye on their margin. It’s understandable but frustrating.

Even online shops who offer free delivery never really meant it. It’s either for a limited time or only applicable when you reach a specific spending threshold. Again the dreaded Ts & Cs strike.

But hope is not lost, there seems to be one place where Ts & Cs have yet to spoil the party. The email subscription box on many online stores is becoming a discount code hideaway for many canny shopaholics. When a friend of mine told me about this, it immediately made sense as both parties, the shopper and the seller, benefit. The seller receives an email address which allows them to build their prospect base and the shopper receives an exclusive discount or free delivery code without any restrictions on what they can buy or spend to qualify for the incentive. Simple.

So when I found out about this I spoke to my boss about implementing such a scheme and she though that it was a great idea, especially as it wasn’t one I had concocted. Charming I thought.