The last one was actually a nearby wine store offering free shipping of 6 premium wines (even in our liquor-controlled commonwealth) for $45 and since I had $9 in Groupon credit, the whole deal was $36 or $6/bottle, delivered to my door. I nabbed it and was all excited to use it for a gift for my husband. Then the bomb dropped in my marriage and divorce became reality, and I emailed Groupon asking about a refund. At first they said they don’t do that once the deal’s over except for really extenuating circumtances. I told them mine but said I understand that it probably doesn’t qualify, and they immediately refunded my $36 and told me to spend it on myself and hoped I’d feel better. I was just so impressed to find out their customer service dept apparently has real people in it that I think I’m more of a Groupon fan now than ever.

It seems like every time I put something on my list of things to do, I just have to be patient and eventually a deal will show up! Now I’m just waiting for a deal on tandem hang gliding.

My weekends are pretty much all planned out for the next 3 months between races, deals, and weekend trips out of town.

Before joining we also asked a local small restaurant owner what his experience with them was, and he was very enthusiastic. At that time he didn’t know how many of the new customers would become repeat customers, but it must have been enough since he recently ran another coupon through our local newspaper’s daily deal site.

#44 & #38 Agreed. I looked at it for a photographer awhile back and it didn’t fit for other reasons. But the biz owner know what they are getting into (they set the discount and agree to the terms of getting 40%-50% generally of the groupon sold — which means they could end up making very little in the transaction). It is intended to stimulate trial and hopefully generate repeat business which in the end makes it worth the expense. Also, with restaurants, they hope to regain some of the profit margin with drinks and add ons. I talked to our waitress and she advised that tips had been mixed but she thought she was coming out ahead given all the traffic. It is a shame people are tempted to tip on less than the full amount. But I believe (hope) that part of the reason the owner does the groupon is to help fill seats that aren’t full generating tip income for their employees, so I’m sad to hear about Mel’s sister’s experience (#7).

We also snapped up the Living Social deal where you got two movie tickets for $9 – hubs bought first, shared the link on FB and three other people bought so his was free, and then I bought one as well…FOUR movie tickets for $9!! We did the same thing when LS offered the $20 amazon gift card for $10. We’ve also purchased discounted gift cards to Barnes & Noble, Bath and Body Works (used for birthday gifts for two family members), a local restaurant we already enjoyed, and to try out several online wine and food retailers.

I don’t find that I have trouble keeping track of them. I flag the confirmation e-mail in my inbox until I’ve used it, and Groupon is good about sending out reminders when you have unused deals. If it’s an online retailer I try to use it pretty quickly anyways.

S

Full disclosure: I am NOT affiliated with this blog in any way shape or form. Except for posting here of course, and I’ve emailed JD but for a totally different subject.

I just wanna see if the hive mind at GRS is capable of generating profitable ideas.

Its just a new form of scam. I also dislike subscribing to anything.

I much prefer coupons offered by the company itself, not by a third party.

Spending is for suckers!

Personally, I love Groupon (found my local salon, my yoga studio and my spinning classes through deals). I think it’s probably pretty worthwhile for some businesses, because my spinning and yoga studios offer Groupons on a regular basis to attract new customers.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/coupons_come_with_downside_con.html

Is this a good place to advertise if your business is local? Because I want to “get rich slowly” not “spend money slowly”– and not to say spending control is not part of the equation, but making money is the most important side of the equation.

Let’s say I have a new CD of interest to a certain community (not necessarily a geographical one)

I could use the same mechanism: “if you buy the first 300 pre-release CDs today, you’ll get them at 1/2 price. our prices will go up after april 1st”. so everybody rushes to buy the pre-release (that is assuming it’s a desirable product–or that there is enough hype).

It’s a similar principle as Indie GoGo i think — get enough contributions and the money is yours. you build a critical mass of donations to get your “cause” started.

hmmm… i have a cause i would like to raise funds for, i think

anybody else with business ideas?

e.g.”the fund to contract with new tech elves”– contributors get a free J.D. Roth e-book.” doesn’t have to be a non-profit deal, does it? there is a similar site that funds creativity in general. i’ll have to look up my archive but they fund inventions, etc.– “micro venture capital”

I think they can be good, but as with regular coupons only use these sites for things you would buy anyway.

Idea: in a month I’m going to spend a week holyday in a fabulous european city…I’ve bought 6 coupons for eating out during that period: man, I’m going to eat almost everyday in restaurants spending very little!!! And for activities as well!

As for the business side, I am a small business who did do a group buying offer on a local group buying site and was not at all unhappy.