There's a novel idea afoot nowadays: electronic discount coupons.

This only goes to show that most good marketing ideas can be adopted for the internet. Instead of cutting coupons out from newspapers or carton boxes, eBay gives out electronic copies of such that are fast and easy to use.

eBay routinely sends out coupons that members can use to pay for items that are payable via PayPal. These coupons signify specified discounts to purchases made with PayPal.

Using Coupons

To use an eBay Coupon one must buy an item where the seller accepts PayPal as a payment method. Upon payment of the item using PayPal, an opportunity will be given to the buyer to enter a coupon redemption code and receive the discount.

Sharing Coupons

Some coupons from eBay can be shared with other people. Some can be used only the owner. If the coupon indicates that only a specific email address may use that coupon, it may not be shared.

Coupons and your eBay and PayPal accounts

To use the coupons the owner must have a PayPal and an eBay account. If the owner does not have these accounts, he or she must sign up for them to avail of the discounts. PayPal lets you pay securely over the Internet using a credit card, checking account, or a PayPal account balance.

Important restrictions

Upon winning an eBay auction, one is required to purchase the item even if his coupons are invalid for that type of sale.

Also, coupons can only be used one at a time. This means that Gift Certificates, single coupons, or eBay Anything Points are valid for one time, one at a time.

One more restriction is that the coupons cannot be used for Half.com purchases.

Items must also meet all coupon requirements and must be paid for in ten days from the closing of the auction on eBay.

Coupons have expiry dates. The owner should take note of the expiry dates noted on the coupons.

Sellers may also configure their listings to accept coupons. To accomplish this, the seller must accept PayPal as a payment mode. If a coupon is used in the purchase of one of the seller's items, the value of the coupon is forwarded to the seller as its equivalent in regular currency.

Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

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