In the past couple of years, daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social have exploded onto the scene. Now it seems like new sites are popping up every day, offering consumers a wide variety of deals. Whether it’s 6 laser treatments for $97 or half off sushi at a local restaurant, many people find themselves constantly checking their e-mail for that can’t miss deal. But how many ‘great deals’ do you buy that go unused or expire after a few months? In this article we’ll share a few tips for staying on top of your deals and give you some simple rules to follow before purchasing.
Leverage Groupon
Groupon Coupons is a new way to save from Groupon. Unlike the traditional model, you do not need to purchase anything upfront- it’s over 55,000 totally free coupons from more than 8,000 of your favorite stores like Macy’s, Trader Joe’s, and Finish Line.
Limit your choices
Whenever I see a deal for a business I already shop at, I almost always buy it. The savings will add up significantly on places you already frequent. Another great use of these deals is for restaurants you are interested in trying. I am much more willing to try a new place a friend recommended, or that I read about on Yelp, if it will be half off. Buying deals for services you may try or that sound interesting is probably a waste of money. If you’re wavering on the decision, it’s probably best to pass it up. There will always be another deal.
Daily Deal Aggregator
There are some great sites out there that can help you keep track of all the daily deal sites. I like to use YipIt. It is a daily deal aggregator that sends you a daily e-mail that contains all the daily deals for your area. Yipit even allows you to select the types of services you’re interested in. That way if you’re not interested in skin/beauty daily deals, you’ll never be bombarded with offers for manicures, pedicures and brazilian blowouts!
Fine Print
Read the fine print! I can’t stress this enough because there are often restrictions that go along with these deals. For restaurant deals, check the following:
- Is it good for lunch, dinner or both?
- Are there restrictions on alcohol?
- Is it only good for regular priced menu items(No lunch specials or happy hour)?
- Dine-in or take-out
- When does it expire?
If you’re anything like me, you have a stack of deals sitting at home. Try using a simple spreadsheet to keep track of them so that you don’t forget about the expiration date. Though if you do, remember the deal still retains the value that you originally paid(this value can never expire, per CA law). It also helps to have them printed out ahead of time for convenient use.
Do you use daily deal sites? Do you think they are an advantage to consumers or the businesses?
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Sounds like my post about Couptivate (http://dealsfrommsdo.webs.com/apps/blog/show/12502982-love-daily-deal-sites-but-hate-when-you-forget-to-use-them-) and your Yipit are a perfect combination. 🙂
Yea I really liked your tip on Couptivate! I’ll have to try it out tmw.. thanks
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Like the tips, but I think your first point on why companies turn to Groupon is a bit inaccurate. Even great, profitable companies offer deals through Groupon despite the fact that they are often offering these deals at a loss (depending on redemption rates). Groupon takes 50% of the revenue so when you get that deal at half off… the business is really taking a 75% hit. The reason why companies go through Groupon is to reach new customers and create retention. Groupon has a unique mailing list that businesses do not have access to so they are getting exposure to an audience that otherwise would not be captive. If the business offers shitty food or service, then they are shooting themselves in the foot and the head, because they will likely lose money and turn away buyers from future business. Additionally, the businesses that group buy sites choose to work with can reflect poorly on their own brand. I know that Groupon has an extremely long waiting list to get a deal, and even then, there is a qualification process to participate.
Interesting point, I tend to agree with this for the bigger deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, but not so sure about the smaller ones. There are also quite a few articles out there saying how bad Groupon is for small businesses.
Agreed with regard to the size of the deal site. And Groupon can be detrimental to small businesses, no doubt about that.