If you are a regular reader of yay-today, you know that we are big fans of the group discount website explosion- you know, the websites that offer a big discount at businesses both local and national businesses. It seems like a new one pops up just about every day, but some are definitely better than others. In the past, we’ve highlighted several of the newer upstarts, but today, we’re going to share a couple of tips and tricks so that you can get the most out of the great granddaddy of all the group coupon sites- Groupon.com.
Groupon.com started the coupon movement, so it’s no surprise that they also have a bunch of added features that other sites don’t. In case you aren’t familiar with the basics, you sign up for a daily email from Groupon that contains a coupon- most expire at midnight that day- that offers discounts up to 90% off of the goods or services of a select business. A lot of groupons deal with restaurants or spa/beauty services, but Groupon especially has branched out lately, offering discounts on activities (stadium tours, local cruises, arts classes, etc) as well.
Let’s be honest- you aren’t going to go gaga over every deal you see. But when a deal that is right up your alley does come up, why pass it up? Thanks to Groupon, I’ve eaten really fancy meals at 1/2 price, done a ton of yoga for less than $20, and drank enough discounted coffee to keep me awake for a solid year. Here are some of my favorite tips for finding the best deals and getting my money’s worth when using Groupon.com:
So give Groupon a try. If you need even more prodding, the super nice @MarieGrouponSEA (follow her on twitter for bonus Groupon scoop!) has given us some Groupon swag to give away. Leave a comment on this post telling us the best group discount coupon you’ve ever bought and you’ll receive $25 worth of credit for your Groupon account! (And yes, dear readers, this can be used anywhere in the country, so non-Seattlites are welcome to enter as well.)
You have until Friday (10/29/10) at midnight to comment. The lucky winner will be announced Monday!
Although I usually go for restaurant/food-related Groupons, my standout so far was for SEVEN Salon. I got one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had, had fantastic service, got free chocolate at the end, and paid half the price!
The Gap groupon was pretty sweet… I got an awesome sweater and my husband got a new pair of jeans. Woo hoo!
I used one at Liberty for sushi and cocktails, it was a fun night!
Definitely the Groupon for the dozen Trophy Cupcakes!
I tend to go for the food ones. My favorite place that so far that I’ve been introduced to via Groupon is Pasta Freska on Westlake. We left having drank a lot of good wine and ate delicious food.
Since you can’t go wrong with discounted fancy food, I’ll have to say that the deal I got at Emmer and Rye was pretty fantastic, and allowed me to try a restaurant I was interested in but may not have made the effort to actually try. I’m also happy that my awesome stylist is offering deals at her great new salon!
Best deal ever was the discounted Lark certificates!
Counter Burger….mmmmmm…..
$8 for $25 worth of chocolate dipped fruit at Edible Arrangements…huge discount! I haven’t decided to use it as a gift or eat the fruit myself.
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