Business is booming for local coupon website

The coupon website now gets nearly 5,000 visitors per month.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- With coupon usage up for the first time in over a decade, one Largo entrepreneur decided to capitalize on the trend.

Michael Batdorf runs an online coupon business that offers free printable coupons for more than 200 businesses around the Bay area.

He says that since he started the company just five months ago, business has skyrocketed.

"We've seen firsthand how our economy is affecting people, even before it was officially announced Florida was in a recession," says Batdorf. "I think that's why this is the first time in 16 years coupon use has went up."

Batdorf says his site got just 100 or 200 visitors a month when it started. Now, he gets nearly five thousand.

"Everything is so expensive," says Rita Fowler, a coupon user. "Groceries are up, gas prices are up, so we try to clip as much as we can."

Coupons can also be found in grocery store circulars, newspapers, or coupon books that can be purchased for a fraction of the money you'll save.

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