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Bargain hunters and retailers looking to maximize profits on overstocks and out-of-season merchandise have never had it so good.

Bargain hunting appears to be assuming vast dimensions on the World Wide Web these days. While so-called “comparison shopping” used to mean physically “shopping ’til you dropped,” avid shoppers now have an impressive array of online tools at their disposal.

Savvy apparel retailers are using these tools to not only amplify their online marketing endeavors but also to lure consumers into their bricks-and-mortar stores.

The technology for bargain hunting online is clearly far superior to that any bricks-and-mortar store or catalog retailer could offer. There are comparison-shopping sites, shopping search engines, auctions, Overstock.com, printable coupons and e-mail notifications.

But quietly, another feature has crept into the shopping carts of many online retail sites: a little box that prompts for a “promo code” or “coupon code.” These codes are available to those in the know and are retailer-generated. They give a shopper extra-deep discounts and have typically been made available to a consumer elite of targeted first-time customers, repeat customers and a long list of others who meet certain criteria.

Now some specialized Web sites are publishing these codes for anyone to retrieve. It’s not clear if all retailers want these codes broadcast on the Web, but as some sites reveal, the codes are legitimately obtained and, indeed, in some cases are submitted by the retailer to a handful of “secret sales” sites. Whatever the case, such sites are proving to be excellent vehicles for presenting a “loss leader” (or “bait”) to bring the bargain hunter into an online shopping environment offering a selection of items that are not necessarily deeply discounted.

Still in its infancy, this strictly Web-based form of pseudo-guerilla marketing has no numbers to justify its effectiveness yet, but it bears all the earmarks of becoming an innovative Web fad.

Take, for example NaughtyCodes.com, which states: “Online stores send out discount codes to SELECT groups of customers, leaving the rest of us to pay full price! To that we say, NO! We find and list ALL of the coupon codes and promotional codes that can be found. If it’s out there, we have it!” The home page includes a “submit a code” feature that prompts anyone (and we believe it’s often the merchant) to offer up current shopping promo codes. Enter the code shown for Gap Inc. (www.gap.com), Bluefly Inc. (www.bluefly.com) or Brooks Brothers (www.brooksbrothers.com), and you get free shipping on any order over $50, $100 or $175. The code for Liz Claiborne’s Elisabeth (www.elisabeth.com) gets you an extra 15 percent off any purchase, while the code for Esprit US (www.espritshop.com) gets you 30 percent off all regular prices. And so on.

The ethos of making shopping seem like a subversive adventure adds a certain mystique that is appealing to many consumers. Linking from one of these sites gives the retailer a back door to the bargain-minded shopper. Smart retailers are positioning themselves using these services to enhance sales. NaughtyCodes.com is doing the best job of the group, with its sneaky, secret, clandestine appeal and exceptionally easy-to-use, clever and navigable site design.

Site Review: Extreme custom clothing

Now here’s a site with a refreshing difference: www.unlocalclothing.com.

Graphically, the site, the home of Unlocal Clothing Co., has lots of rough edges. Everything’s red, black and gray. It’s edgy and artfully crude. There are no subtle Flash animations and no state-of-the-art shopping carts. Just lots of examples of unique, inspired and custom youth-oriented embellished shirts, hoodies, bags and caps. It’s Goth/punk-influenced, but not that easily pigeonholed. Custom design fed by individual customer input is the creative goal of this 21st century tailor.

On the site, founders Jeff C. Henry and Paul L. Kanan state: “The unique world that surrounds us [is applied] to the apparel that we produce.” The creators, who recently moved from Michigan to San Diego, go on to say: “Our goal is to make clothing that is extremely original, that allows all who wear it to be easily recognized for their great fashion taste, remarkable sense of style and, above all, love of life.”