Cost Plus: $25 for a $50 online-only gift certificate, or $10 off $30.

This Cost Plus deal is making the rounds today through a third-party Groupon-esque site, and it seems like a good deal IF you pay attention to the fine print. Ahem:

• You pay $25 for a $50 Cost Plus gift certificate (actually a promo code) before Sep. 5.
• The gift certificate is only good at CostPlus.com, NOT physical stores.
• The gift certificate must be used by Dec. 31, 2010.
• You can't buy a gift card with it, smartypants, and the code must be used in a single transaction.

And, in case you're wondering, shipping information is here, and a $50 purchase will cost you about $10 in shipping.  So it's more like $35 for $50 worth of stuff, which is still a pretty decent deal; Cost Plus gets tons of Xmas/holiday food and decor, so you could knock out a few presents on the cheap using this offer.

Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and print out this $10 off $30 coupon and take it to the physical store.  Snore.