|
Help Guide
  CouponTradingZone.com facilitates people trading unneeded coupons for coupons that they can use. For example, someone may have ice cream coupons but have no need for them. Instead, they could really use barbeque sauce coupons. At CouponTradingZone.com they can find someone with barbeque sauce coupons who will accept the ice cream coupons in trade. All coupon trading activity is negotiated and handled between the traders themselves. If for example, an individual wanted some particular coupons, they could trade some of their coupons for them or offer to pay a small processing and handling fee, or postage stamps. The manner in which the trades and payments are made is up to the parties involved.
How To Use This Site
Enter coupons you have available to trade. Search for coupons you want and request them from other traders. After requesting coupons, wait for the other trader to request some of your coupons from you, or offer some of your coupons in trade for the coupons you requested. Wait for a response to your offer. The other trader will either accept, decline, or make changes to the trade. You can modify the trade while waiting for their response. Respond to trades from other members. Make sure to work out a way for transferring the coupons in the comment section of the trade page. Typically this would be each trader mailing an envelope with the coupons to the other. Table of Contents
Enter Coupons
Enter coupons you have on this page. You fill in the required fields and click the Submit Coupon button. Error messages will be displayed for fields with missing or invalid contents. Type: Select whether this is a store coupon or an Mfg (manufacturer) coupon. A store coupon is valid only at a particular store. For example, at Moe's Market 10% off on 12oz cans of cola. An Mfg coupon is good for a particular product regardless of what store is selling it. Store: If the coupon is a store coupon enter the name of the store. Leave this field blank if it is an Mfg coupon. Category: Select the category the coupon best fits. If you can't find an exact category select the closet match. The category cannot be left blank. Quantity: How many, of this coupon that you have available to trade. This number must be between 0 and 9999. Coupons with a quantity of zero will not be seen by other users but will be seen by you. This allows you to hide coupons you've entered without deleting them. Quantity is automatically adjusted when you complete a trade. Value: The value of the coupon which can be anywhere from 0 to 999.999. For example, a $1 off coupon would be entered as 1 or 1.00. A $1.49 off coupon would be entered as 1.49. A $0.79 off coupon can be entered as 0.79 or .79 and a $.50 off coupon can have .5, .50, 0.5 or 0.50 as an entry. The value can be left blank or have zero entered but it can't be a negative value. If you enter a value here then 'percent off' and 'Units/Cost' must be left blank. Percent Off: If the coupon has a percent off rather than a value, enter the percent off here. The percent off can be blank or zero or a number from 0 to 100. Example 1: 20% off would be entered as 20 and 50% would be entered as 50. Example 2: buy 2 get 1 free is equivalent to 33% off and would be entered as 33. Example 3: buy 1 get 1 free which is like 50% off would be entered as 50. If you enter a 'Percent Off' you must leave 'Value' and 'Units/Cost' blank. Units/Cost: Some coupons do not have a value or a percent off. Instead they have a set price for purchasing a specific amount of the product. For exmaple, 3 for $1. The format for entry is: (how many) / (cost). 'How many' should be a number from 1 to 99. 'Cost' is a dollar amount from 0.00 to 99.99. Example 1: buy three Mars candy bars for $1 would be entered as 3/1.00. Example 2: a dozen roses for $8 would be entered as 12/8.00. Example 3: dinner for two $14.99 would be entered as 2/14.99. If you enter a value for 'Units/Cost' you must leave 'Value' and 'Percent Off' blank. You must make an entry for either Value, Percent Off, or Units/Cost, but only one of the three. The other two must be blank or zero. Units Required: This is the number of units of the product that must be purchased to use the coupon. The units required must be a number between 0 and 9999. Example 1: $2 off when purchasing 5 cans, you would enter 5. Example 2: buy 3 get 1 free, you would enter 3. Example 3: buy 2 get 50% off, you would enter 2. Expires: The date the coupon expires. If the coupon has no expiration date, leave this blank. The date can be entered using single or double digits including leading zeroes for the month and day and two digit year format or a four digit year format. Slashes must be used to separate month, day and year. The earliest date that can be entered is January 1, 2001. Examples of valid formats you may enter: 1/1/2001, 1/1/01, 01/01/2001, or 01/01/01. The latest date that can be entered is 1/18/2038 (January 18, 2038). You may enter coupons that are already expired. See Expired Coupons in this help guide for uses of expired coupons. Description: The name/description of the coupon. Examples: Soft N Smooth, Honey Wheat bread, Kellog's Corn Flakes. The minimum length is three characters and the maximum length is 255 characters. Notes: Additional notes about the coupon. The maximum length is 255 characters. The field is optional and can be left blank. Example uses of field: DND (Does not double), Limit 3 per person, I would like to trade this only for a Reddi Whip coupon. Handling Fee: Optional. This is the handling fee you want to charge to whoever will receive this coupon. This fee may include the postage and envelope cost. The handling fee can be blank or in the range 0 to 999.99. A blank handling fee is the same as a zero handling fee. A default handling fee can be specified that is a percentage of the Value of the coupon. A minimum and a maximum handling fee may also be set. Specify these limits on the My Account page. Handling fees are optional and negotiable. Traders can simply exchange coupons with each other with no handling charges, if they both agree. One common method is simply sending each other a self-addressed stamped envelope(SASE) with which to exchange the coupons. To collect or remit a handling fee, the method of payment must be worked out between the two parties involved. A common method for this is simply to includes extra stamps in the transaction. My Coupons This is the page where you list, edit or delete your coupons and also offer your coupons to other traders. Sort the list by clicking on any column heading. To sort in the opposite order click on the same heading again. The column by which the coupons are currently being sorted is indicated by yellow text color. Use the navigation links First, Prev, Next and Last to move through a list of coupons that is longer than a single page. Clink on a listed coupon's description to edit or delete the coupon. The default coupon sort column and the page length can be specified on the My Account page. The top area of the page is for specifying filters for the coupons that are to be listed. The list will only contain coupons that match the filters specified. All filters specified must be matched for a coupon to be listed. If you do not want to filter the coupons by a certain filter then leave that field blank. To display all coupons leave all fields blank or use the All Button. Any filters specified are saved. The saved filters will be present the next time you log in. The rest of the page is for listing the coupons that matched the filters. The list format is:  [Column Headers]per coupon: [Description (Type)][Column Values][Notes]The Notes are not shown if there are no notes for a coupon. Go Button: Displays the list of coupons matching the filters you have specified. Set all fields to blank to display all coupons. The filters specified are saved. All Button: Clears all filters including the saved filters. Sets all fields to blank and displays a list of all of your coupons. Value: Check the value box to list all coupons that have a non-blank value. Value is a column header in the coupon list. %Off: Check the box to list all coupons that have a non-blank percent off. %Off is a column header in the coupon list. Units/Cost: Check the box to list all coupons that have a non-blank units/cost. The column header in the coupon list is Unt/Cst. Type: Select the coupon type. Type is located at the end of the coupon description inside parens in the coupon list. Descr.: Enter any part of the description to be matched. The maximum length is 20. The description is the first line of a coupon in the coupon list. To edit or delete a coupon cliick on the coupon's description in the coupon list. Notes: Enter any part of the notes to be matched. The maximum length is 20. The notes is the last line of a coupon in the coupon list. Notes is not shown if the notes is blank for a coupon. Category: Select the coupon category. Category is a column header in the coupon list. Qty: Select the quantity range. Qty is a column header in the coupon list. Expires: Select the expiration period. Expires is a column header in the coupon list. Store: Enter any part of the store name. Store is located at the end of the coupon description inside parens in the coupon list. Unts Rq: The units required of a product to use the coupon. This is a column header in the coupon list. It is not a filter. H. Fee: The handling fee required by the coupon owner for you to obtain the coupon. This is a column header in the coupon list. It is not a filter. Entered: This is the date the coupon was entered. This is a column header in the coupon list. It is not a filter. Examples of using filters: To display a list of all coupons that have the word cherry in their description: Type cherry into the Desc. field and click the Go button. To display all coupons in the automotive category: Select Automotive for Catgeory and click the Go button. To display all automotive coupons that deal with tires: Select Automotive for Category and type tires into the Desc. field. To display all coupons expiring in one week or more select Week or More for Expired. Request Coupons To request coupons from someone go to the 'Search' tab. Check box one or more coupons that you wish to request and then click the 'Request' button. If a coupon has no check box it indicates that all of those coupons are already involved in a trade. A number in square brackets indicates how many of that coupon are already involved in a trade. For example, [2] would indicate that two of those coupons are involved in a trade. After requesting one or more coupons from someone you will have an open trade with them. Go to the 'Trades' tab and click on their name to view the trade and all coupons involved in the trade. You may add additional coupons to the trade by requesting other coupons from them. You may remove coupons from the trade by adjusting the quantity. Offer Coupons To offer coupons to someone in a trade go to the 'My Coupons' tab. Check box one or more coupons that you wish to offer and then click the 'Offer' button. You will then specify who to offer the coupons to by selecting a trader's name from the drop down box. Only members who have an open trade with you will appear in the drop down box. You open a trade with someone by requesting coupons from them using the search page. If a coupon has no check box that indicates there are none of that coupon available (qty is 0) or that all those coupons are already involved in a trade. A number in square brackets indicates how many of that coupon are already involved in a trade. For example, [2] would indicate that two of those coupons are involved in a trade. After offering a coupon to someone you will have an open trade with them. Go to the 'Trades' tab and click on their name to view the trade and all coupons involved in the trade. You may add additional coupons to the trade by offering other coupons from them. You may remove coupons from the trade by adjusting the quantity. Trades Page The Trades Page displays a list of all traders you currently have open trades with. This is the page seen after you signin in. The Trade Agreement columns indicate whether or not you have agreed to the current trade and whether or not the member you are trading with has agreed to the trade. Click on a trader's name to see the details of the trade. When both members agree to the trade then either member can click the 'Accept Trade' button on the Trade Details page. This button only appears after both members agree. This completes the trade and e-mails are sent to both traders with the details of the trade. The trade is also removed from the list of open trades since no further changes can be done to a completed trade. To trade further with the same member a new trade would need to be started. Trade Details This page displays all coupons involved in a specific trade. The left column are the coupons you are giving the other party. The right column are coupons you are receiving from the other party. Use the Agree and Consider buttons to indicate whether the trade is agreeable to you or not. You may modify the quanties on either side of the trade as well as remove or add coupons to either side of the trade. To remove a coupon from the trade set the quantity to 0 and click Save Changes. To add coupons to the trade use the Search page and My Coupons page. The number in parenthesis following the coupon description is the number of that coupons available for trading. Example: If you see Betty Crocker cake mix(5). That indicates there are five coupons avaible and you could modify the Qty and request up to five of that coupon. The Accept Trade button, which is only shown when both parties agree to the trade, is used to complete the trade. The Save Changes button is used to save any changes made to the Qty or Comments. This button is not shown if both parties agree to trade. If this button is not visible and you want to make changes, click the Consider button. The Cancel Trade button is for terminating the trade. This removes all coupons from both parties from the trade. Search Coupons Use this page to find coupons you want. You can search, view, and request all coupons entered by all users excluding yourself. You cannot edit or delete coupons on the search page. All coupons with a quantity greater than zero will be listed according to the filters specified. Sort the list by clicking on any column heading. To sort in the opposite order click on the same heading again. The column by which the coupons are currently being sorted is indicated by yellow text. Use the navigation links First, Prev, Next and Last to move through a list of coupons that is longer than a single page. To view the account profile, rating, and comments submitted about another member, or to submit a rating or comment about another member, click on the name in the coupon list. The default search sort column and the page length can be specified on the My Account page. Note that if you are signed-in, search will not display any of your own coupons. To view your own coupons use My Coupons page, or sign-out and use the Search page. The top area of the page is for specifying filters for the coupons that are to be listed. The list will only contain coupons that match the filters specified. All filters specified must be matched for a coupon to be listed. If you do not want to filter the coupons by a certain filter then leave that field blank. To display all coupons leave all fields blank or use the Show All Coupons button. Any filters specified are automatically saved and will be present at the next log in. The rest of the page is for listing the coupons that matched the filters. The list format is: [Column Headers]per coupon: [Description (Type)][Column Values][Notes]The Notes are not shown if there are no notes for a coupon. Find Coupons Button: Displays the list of coupons matching the filters you have specified. Set all fields to blank to display all coupons. The filters specified are saved. Show All Coupons Button: Clears all search criteria. Sets all fields to blank and displays a list of all coupons. Value: Check the value box to list all coupons that have a non-blank value. Value is a column header in the coupon list. %Off: Check the box to list all coupons that have a non-blank percent off. %Off is a column header in the coupon list. Units/Cost: Check the box to list all coupons that have a non-blank units/cost. The column header in the coupon list is Unt/Cst. Type: Select the coupon type. Type is located at the end of the coupon description inside parens in the coupon list. Descr.: Enter any part of the description to be matched. The maximum length is 20. The description is the first line of a coupon in the coupon list. Notes: Enter any part of the notes to be matched. The maximum length is 20. The notes is the last line of a coupon in the coupon list. Notes is not shown if the notes is blank for a coupon. Category: Select the coupon category. Category is a column header in the coupon list. Qty: Select the quantity range. Qty is a column header in the coupon list. Expires: Select the expiration period. Expires is a column header in the coupon list. Store: Enter any part of the store name. Store is located at the end of the coupon description inside parens in the coupon list. Unts Rq: The units required of a product to use the coupon. This is a column header in the coupon list. It is not a filter. H. Fee: The handling fee required by the coupon owner for you to obtain the coupon. This is a column header in the coupon list. It is not a filter. Owner: Enter any part of an owner's name to be matched, up to 12 characters. The owner of a coupon is the user that entered the coupon. Owner is a column header in the coupon list. To view the account profile, rating and comments submitted about another user or to submit a rating or comment about another user click on the owner's name in the coupon list. The current rating of an owner follows the Owner's name inside parens. Examples of using filters: To display a list of all coupons that have the word cereal in their description: Type cereal into the Description field and click the Search Coupons button. To display all coupons in the laundry category: Select Laundry for Catgeory and click the Search Coupons button. To display all coupons expiring in one week or more, select Week or More for Expired. Favors The Favors Page enables you to send favors to other members. You receive one favor for each of the first 100 valid unexpired coupons you enter. After which the only means to gain favors is by trading with other members. Favors can be sent to other traders in exchange for coupons and you can receive favors from other traders in exchange for your coupons. The number of favors and coupons that make up a trade are decided by the traders involved. The favors page is accessed from a link on the Account tab. Example use of favors: A trader has a five coupons you would like. However, you do not possess any coupons they are interested in. You offer them 10 favors for their five coupons. They reply that if you make it 15 favors it's a deal. The Mail Page enables you to send emails to other members. Messages you send are forwarded to the email address that the member used to create their CouponTradingZone.com account. The 'From' address of the forwarded email will be mail@CouponTradingZone.com and the subject will contain your CouponTradingZone.com member name. The recipient will be able to reply to you by sending a message from this site to your member name. Whether you are sending or receiving a message, at no time is your actual email address available to the other party. You may disable receiveing mail messages under the My Account tab. My Account This is the page where you can view your account settings, your membership status, your profile and any comments submitted by other users about you. The account settings are: Accept Notification MailAccept Forwarded MailPage LengthHandling Fee DefaultHandling Fee MinimumHandling Fee MaximumMy Coupons Sort DefaultSearch Sort DefaultPlease go to the My Account page for a detailed explanation of the account settings. Click on the View Your Profile link at the top of the page to view your profile. Your profile contains the following information: User name.Date you became a member followed by number of days you've been a member.Reputation or rating ranging from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) followed by a description of the rating.Number of raters.Number of unexpired coupons.Number of expired coupons.Number of total site visits.Date of last site visit.From the View Your Profile page click on the View Comments about this User link to view any comments submitted by other users about you. Expired Coupons Normally expired coupons have little value but there are sometimes ways to make use of them. Certain store coupons can still be used after the expiration date. Ask a manager or customer service person if they will accept your store expired coupons. Also, you may contact customer relations of the manufacturer to ask them to replace your expired manufacturer coupon. Sometimes they will. U.S. military families stationed overseas are able to use expired coupons at on-base grocery stores for up to six months after the manufacturer's expiration date. Some organizations make use of expired coupons in fundraisers and drives. Some individuals collect coupons as a hobby (like some people collect coins or stamps) and in this case expired coupons are acceptable. Coupons Wanted This is a list of coupons you want. Other members can review your list to see which types of coupons are of interest to you and offer them to you in trades. The list is limited to a maximum of 100 entries. To view another member's "Coupons Wanted" list, click on their member name in the right column of the search page. Explanation of "Coupons Wanted" columns: Category: The category of the coupon being sought. Quanity: How many of the coupons are wanted. Want: How badly the coupon is wanted. Description: Description of the coupon. For example: any root beer. To edit or delete a previously entered coupon click on the coupon's description in the list. Frequently Asked Questions How do I see what coupons another member has available for trading? Got to the Search page, enter their name in the Owner field and then click Search Coupons. This will show a list all of their coupons. How do I obtain coupons from other users? Go to the Search Coupons page. Search for coupons. Select desired coupons by checking the boxes. Click the Request button. How can I offer coupons to other users? Go to the My Coupons page. Select the coupons you want to offer by checking the boxes. Click the Offer button. How do I edit a coupon? Go to the My Coupons page, locate the coupon to be edited and click on its Description to bring up the Edit Coupon page. Edit the desired fields and click the Save Coupon button. How do I delete a coupon? Go to the My Coupons page, locate the coupon to be deleted and click on its Description to bring up the Edit Coupon page. Click the Delete Coupon button. You'll be shown a confirmation page that the coupon was deleted. How do I offer or request more than one of the same coupon? After offering or requesting the coupon go to the Trades tab and click on the trader's name. There you can edit the quantity of any coupons involved in the trade. Can I enter coupons but not have them visible to other users? Yes. Set the coupon 'Quantity' to zero. You may also edit coupons already entered to set their 'Quantity' to zero. Can I submit feedback on other users such as a rating and comments? Yes. Go to the Search Coupons page and click on the desired user's name under the Owner column heading. You can enter any part of a user's name, up to 12 characters, in the Owner filter field and click the Go Button to list coupons owned by matching users. After clicking on a user's name you'll be shown the Profile page for that user. On the profile page you can rate or re-rate the user and add or change your comments about the user. You can also click a link to view the comments about this user submitted by other users. You must click the Update button when finished for your rating or comments to be applied. How many coupons can I enter? Currently there is no limit to the number of coupons you can enter. How long should I wait for a response to my trade before I cancel it? That is up to you, but we suggest a period of about three days. If the trade is really important, you might try emailing the the trader and letting them know you would like to complete the trade. What happened to all my coupons? They don't show up in any search. If you are signed-in, search will not display any of your own coupons. To view your own coupons use My Coupons page, or sign-out and use the Search page. 
|