Groupon . . . do you guys do this?

[Deleted]

I know this is more suited to the coupon thread, but it really is sort of different. Groupon gets 50% off from various sponsors. A great one a few days ago was Yahoo. I bought a new mattress pad cheaply. Today's is Barnes & Noble. I still like to read so this is cool.

Does anyone else respond to Groupon? I ignore a lot of the local ones because they seem to be about dentistry, massages, etc. But a few have been truly cool.

You can still get the B&N today (Thursday) if you are interested.

[shanendoah]

I use GroupOn, though I do it mostly for the local ones. When my mom was visiting, I got to take her on a boat tour. We have tickets to go to the zoo with friends for really cheap. I'm taking another friend (whose only ever touched a horse once) horseback riding later this month. I have other friends who use it for the salons. So yeah, I GroupOn and am pretty happy with it.

[Deleted]

I LOVE Groupon... especially for local restaurants and attractions.
Last Friday, we had dinner and drinks and used our Groupon deal.
They took $35 off the tab; we only paid Groupon $10 for that discount!

[Deleted]

I love the site - it is worth getting their daily email reminders just to read the descriptions of the deals (hilarious).

Having said that, I have only actually purchased a couple of times. Lots and lots of salon discounts that I am not willing to leave my current stylist over.

But the $10 for a $20 Amazon giftcard was super great.

[oreo]

I have bought some local ones--visits to kids indoor play places and to the local ice skating rink. I also bought one and got an eye exam and glasses for $79 (I think that is the right amount) which I used and am happy with. I get the daily emails and most are junk but I just delete them and wait for another good one!

[chiver78]

absolutely. I'm about halfway between two major cities, so I subscribe to the updates for both of them. I've bought a couple deals, a lot I wouldn't be interested in anyway though.

the best deal I've been involved with, I was not expecting to have a good time - a friend picked up an hour at a karaoke place in Boston for half price, you get a private room for up to 10 people. that was such a blast, I keep looking for that deal again. lol...

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2011 19:44:00 GMT -5 @craftysarah said:

I love the site - it is worth getting their daily email reminders just to read the descriptions of the deals (hilarious).

Having said that, I have only actually purchased a couple of times. Lots and lots of salon discounts that I am not willing to leave my current stylist over.

But the $10 for a $20 Amazon giftcard was super great.

WOW~

[tcu2003]

Love GroupOn - I usually mostly for local things. My friends and I all did a Wine Class at a local Wine Bar for 1/2 off, and I've used it for local restaurants as well.

[hcj]

I'm signed up and my rule of thumb with it is to only buy the only the ones that are of value for something we really could use. I get it in the morning and wait until the end of the night to decide whether to do it or delete. There have been a lot that sounded so nice, but it means spending $50 on something that I hadn't planned on. By the evening, I'm over my urge to do it because it's a good deal.

[Deleted]

Last night they sent an offer for Barnes & Noble. Again, $10 for a $20 gift card. I bought it and wish I hadn't . . . Surrounded by all those wonderful books, I am sure to buy more than $20.

[cael]

I love Groupon! I've gotten some good local deals through it, like yoga classes, 50% off to the rock climbing class I wanted to take, restaurant deals, tons of stuff. I may get the B&N one today too, even though I shouldn't :/

By the way - look up DealGator, they send an email I think a few times a week with *all* the deals in your area. They have some on there I've never heard of.

[chiver78]

another thing about Groupon that I forgot to mention - if you forget about your purchased coupon and it expires, you don't lose what you paid for it. the companies will credit you your purchase price toward goods/service.

[phil5185]

Again, $10 for a $20 gift card. I bought it and wish I hadn't . . . Surrounded by all those wonderful books, I am sure to buy more than $20.

Go to that large brick building in your town where no one ever goes - it is full of books, the library card is free, no waiting - and your tax dollars have already paid for it.

[Deleted]

Cute, Phil, but not true in my town. The library is so busy that you can't always find a parking place, and they have three parking lots.

I am actually going to spend this on my seven-year-old grandson. You would think that is the perfect age for the library, but owning the books that you love is important at that age. That's why all these literacy campaigns give kids books and not library cards.

[phil5185]

but owning the books that you love is important at that age. That's why all these literacy campaigns give kids books and not library cards.

OTOH, how well are those literacy campaigns working?

I remember, in the 1940's, the Book Mobile came to our school every couple of weeks - we would line up, go inside, return our 2 books, and then pick out 2 new library books for the next period - Black Beauty, etc. Really looked fwd to that. Of course, in the 40's no one had money to buy books. I don't even remember seeing a book store until I was in college, LOL.

[ugga81]

I love Groupon! I do pick and choose which deals I buy (although my husband has called a moratorium on Groupon purchases). I've used it for Christmas presents and for great events to do with friends.

Once, in DC, I bought 3 passes to play laser tag and used it when my nephews were in town. It's probably the best time we've spent together (who knew a 9 & 11 year old could think tactically!) and I think it's a great memory for all of us.

Tonight, we're using a $50 voucher (I purchased for $25) to a Brazilian steak house. That will cover both of our meals for the price of 1.

LivingSocial is another great site to use.

[telephus44]

I have used it 3 times - for the Barnes and Noble deal, the Amazon deal (ok, that wasn't Groupon, I forget who it was), and for a local yoga studio.

I am trying to find a new yoga studio (love my old studio, but my new house is about 45 minutes away), and Groupon offered 20 sessions at this studio close to my new house for $20. Normally they are $15 each. I am waiting until the end of Feb. to use them to avoid all the "New Years" crowds.

I have considered a few of the salon deals, but the only amazing one that came up I had already purchased directly from the salon (they ran the same deal as Groupon in person) and it was one per person.

[sil]

Just signed up. I bought 4 hours of maid service for $59 from a local company. I called to redeem and they were so overwhelmed by the Groupon customers, I had to schedule an appointment a month out.

I think Groupon is wonderful for small local businesses trying to get consumers to try them out.

I also think its a potential disaster for consumers who can't resist 50% off sales, regardless of what's being sold

[Tred]

I definitely use Groupon for restaurants. Last weekend, my gf and I used one to go to a local restaurant whose deal was $10 for a $22 Groupon. Maybe it's a bit of a hassle, but the bottom line was a $12 discount, and we had a nice meal at a restaurant (total bill was only ~$30) we probably wouldn't have thought of visiting.

The restaurant Groupons I've seen expire after 6 months...some of them may be longer.


"I also think its a potential disaster for consumers who can't resist 50% off sales, regardless of what's being sold"
I agree 100%

[8 Bit WWBG]

Whenever one of our favorite restaurants, or something we'd like to try comes up, we buy one or two. I like paying $20 for something I'd normally pay $40 for.

I prefer the ones that are straight up "$20 for $40 worth of food" as they are independent of others. I've heard some complaints about the ones that are for specific events (ex. 50% off and access to the VIP lounge on this date) because people have complained that the turnout is way too high. One in particular for a baseball game or something had such a long line, that people couldn't even get in, and they couldn't get their money back.

Once in a while there are some that are insanely good. One was $15 for 2 wine tastings (those cost $5/pop anyway), a cheese platter (also about $7) AND $10 towards a bottle of wine!!!

[Cookies Galore]

We use Groupon and Philly Dealyo. There are so many great restaurants around us and we do go out often, so why not save a couple of bucks?
We recently went out for Thai food with a few friends and someone brought a $25 coupon. This place is also a BYOB, so our bill for five people was awesome!

[katkuddler]

I've only used it once, it was a half-price dinner playhouse. This is sonething that we do often anyway. A lot of the daily offers are useless to me but what the heck, they do it for free and even more important, they don't spam you!

[zuzu]

I discovered a great local restaurant this way.

[jenna30]

I just signed up & purchased the B&N groupon.

[ummboutthat]

I signed up and usually delete the emails - but refuse to close the account..
never been back to the Groupon site - guess I should cause the email stuff sent I have NOOooo interest in
A co-worker asked if I use it and I said no
he agreed and said he was tired of getting the email and wanted / will close his account

[lajes]

Love Groupon! The emails are so entertaining and have such interesting venues -- restaurants, day trips, helicopter rides, salons, etc.

My closest Groupon area (DC) is a two hour drive, so I rarely buy anything, but I did purchase tickets to the Wax Museum. It was something I never would have done without the half price tickets.

[Deleted]

I love those type of sites! I'm lucky because they often have something I'm going to do anyway - half price at the bowling alley, children's museum, favorite restaurant, etc.

[tcu2003]

Just got one today for a local bar & grill near our house. I've been wanting to try it for awhile now, so this will give me a good excuse. $15 worth of food for $7 - woo hoo!