Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in a variety of cities across the United States and has been recently featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and named the #1 Hottest Website for 2010 by Fox Business News!
How It Works:
1. Each day we feature something cool to do at an unbeatable price.
2. You only get it if enough people join that day… so invite your friends!
3. Check back the next day for another awesome Groupon!
how do they determine whether you are a new user or existing user? i assume you would have to sign up for an account after checking out after going through the FatCash linkthrough?
hellyea81 said: 1% back? That's it?? not even worth going through FW for that. Since most groupons are $15 - $25, it'd be 15 - 25 cents back....wowwwwJust like eBayCash Back, what a joke.
hellyea81 said: 1% back? That's it?? not even worth going through FW for that. Since most groupons are $15 - $25, it'd be 15 - 25 cents back....wowwwwI've always been confused by this type of sentiment. If you're regularly purchasing anything, 1% adds up to be a great deal over time.
Given that we don't live in the golden day era of five plasma TV's for $14 shipped on an internet shopping cart price mistake, what would be a fair rate?
Given that we don't live in the golden day era of five plasma TV's for $14 shipped on an internet shopping cart price mistake, what would be a fair rate?
I wouldn't normally complain about a new CashBack opportunity, but since you've asked, here's my take on it (and how I use fw CashBack in general): most of the time when I use CashBack, I've already decided to make a purchase on another website and I might even be a couple steps into the checkout process. Then I realize there might be a CashBack opportunity so I take extra time to go check and click through that way - sometimes requiring that I restart the checkout process. For 10 or 15 cents, this might not be worth my time (though I'll usually do it anyway). 1% on a $300 vacuum purchase? Sure, definitely worth it. But if restaurant.com, for instance, were doing 1% back I honestly might not bother if I were just buying one certificate for $2.
desidealmaster said: I hate the words "Up To"Me too.
edrucker said: For 10 or 15 cents, this might not be worth my time (though I'll usually do it anyway).I think I'd agree on a one-time purchase, but if I used it regularly I could see making it a part of the routine.
Yuyak said: Btw, the BIG Groupon picture at the top, when I click on it, it goes to the Discovery Store. Just so you know. The links below work fine though.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention Yuyak! It's fixed
FrugalFreak said: Nice idea, but need more cities.
They add cities on the basis of interest on the part of consumers and businesses - the businesses in the area must be willing to offer up some deals and people in the area need to show they want to spend money. It was only recently that Detroit became a part of Groupon, after what felt like eons of waiting! Go to the site, type in your zip code (http://www.Groupon.com/city_suggestions/new) and start recruiting everyone you know to do the same.
I wanted to see some examples of these "local daily deals" but it won't show anything unless I give it my email address. Sounds to me like I would be signing up for more spam.
Are the deals only for the cities listed, or also in the surrounding areas?
I have used Groupon in Vegas for the last 6 months or so, they have great deals, I get one email daily to let me know of the deal. It also includes cities in the metropolitan area like henderson, not sure if all cities are like this. I like that the deals are all over the place and not just catered to one industry
I have seen some good deals from Groupon in the closest city by me included in the deals (75 miles away). I would defiantly buy if I lived closer. I'm always "Up To" trying new places (sorry desidealmaster).
I live in a small city (pop 50K) so I doubt it will ever be here. I go to the nearest city on the list sometimes, but not often enough to make it worth the bother. I just wanted to see some example deals out of curiosity.
hawblit2 said: FrugalFreak said: Nice idea, but need more cities.
They add cities on the basis of interest on the part of consumers and businesses - the businesses in the area must be willing to offer up some deals and people in the area need to show they want to spend money. It was only recently that Detroit became a part of Groupon, after what felt like eons of waiting! Go to the site, type in your zip code (http://www.Groupon.com/city_suggestions/new) and start recruiting everyone you know to do the same.
So we are supposed to do the recruiting and marketing for Groupon? NO THANKS! My local area has similar deal without asking me or requiring me to build Their business.
I LOVEGroupon! I'm subscribed to the DC and Baltimore emails. They really do have some pretty amazing deals on things that I'm interested in getting. It's also great for gifts (e.g., give someone a $75 certificate for something that you paid $25 for). In fact, it's been a main source of both Christmas and birthday gifts for me since I subscribed.
There are quite a few cities in the program now (over 90), but of course it's not going to be available in small towns (it is in some mid-size cities, though, like Akron and Knoxville). They do, however, periodically offer web-based deals that can be used by anyone, so you can still take advantage of some good deals even if you aren't in a "Groupon" city. Once you sign up, you can browse the daily offers in other cities as well and purchase any of those if you wish (e.g., if you frequently travel to another city, you might want to check out the deals there, too).
Groupon also has a referral program, so if you refer friends and they make a purchase, you'll get a $10 credit to use against future purchases (so, here's my referral link....haha - just kidding ).
Edited to add....
Since people are wondering about what sorts of things get offered as deals, here are the last few from the DC Groupon (which actually offers up to 3 different Groupons daily - one for DC, one for Northern Virginia, and one for Montgomery County, MD, plus a side deal):
July 8 $15 for $30 Mediterranean Fare at Café Olé (a great little restaurant - I bought this one) $10 for $25 Worth of Nuts, Dried Fruit, and More at Nutty Guys (Side deal) $60 Microdermabrasion and VISIA Skin Analysis at Serenity Zone Med Spa in Olney (Up to $224 Value) Paranormal Adventure at The Haunted Cottage in Harper's Ferry. Choose from Two Tours ($10 instead of $20)
July 7 $12 for a Daytime or Twilight Cruise from DC Harbor Cruises ($24 Value) $12 for a Flower Bundle and Online Arrangement Instruction from Petals For The People ($25 Value - Side deal) $32 for a Five-Course Chef's Tasting Menu at The Grille at Morrison House in Alexandria (normally $65) $20 for $40 Worth of Classic American Bistro Fare and Drinks at Gaffney's Restaurant
July 6 $15 for $30 Worth of Lebanese Fare at Kabab-ji Grill $25 for Participation in Bocce, Bar-Skee, Cornhole, or Shuffleboard League from United Social Sports (Up to $50 Value) (Side deal) $8 for a One-Year Subscription to "Bethesda Magazine" $59 for $120 Worth of Hair, Waxing, and Facial Services at Angels Hair & Skin Care
July 5 $45 for Five Drop-In Group Pilates Classes at Fuel Pilates $15 for $30 Worth of Cuisine and Drinks at Cee Fine Thai Dining in Fairfax $5 for 30 Days of MLB.TV® Premium Service
July 2-4 (Friday deals last through the weekend) $10 for $20 Worth of Beers, Bourbons, and More at the Iron Horse Tap Room $85 for a Private Golf Lesson with a PGA Pro from Cloud 9 Living ($149 Value) (Side deal) $49 for an Oral Exam, X-ray, Teeth Cleaning, and Take-Home Whitening Kit from Elite Smiles Dental ($435 value) $39 for One Month of Unlimited Core-Camp Classes at Evolutions Body Clinic and Other Locations ($299 Value)
What does 5% for new users mean? 5% just on the first use, or 5% forever? Either way, I'm a little disappointed to see such flaky terms from FatWallet.
9000 said: I wanted to see some examples of these "local daily deals" but it won't show anything unless I give it my email address. Sounds to me like I would be signing up for more spam.
Are the deals only for the cities listed, or also in the surrounding areas?
As far as examples of Groupon Daily Deals here in Chgo, spas, salons, dental, different types of restaurants/food, cooking classes, sky diving, segway tours, boat rides, clothing stores, Jamba Juice, Orange Julius, sporting events, paint ball, a fortune cookie company, a pizza tour, a movie tour, and the list goes on. No spam involved with Groupon that I'm aware of.
nukem said: Great so now even more daily posts about 1/2 price spa or pizza for a single city.
BTW, they pay $10 referral when you sign up, why isn't that the FatCash payment?
Finally, if you want to see the deal without giving your email just use the city name in the url like www.Groupon.com/chicago
it might capture you and ask for email the first time, just hit the url again and it will let you look Well, you only have to look at the deals if you want to...lol. It is voluntary.
The referral bonus isn't a cash fee; it's Groupon dollars that you can use against future purchases. So, it's only useful if you're a Groupon user (and not cash that FW could return to us).
FYI, Attached is a list of all Groupon cities, with links to each page.
FYI, there really IS a time limit, lol... Not one of those "Act now!.." deals. I signed on to FW and saw this at about 1134 pm, was reading posts, doing my good fw research, and decided I really wanted the daily deal. Went back to the site and it said I had 39 seconds, whew! lol... Well it took me about 3 or 4 minutes to enter all my info and... no deal. Expired at midnight, lol. Saved $16 but now I'm bummed, would have been a nice deal for my family. I'll definitely be watching the daily deals now.
Pix
valval22
Shopaholic Member
posted: Jul. 9, 2010 @ 10:04a
The deals definitely vary in my city, but there are often savings of over 50%. I like it better than the deals offered by my radio/tv stations because there is no additional fee for processing or shipping. You print the gc immediately, so you don't have to wait to get anything in the mail.
Another thing I like - you can gift a Groupon to someone else. So, if you have a friend or family member in another city, you can send them a gc instantly.
Gr0upon is very useful and has some great deals in Chicago.
Green Zebra, Fox & Obel, Spring, InFineSpirits, and a bunch of other great (and so-so) restaurants are featured at times. They even have good deals for touristy things (Architecture tours), fitness stuff (yoga, boot-camp, tennis) and etc.
I say, if you get it, use it as soon as possible. I bought a bunch of deals... only to realize that I should use them up before I forget about it. Also, one of the deals (August Grocery Store) went out of business... but Group0n told me before I even heard about it and refunded what I paid.
steve0irrific said: Are the certificates mailed or are they emailed and you print them? It is possible I could by one and use to the same day or tomorrow?
The Groupons are not mailed to you. Groupons show up in your in box and are Not available for use the day of purchase. When a Groupon is purchased as a gift, you have the option of emailing it to individual(s), or you can print the Groupon for the individual(s).
9000 said: I wanted to see some examples of these "local daily deals" but it won't show anything unless I give it my email address. Sounds to me like I would be signing up for more spam.
Are the deals only for the cities listed, or also in the surrounding areas?
I have not had any spam from Groupon only the daily deals. In Utah. Ordered 3 certificates for Scoopology (ice cream shop). $10 certificates for $5 each. Good for 3 locations. The one close to me said they don't sell that brand ice cream and several people were coming in asking about the ice cream. They were a little short with me probably because so many "Groupon-ers" were coming in trying to use coupons. There were 2 other locations but the first one was several city's away and the other was good for a location that hosts city events like hockey or concerts. Scoopology was only open during these events so not only you have to pay to park BUT battle crowds for ice cream. No thanks! Waste of money. Still trying to get my money back.
Good in theory but I recommend reading their message boards for feedback on the particular deal you are considering. Doubt I would buy from them again.
Groupon, Living Social, Plumb Tree...etc., these sites can be used for cities you plan on traveling to as well. Example, we were going to Washington D.C. earlier in the month and found a deal for half off a museum, and restaurant that we wanted to eat at. Once in a while a hotel offer comes thru too.
NinaO
New Member
posted: Aug. 10, 2010 @ 11:45a
Many deal are for onlien stores, but you miss them if you don't subscribe to every city. I follow @retweetgroupon for all Groupon deals.
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