Starting Monday, local residents will have a great new opportunity to save money while shopping locally by taking advantage of a "Deal of the Day" on gainesvilletimes.com.

The Deal of the Day will offer dramatically discounted pricing on items made available by local merchants.

Potential buyers need only sign up at gainesvilletimes.com/dealpage to get an email announcement of each new deal, or can simply visit the page for that day's special offer.

"The Deal of the Day is a win-win for everyone," Times publisher Dennis Stockton said. "It gives buyers a chance to save with huge discounts during tough economic times, and at the same time provides potential new and repeat customers for our local business partners."

Participation in the Deal of the Day is easy. Once you see a deal you like, all you have to do is make the purchase online with a credit card. Within 24 hours of completion of the deal, you will be able to print a voucher for the service purchased, which then can be presented to the business offering the special deal.

There will be limited numbers of each deal, and some will have certain restrictions as to conditions or timing for use of the vouchers. But the savings will be phenomenal for those who take advantage of this special purchase opportunity.

The Deal of the Day starts Monday. Sign up for email notification in advance at gainesvilletimes.com/dealpage, or visit the page starting Monday to see what special offers are being made available by local businesses.

Businesses interested in offering a local Deal of the Day, or anyone with questions about the program, should contact electronic media manager Steve Carter at scarter@gainesvilletimes.com.