Group couponing sites give more bang for the buck
It must be the new “thing” — group purchasing of coupons for all sorts of goodies, saving you quite a bit while you still dine at the great restaurants, skydive for less, or get a handbag for a decent discount. These are based on time; perhaps you’ll have little more than 12-24 hours to sign up for a deal, and there are usually a limited number available. Of course, this often means there are hundreds available, but sometimes a deal is too good to pass up and you need to get there quickly.
Groupon was the first I noticed ‚Äî and it’s still the leading as far as I’m concerned, both in deals and site design [simplicity and clean graphics are key, folks!]. I’ve bought a few restaurant gift certificates here, a free 6-week Blockbuster online membership, and a dental cleaning. So far, it remains at the top of my web site check-ins most days.
3 O’Clock Club is an excellent site with several coupons per day ‚Äî generally $50 gift certificates can be had for $20. Deals begin at 3pm [hence the name]. Starting in October they’ll be giving $1 from each purchase to a charity, a nice bonus.
You’ve Gotta Get It is a bit new to me, but also offers good deals on restaurants and the occasional tooth whitening.
Woot! is techie heaven for computer goods and other electronics, and every time there’s a Woot Off, you can get even deeper savings.
There are new ones starting all the time, and I’m keeping an eye out. You, too, can sign up for future deals at BuyWithMe and We Give to Get. This last one is interesting because deals seem to be free, though it’s too new to be sure where the deals will go. $10 for free from RockIt Ranch seems decent, though!
9/27/10: Also launching soon: Dealadayonline.com We’ll be seeing a lot more to come, I’m sure. I’ll keep updating this post.
9/28/10: Another soon-to-be-launched: Livingsocial.com. Can’t wait to see what it offers!
10/19/10: Just found TwoBuckDuck.com [cute name!]. Lunch, desserts, manicures…
10/28/10: Chitowndeals is another up-and-coming site.
Disclosure: I have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product herein. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.
And Woot has subWoots– one for t-shirts, one for wine, and one for kids stuff.
Thriftista, there is a whole category of “deal of the day” sites you need to learn about. I’d file Woot! under that category, not group couponing. Check out Yugster.com for another great example. I routinely buy wine from Winestilsoldout.com – great prices, interesting wine not typically available in your corner store. My Fedex guy thinks we’re a couple of winos here given that’s the only thing he is ever delivering.
If you’re into clothes, housewares and jewelry at great prices (and who isn’t?!) sign up at these sites. Great designer merch, usually one or two designers at a time, at unbelievable prices:
Gilt
http://www.gilt.com/invite/terilg
Gilt Fuse
http://www.giltfuse.com/invite/terilg
Rue La La
http://www.ruelala.com/invite/terilg
Ideeli
http://www.ideeli.com/invite/terilg
There are more, but that’s a good start.
http://www.specialsagent.com features Specials Ops discounts and you can also search your neighborhood for daily specials by keyword (ie: sushi, burger, mexican)