One email a week. Only the things that were actually worth it.
We are a two-person desk in Ghent. Each week we read through the offers, price drops and small print that land in our inboxes, keep the handful that hold up, and send them to you on Thursday morning with a plain explanation of why.
From Marieke and Jonas, at the desk since 2023.
Get Thursday's issue
You're on the Thursday list.
The next issue goes to . If it isn't there by mid-morning, check your spam folder and add contact@alobonus.net to your contacts.
What's in a Thursday issue
About 600 words. Reads in four minutes. Same shape every week so you can skim it.
Every issue has the same five parts, in the same order. If a part has nothing worth saying that week, we say so rather than fill it.
- The one pick A single offer we would use ourselves, with the code or link, the exact conditions, and the date it stops working.Always first. Always one.
- Price drops Two or three things that are cheaper this week than their three-month average, with the numbers we compared.
- Worth knowing A refund window, a consumer right, a renewal trick: something that saves money without buying anything.
- What we passed on The loudest offer of the week and the reason it didn't make the cut. Often the most useful paragraph.
- Housekeeping Corrections, reader replies, and anything from last week that expired early.Unsubscribe link sits directly under this part.
How a find becomes a pick
Four steps, in order, every week. Most candidates fall out at step two.
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Gather
Monday to Wednesday we collect everything that reaches us: retailer mailings, reader tips, price trackers, and the notices shops publish quietly. Usually forty to sixty candidates.
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Check the small print
We read the full conditions, not the banner. Minimum spend, excluded items, membership required, "first order only", auto-renewal after the trial. If the headline price isn't the real price, it's out.
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Compare against history
A discount only counts if the result is lower than what the thing normally costs. We keep our own price notes going back a year and check them before we call anything a saving.
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Test the link, then write
One of us applies the code at the checkout, on the day we send. Then we write it up in plain sentences: what it is, what it costs, what the catch is, and when it ends.
What we don't do
We don't run sponsored placements, we don't rank by commission, and we never send more than one email a week. Some links in the roundup are affiliate links; when they are, the issue says so next to the link and it makes no difference to whether the pick is included.
Two editors, one desk
A shared table on the third floor of a former printing house near the Coupure canal.
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Marieke
Research and pricing
Keeps the price history, reads the terms, and writes the "passed on" section. Formerly a buyer for a Belgian bookshop chain, which is where the habit of checking the real price came from.
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Jonas
Writing and reader mail
Turns Marieke's notes into the Thursday issue and answers every reply. Ran the newsletter for a Ghent cultural centre for six years before this one.
Reply to any issue and it lands with one of us, not a ticket queue. We read everything and answer most of it within a couple of days.
About the emails we send
Everything a sender should tell you before you hand over an address.
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What we send
The weekly value roundup described above. No separate promotional mailings, no "partner offers", no surveys.
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How often
Once a week, on Thursday morning, Central European time. If we skip a week, we don't make it up with two the next.
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How to leave
Every issue ends with an unsubscribe link. One click removes you immediately; there is no login, no confirmation page, and no "are you sure". You can also email us and we'll do it by hand.
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Who is sending
alobonus.net editorial desk
Postbus 118
9000 Ghent, Belgium
contact@alobonus.net -
Your address
We store your email address, the date you signed up, and whether each issue was opened. Nothing else. We don't sell or share the list. Details in the privacy policy.
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The rules we follow
We send from our own domain, identify ourselves in every message, honour unsubscribe requests at once, and keep the terms and privacy policy linked from every issue.
Questions readers ask
If yours isn't here, write to contact@alobonus.net.
Is it free?
Yes. The roundup is paid for by the affiliate links we disclose inside each issue and by nothing else. There is no paid tier and we are not planning one.
Why did an offer stop working before the date you gave?
Shops sometimes pull codes early, usually when they run out of allocated units. When we hear about it we note it in the next issue's housekeeping section. If a code fails on the day we sent it, reply and tell us; we'll check it and correct the issue online.
Do you cover things outside Belgium?
Most picks work anywhere in the EU and many work worldwide, because they are for online services or shops that ship broadly. When something is limited to Belgium or the Netherlands, the issue says so in the first line of the pick.
Can I suggest something for the roundup?
Please do. Reply to any issue or email contact@alobonus.net with the link. Tips go through the same four steps as everything else, and we credit you by first name if it makes the cut, unless you ask us not to.
I unsubscribed but got another email. What happened?
That shouldn't happen. The unsubscribe link removes your address immediately from our sending list. If an issue still arrives, forward it to contact@alobonus.net and we will trace it and remove any duplicate entry by hand the same day.
Do you use my address for anything else?
No. It is used to send the roundup and to answer you if you write to us. We don't sell it, rent it, or upload it to advertising platforms. The privacy policy lists exactly what is stored and for how long.