Friday, May 27, 2011

Do You Groupon?

I rarely pay full-price for anything.  Some may call this cheap, but I think of it as the natural result of not having a limitless supply of money.  My wife knows that it often can take me months to buy something. First, I have to figure which version of the item has the best value. (I let the first adopters pay the big bucks, then I will round the corner sometime later.)  Once I know the item I want, I wait for a good coupon or sale; preferably both.

One of the items in my cost-cutting tool bag is Groupon.com.  If you aren't using it yet, you should.  It has the 2 for 1 value of an Entertainment book, without all of the clutter.  They post a local deal each day, be it food, entertainment, or services. I usually watch for stuff that is right in my area.  For example, I recently picked up a certificate to a local restaurant that was $20 for $10. Groupon keeps track of all the Groupons you have purchased, and you simply print them out when you are ready to use them (or use your Iphone app).  I have used about 20 Groupons so far, and have never had an issue.  They are even nice enough to remind me if one has been sitting unused for a while.

My favorite Groupon so far was the $49 for a family annual pass to the Clark Planetarium. We have probably been to the Imax and Dome theaters a half dozen times so far (plus, our pass includes a popcorn each with every movie).

Tonight my family will be going to Rumrz over at The District then heading to our local Redbox.  The price of both visits will be substantially reduced courtesy of Groupon.

If you haven't tried them yet, click here to check them out.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I will get a free Groupon if you sign up through my click...  win-win.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I use groupon but it has not been of much value. I think it is superb for city dwellers but for those of us who live 60-80 minutes from a major city the deals are rare.

I do subscribe to the Detroit groupon. a few food restaurants I would like to eat at in the motor city if the price is right.

Bob said...

Loved this. My wife is Groupon Queen! It's like, "How can I afford NOT to do this????"

We had to have a discussion about it, though, as she was buying things like 1/2-price smoothies and we never buy smoothies!

For restaurants we frequent anyway? A great value.

The vendors who use them have mixed reviews. They have be to be willing to take an initial loss on the hope of getting more traffic. For some it works and they get permanent customers (although I got my 1/2 price smoothie and that was it). For others, it's just a loss.

For savvy consumers, it's definitely a win.

Andrew said...

Yeah, I have read a few economics articles that basically say "enjoy it while you can" because this model will not be able to sustain itself.

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