Did you know EBay and Paypal have been giving away electronic discount coupons for some time and hundreds of users have been cashing in on them? Also called “redemption codes,” these special savings opportunities are little known but can save you substantial sums. And since coupons can be used on any item from any seller that accepts PayPal, your selection is huge!

If you have received a coupon for eBay via email, you are one of the lucky and select few. eBay and PayPal seldom send coupon or gift certificate offers to all members, only to those who meet certain criteria.

For example, sometimes eBay will use electronic discount coupons to entice a member back to the site. This means that if you were a fairly active buyer on eBay and suddenly stopped buying, they may email you an offer of a discount on your next purchase. This kind of coupon is usually accompanied by your email address, which means it is only valid for you to use and will have an expiry date.

Sometimes EBay offers electronic discount coupons to a certain group of members. If they are experiencing low sales in a particular area, they may send the coupon codes to users who have previously purchased those items.

eBay also offers more general coupons. Even though they may originally be emailed to targeted members, the offers can be used by other buyers who met the stated criteria. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if it doesn’t reference an email address, the coupon can be shared.

Paypal also offers occasional discount coupons by email for different promotional reasons. Sometimes they are for every user and, other times, they are for certain users, groups or areas. A recent promotion at Christmas time featured free shipping and discounts of $5 to $20 from selected online merchants. PayPal promotions are also run via electronic discount coupons and have expiry dates and conditions of use.

Where to Find eBay and PayPal Coupons

Coupons that can be used by others are often mentioned on eBay’s chat forum, and in forums associated with other websites that announce bargains and deals. You can also find these types of coupons by doing a web search for “eBay coupon code” (or “Paypal coupon code”), but many such links are expired and some may be fraudulent, so be careful.

Restrictions on Using eBay and PayPal Coupons

The most important thing to remember is that you must find and buy an item that accepts PayPal and then pay with PayPal. You will only see the discount when using PayPal as payment. If you have a coupon code and plan to use it on an eBay purchase, it is your responsibility to verify before buying that the seller does accept PayPal. You are still obligated to pay the seller for the item even though you cannot use your eBay coupon or gift certificate.

Currently, coupons are only valid for items listed on eBay.com, eBay.ca, and eBay.co.uk.

Make sure that the email address on the coupon is associated with your PayPal account; if it isn’t, add that email address to your PayPal account.

All eBay discount coupons have expiration dates.

How to Redeem

Generally, a digital discount coupon is a long code that you enter on the payment screen when you win an item. On PayPal there is a box labeled “Coupons, Gift Certificates and eBay Anything Points”. This is where you enter the coupon code number. If validated, the discount will be automatically deducted from the balance due. If your coupon doesn’t cover the total cost of the item, the remainder of the funds will be deducted from your PayPal account or the bank account associated with it.

The person selling the item has no indication that you have used a coupon (the savings come from eBay, not from the seller) and the sale goes proceeds as usual.

Given the fact that you can buy unique and highly desirable items on eBay at very attractive prices to begin with, the possibility of adding to your savings by using an eBay or PayPal coupon is not one to be missed. By making regular checks to see if there are any discounts currently available via eBay or Paypal, you can be one of the people taking advantage of these savings.