If you are like me, your inbox has been filling up with daily offers from websites like Groupon, Living Social, and Zulily. For a while I felt like a kid in a candy store – so many deals and such little time! After chatting with some friends and thinking more about these sites, I started to realize while there are some real advantages to getting these deals, it’s not always so black and white. Here are some tips (and some common pitfalls) for using these sites.
- The main pitfall is what I call the “Costco Effect”. Like roaming around a huge boxstore and placing all of those wonderful little things you never know you needed into your cart, these sites can also be a trap to buy things we really don’t need. When you view these sites, go in with an objective eye and ask yourself if the deal saves you money on something you need before you buy.
- Pay attention to which sites most often have the best deals relevant to you. I signed up for five or six sites and started to notice which ones were most relevant for me. Specifically, I found the Amazonlocal.com with only one deal per e-mail was a waste of my time. Now I receive deals from only one or two sites on a daily basis, which saves me from the overload I once felt.
- Read the fine print. So, you’d like to find a gymnastics class for your child for the month of October and see one advertised on Groupon. It seems like a great deal until you read that you must attend four sessions in a row. If you are planning on being out of town for one of those weeks, you’ve just cost yourself the savings. Also know what it costs to attend a similar class at another local facility. Do you really need to spend the money on an elaborate facility when there is a great program at the community center down the street?
- Watch out for sites like Zulily. Yes, the merchandise is beautiful, but unless you were planning on purchasing an expensive outfit for school pictures or for an important event, don’t bother. Similarly, understand what you are signing up for. A cheap massage might be a good deal, but if it’s at a chiropractic clinic, you might spend half you time listening to a sales pitch for the rest of their services.
- Now for the positive! My family and I have had some really great experiences using these online coupons. My daughter got a very inexpensive horseback riding lesson as a treat for completing a perfect chore chart for the week. I got in the best shape of my life doing a two month boot camp, and a cage fitness class and my kids got some great entertainment with a cheap punch card which gave them hours of bouncing fun at a local bouncing house place on those rainy summer days.