Financial Guru Helps Consumers Find Elusive Internet Coupon Codes

Detroit, Michigan. May 31, 2007. Gonicofish.com announced today that founder and CEO, Gina Bassman, has issued tips to help consumers save money online. The company is a comparison shopping site offering bargains and coupon codes from 1,000 partnering merchants.

Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet. According to a January 2007 report by ComScore, Internet shoppers spent over 102 billion dollars last year. This does not include expenses related to travel, such as hotel or plane reservations.

However, many shoppers are confused when it comes to saving money on the web. Some do not know how to comparison shop. Others are unaware that it’s possible to find printable coupons or coupon codes on the web, much as one might clip coupons from a newspaper insert.

Two years ago, Bassman, a former financial executive for the Detroit Lions, found herself in this position.
“I decided to leave the corporate financial world in order to spend more flexible time with my family,” says Bassman.

While spending the summer with her son, Nicholas, she frequently logged on to the Internet to evaluate prices and make purchases. Bassman visited many sites that claimed to offer coupons and discounts. She often got lost in long, unorganized lists of deals, and she realized that online consumers needed a more workable option.

To that end, Bassman taught herself web design. Then, she created her own easy-to-navigate web site called Gonicofish.com. Her user-friendly web design is enabling her to connect shoppers with the web’s latest and best bargains and coupons. She offers customers a quick and simple way to find the products they want at discount prices.

“I love working with Fortune 500 companies and quality boutiques to bring consumers savings on line,” Bassman says.

Visitors to Bassman’s site can browse by store, by specific item, or by selecting one of twenty-four product categories. Shoppers can find everything from apparel to garden supplies to baby goods to computers and electronics. Among the 1,000 retailers who are partnered with her include Auto Anything, Best Buy, Dell, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Land’s End, PetSmart, Macy’s and Target.

Once a consumer selects an item, he or she is re-directed to the store’s web site. In addition, the customer is given a coupon code that allows him or her to receive extra savings, and, in many cases, free shipping. To claim these savings, the shopper simply enters the code in a box marked, “Enter Promotional Code.”

Gonicofish.com is a free service. Visitors are not asked to provide any personal information, unless they wish to receive the site’s monthly newsletter, “Deal News”.

There are similar web sites that offer bargains from a greater number of stores. However, Bassman monitors the growth of her site in order to maintain high standards for itself and for its partnering retailers.

“We are a family friendly site,” says Bassman. “We work only with established companies, and we look for companies which offer quality service and products. Our merchants share our policy of providing unparalleled value and service to our customers.”

Shoppers enjoy sites like Gonicofish.com because they allow consumers to comparison shop within the privacy and comfort of their own homes. Unlike stores and malls, which require a drive to brick and mortar stores, the Internet is only a click away.

Not only that, but the web never closes. It is open twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, and it offers a seemingly infinite variety of goods from all over the world.

Bassman offers the following tips for shoppers:
1)Before purchasing anything, visit a central shopping site to compare and evaluate prices. Take into consideration shipping costs when evaluating an item’s bottom-line price.
2)Purchase from reputable merchants, whose credentials you can verify. Be wary of bargains that seem “too good to be true”.
3)Study an online merchant’s privacy, shipping, and return policies.
4)Look for a secure method of payment. A safe site will encrypt your information, and it will require that you create and use a password in order to make a purchase. Look for a small graphic icon, usually a picture of a padlock, indicating that your personal details will be kept safe. Also, read the written description of the site’s security technology.
5)Always print a receipt or another record of your online transactions directly from a retailer’s web site. That way, you will have a reference if a problem should arise. In many cases, you will also be able to record a tracking number that will allow you to follow the progress of an item’s delivery.

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