For a person belonging to the bourgeoisie, five-star hotels were out of reach. Only when my father got a party invite for the family did I get a chance to step into these hotels and experience the gourmet cuisine. For a little while I felt like I was a part of the crème de la crème of the city.

Being a 90s kid, I have witnessed the internet transform into a world which had provisions for almost everything. A virtual world that, with time, blended with reality. And with this virtual world came online coupons. Zoutons.com became a famous portal if you were looking for discount coupons online. It made everything affordable. Nothing was out of your reach anymore. Zoutons.com became an online hub. Every shopping I did online, I first went to Zoutons.com to find a discount coupon for the product I wanted to buy. And sure as hell, I would get an awesome deal or two on Zoutons. This led me to a new hobby – find an amazing restaurant deal, dress your best, check in on Facebook from the place and click some amazing pictures for the social media. Restaurant deals also opened a new horizon, coupons for apparel. After all, I also had to buy a wardrobe that went with the restaurant’s ambience for blending in with the crowd. This just got me addicted to the world of discount coupons. With the competition between the e-commerce websites, you knew you could get a good deal. In the websites’ cold war for traffic, I felt I was the one who profited‏. A pair of shoes that cost Rs. 2000? Use a coupon and get it for Rs. 1000 flat! That adds to the appeal of the product.

While the appeal of all these discounts on various branded products is too much to resist, you have to be cautious while buying into the hype. You can never take security for granted while dealing with stuff online, especially stuff involving monetary transactions. You also have to pay attention to the fine print. Sometimes the items marked with * and the Conditions Applied could actually be deal-breakers. It is very easy for online retailers to con helpless customers into buying fake and faulty products. Once you have paid for the goods, haggling with the retailer to get a refund or an exchange can become very cumbersome and annoying. And these online coupons allow various con artists to lure potential hapless customers into paying for stuff that have been falsely advertised.


Once you have gotten into the world of shopping online for the lure of discount coupons, the urge may become too big to resist. And before you know it, you’ve blown your entire salary on stuff you did not need. Do not get lost spending so freely on the virtual coupons that you lose connection with the reality. Everything is good in moderation. Think before you buy.

Infographic source: valpak.com