Loyalty, in the Form of Coupon Codes

There was a time when shopping loyalty meant clipping tickets and collecting cardboard boxes, and having pieces of paper stamped by impatient salesladies at the retail store. Those were the days! Now, thanks to online shopping, loyalty – in the commercial sense of the word – has gone virtual. So we have said goodbye to the cards and are saying hello to coupon codes.

I’m one of those saying hello with a smile. You see, I have been collecting basketball shoes –“kicks” in the collectors’ lingo – for almost six years now, so imagine my delight when Sears made available on their website some of the hottest and rarest shoe lines ever. Like Chuck Taylors. And T-Macs. And Gil Zeroes. Weird thing is, I haven’t worn all of the shoes that I have bought. Some are still in mint condition and the day that I wear them may never even come. But I am a loyal buyer and relentless collector.

Before, in my early years of collecting, I used to spend hours inside a shoe store looking for a specific pair; sometimes the staff would tell me there isn’t any of that available, or that they were out of stock, and even if they weren’t, it didn’t mean that they had my size. It was even harder to get discounts.

Anyway, all that changed ever since I began to do my shopping online. Now, being a regular customer, I take advantage of coupon codes that help me save up to, say, 40 to 50% off of Converse’s new Chuck Taylors when I buy them from Sears, or some other retailers’ website. With the Internet, I can get the brand, model, size, and color I want – all at a cheaper price that I might not have expected.

My point is that, because of online shopping, my hobby of collecting shoes has not only become more convenient; it has also become less expensive. I am close to reaching a hundred pairs of shoes now: Air Jordans, Nikes, Adidas, Reeboks, what have you. (That’s why I need to get a new shoe rack and refurbish my closet!)

Along the way, I have learned how to look for the best deals online – as well as when to. There are retailers that reward your loyalty by advertising a sale on off-peak seasons, or by giving away discounts for a minimum amount of purchase. That, to me, is priceless. Otherwise I probably would never have been able to afford half of what I have now!

Speaking of “now”, the timing has not been better. The Beijing Olympics is happening on the other side of the world. Do you know what that means? New editions of the hottest kicks in town! Kobe Bryant and the rest of the USA basketball Dream Team, for example, are wearing the new Nike Hyper Dunks – arguably the lightest shoes ever manufactured. And, since it’s back to school for most of the youth here in America, new discounts and coupon codes are on the way.