Groupon and Living Social

[disneysteve]

I mentioned a Groupon deal I got over the weekend in the "Post Your Wins" thread but rather than hijack that thread, I thought I'd start a new one just for this topic.

Have you used either of these services? If you are not familiar with them, Groupon and Living Social are two discount sites that sell vouchers for restaurants, stores, shows, attractions, travel, and more at reduced prices. All you need to do is sign up and you're all ready to go.

My wife and I have used them many times. The deals are totally legit and can save you a ton of money. Also, if you sign up for their email alerts, they will regularly send promo codes and other specials to make the deals even better.

For example, over the weekend they had a promo code to get $10 off your next voucher, no minimum purchase required. I found a nearby restaurant that we like that had a voucher to get $30 worth of food for $16. I applied the promo code which brought the price down to $6. So DW and I will have a nice dinner out one of these days for 6 bucks.

Vouchers are typically good for 120 days. After that time passes, you lose the promotional value but you never lose the money that you paid. So I paid $6 for this voucher. If it expires unused, we can still go to the restaurant and get $6 off our meal since we already paid in that amount. We just wouldn't get the bonus discount. So it's really a no-lose proposition.

On the off chance that you buy a voucher and the place goes out of business, they will issue a refund.

Right now, Groupon has another promo code to get 50% off a voucher up to a $25 savings. I might take advantage of that one and get us another nice dinner out for next to nothing.

Does anyone else use these deals? If not, you ought to check them out.

[StormRichards]

Steve, just seeing this thread now. Had I seen it sooner I would have posted my question here instead of the other thread. Thanks for starting this thread. Although I did struggle to find something I really wanted, the promos are a great way to save money.

[SavingSteve]

We have tried Groupon a few times for restaurants but the food has always been poor quality and I leave feeling like I wasted my money, even after the discount. After a while I realized that, in our area anyway, only the places that aren't very good offer Groupons.
Maybe in their struggle for business and repeat customers they are turning to Groupon for help advertising, but this should be addressed by improving their food and service. Turning to Groupon wont help if people who use the discount never come back again, or tell their friends how bad it was.

[disneysteve]

I did struggle to find something I really wanted

That is sometimes true. The deals change regularly so sometimes there might not be anything that interests you.

We have used it to try a number of new restaurants (new to us, not necessarily newly opened). Last month we used Living Social for a distillery tour and tasting. We've used it for wine tasting.

[GoodSteward]

I am not sure if I will use Groupon again. They are changing their fine print, and it hit me this past week in Orlando. Normally, we don't know what we will do for sure until we are down there (outside of being at themeparks). I found a groupon for a place called Wonderworks that was nearly half price. We decided the last day to go in there. They are right by a parking deck you have to pay to park in. So we pulled in, and went to the front desk. We made sure we were interested in doing it, so I approached the counter and explained we were going to get a groupon. She said you can't use it today, you have to wait 24 hours. I've never heard of this stipulation. Apparently it is a new thing that Groupon is trying with some locations. I got mad. It was going to cost over $100 instead of around $60. I had already dropped over $1200 for this trip so I was done. I let the lady know what I thought of that fine print and let her know to tell them they lost my business. (I didn't yell or cuss, but I was pretty firm). To top it off my parents were in my car and we had my van, so we had to pay $8 for parking two vehicles in that deck for 20 min for nothing. Not only did I not save money, I lost money.

I am going to email Groupon and let them know how stupid that policy is and how I may never use them again. It was embarrassing to be in line and be put in that situation. Groupon has never been that way before, and I've used them a lot on trips. They should have made it more obvious that the change was made in the fine print.

I don't buy ahead because I never know what we may feel like doing or if anything at all. We ended up stopping by the beach on the way home instead.

[disneysteve]

We have tried Groupon a few times for restaurants but the food has always been poor quality and I leave feeling like I wasted my money, even after the discount. After a while I realized that, in our area anyway, only the places that aren't very good offer Groupons.

That's a shame. That definitely isn't the case in our area. We've eaten at many great restaurants with these deals, some of which we were already customers of and some which we tried for the first time because of the deal and became fans of. Of course, our area is quite a dining mecca. A bad restaurant won't last long around here regardless of the price. There are too many great choices competing.

[StormRichards]

That is sometimes true. The deals change regularly so sometimes there might not be anything that interests you.

We have used it to try a number of new restaurants (new to us, not necessarily newly opened). Last month we used Living Social for a distillery tour and tasting. We've used it for wine tasting.

I was pretty excited yesterday when I first logged on because there was a donut shop on there that we really like. The donuts are pricey so we only go when we have some type of discount. Well the way their deal is set up, yesterday's coupon didn't result in the full $10 savings. They bundle their deals into multiple groupons and regardless of whether I selected the bundle of TWO or bundle of FOUR, the coupon only took off about $5. So that was a disappointment. But we drive by this pizza shop at least once a week when we are coming back from soccer. Have always wondered if their pizza was any good. Nice to be able to try it for under $10.

[StormRichards]

I am going to email Groupon and let them know how stupid that policy is and how I may never use them again. It was embarrassing to be in line and be put in that situation. Groupon has never been that way before, and I've used them a lot on trips. They should have made it more obvious that the change was made in the fine print.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I would find that type of situation embarrassing as well. Hopefully they will try to make it up to you in some way.

[GoodSteward]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I would find that type of situation embarrassing as well. Hopefully they will try to make it up to you in some way.

The reason I may not use them again is because I might be caught in another situation where my kids are excited and we can't use it how we used to be able to/thought. If they keep putting more restrictions on those deals, then it takes the enjoyment out of it and you run the risk of being put into a bad situation.

[kork13]

I've used Groupon and Amazon Local (no longer offered) before, and my wife has used Living Social, but we have largely abandoned them now. It could just be my area, but it had become overrun by bad deals & junk offers that never interested me. I would occasionally find something good, but I typically had to wade through a heaping helping of filth to find it.

Interestingly, I just saw an article talking about how Living Social is looking at a death spiral for many of the same reasons I just mentioned. Increasingly they're having deals only from sub-par places, and they're having a hard time attracting more well-known/respected businesses, so people aren't buying deals, which makes it even harder to attract the business that they want/need. Living Social is facing an earnings crunch that could soon doom the company.

[phantom]

Whenever I'm about to do something I think there might be a Groupon for, I always check before I buy. I've used it for concerts, portrait studios, and even laser hair removal. This weekend, a group of friends and I are going to use a Groupon to go do an escape room. This will be my second time doing an escape room as well as my second time using a Groupon for one. Escape rooms can get pretty pricey, but having a Groupon can get them under $20 a person.

[StormRichards]

but I typically had to wade through a heaping helping of filth to find it.

What really annoyed me last night was there were a lot of Internet websites mixed in with my search, and narrowing the search wasn't a simple process for my area. If I had the city selected, these deals were mixed in. I live in a suburb so sorting by distance helped, but with all of the local traveling we do I didn't want to exclude the city deals. But the online deals just cluttered it up for me.

[disneysteve]

What really annoyed me last night was there were a lot of Internet websites mixed in with my search

What do you mean by that? Were there other websites advertised on the Groupon site?

[disneysteve]

There are some online deals when I do a Food and Beverage search, like home delivery from Blue Apron. Is that what you were referring to?

[StormRichards]

There are some online deals when I do a Food and Beverage search, like home delivery from Blue Apron. Is that what you were referring to?

Yes. Blue Apron, Omaha Steaks, Smith Island Cakes, Chocolates, Strawberries, Apples, etc. etc.