TheHistorian wrote:The thing that makes this only so-so is that you lose the free shipping code if you use this instead. There may be a magic amount that makes it all work in the buyer's favor, but I've yet to find it.
You make a valid point and this is a definite consideration when deciding which coupon to use. What I found the last time when I posted a Lulu coupon (20% off of $250) versus the free shipping was that the price to ship per additional book increased by roughly $1.37 over a certain amount. I wish I had saved my spreadsheet from my last order with the calculations, but basically I purchased 22 books at a cost of $248.36. With a 20% off coupon, my total was $198.69 for a savings of $49.67. To ship the books using media mail shipping, the cost was $30.24. So by using the 20% off coupon and allowing for shipping, I saved an additional $19.43 over having used just the free shipping coupon alone. Essentially the 20% off coupon worked out to be equivalent to a 7.8% off coupon plus free shipping.
20% Off $250
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Books: $248.36 (22 books)
20% Off: -$ 49.67
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SubTotal: $198.69
Shipping: $ 30.24
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Total: $228.93
(7.8% off plus free shipping)
The key of course with this discount was to get as close to the $250 amount as possible without going over. What I discovered was that once the order was over $200, the media mail shipping option was not available and the price jumped considerably with
UPS Ground.
The $17 off $76 coupon will still be a better value than free shipping alone if you are purchasing books just exceeding the $76 limit. As a test, I just added Fight On! Issues 1 to 8 to my cart for a total of $76.92. The cost to ship using media mail was $12.74.
$17 Off $76
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Books: $76.92 (8 books)
$17 Off: -$ 17.00
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SubTotal: $59.92
Shipping: $ 12.74
---------------------
Total: $72.66
(5.5% off plus free shipping)
In both cases, the key was to hit their coupon limit. Understandably, this optimization can be a challenge if you want a few particular books, but I imagine with this group, there is virtually no limit to the number of books we will buy.
Hello Mrs. Cleaver, Theodore.
Gee, Mrs. Cleaver ... That certainly is a lovely dress.
