VALDOSTA — Readers demanded them and The Valdosta Daily Times produced them — free coupons.

This week marked the beginning of the availability of free online coupons for Times readers and visitors to the Times Web site. Already the site is offering discounts on 82 of the most popular brands of groceries and common household goods in the 31601 area code.

“We were told by our readers for years that we don’t have enough or enough of a selection of good grocery coupons in our paper,” said Julie Killion, advertising director for The Times.

“Each Sunday we provide a packet of coupons but they are limited in number and value,” Publisher Sandy Sanders said. “Our suppliers had told us the number of coupons is based on the market size. Since we had no control over this we decided to look at other options. That’s where coupons for our Web site came into play. This is a great savings opportunity for our readers and getting a coupon is as easy as clicking and printing.”

Killion and members of the Times’ advertising staff visited each area grocery store to let them know about the new offer and to make sure that every store in the area would accept the coupons allowing readers to continue shopping at their favorite locations.

The site is run by a third-party vendor who contracts with manufacturers. Each coupon includes a bar code, an expiration date and additional security features. Coupons cannot be photo copied, but online users can print out as many coupons as they can use. The coupons are free and the program even includes a feature which allows users to e-mail coupons to others.

To access the free coupons, visit www.valdostadailytimes.com and click on the Free Coupons box. Install the free coupon printer, clip, and start shopping!