A coupon or promo code is a set of characters entered during checkout to activate a retailer-defined promotion. The retailer—not the coupon publisher—controls whether it applies.
Common eligibility rules
Codes may be limited to a product range, customer group, payment method or minimum order value. Many exclude gift cards, taxes, shipping or already-discounted items. A code can also have a usage limit or work only once per account.
Why a valid code can fail
Your cart may contain an excluded item, the promotion may have reached its limit, or the code may be restricted to new customers. Codes can also expire in a retailer system before a third-party page updates. Regional and account-specific restrictions matter too.
What to do
Copy the code exactly, remove extra spaces and confirm the eligible products. Read the terms and check the expiration date where one is supplied. If the total does not change, do not complete the purchase on the assumption that a discount will appear later.
No-code promotions
Some offers activate automatically through a retailer landing page or when qualifying items are added to the cart. These should be described as deals or no-code promotions, not presented as coupon codes.