Disclaimer: This post contains a referral. The referral gives me the following:
- Groupon: Gives me $10 credit when you purchase your first deal through referral links
- LivingSocial: Gives me $5 credit when you make your first purchase (without a promotional code/credit) within 72 hours of subscribing
- Scoopon: No referral
- Ouffer: Gives me $5 credit when you make your first purchase (without a promotional code/credit) within 72 hours of subscribing
- Cashrewards: Gives me $5 cashback when you earn cashback from a purchase
- PricePal: Gives me up to $5 “bonus” cashback when you sign up using my link
Groupon, Living Social, Scoopon, Ouffer – Discounted Dining, Experiences, Accommodation
Summary/TL;DR
Deal aggregators like Groupon, LivingSocial, Scoopon and Ouffer are a great way of finding discounted snacks, meals, accommodation, holidays, experiences, lessons etc.
This could be your next dinner date, driving lessons, car wash, dry cleaning, skydiving. There is a great variety of Groupons/Scoopons being sold and I would personally recommend you simply head over and have a look yourself to see if anything catches your attention!
If you do decide to purchase, don’t forget to click via Cashrewards/PricePal/Velocity eStore for extra cashback/points.
Groupon, Living Social, Scoopon, Ouffer – Discounted Dining, Experiences, Accommodation
Many people in the major capital cities of Australia are aware of the Entertainment Book. This is generally known as a book full of coupons for use at many popular restaurants, including cheaper places like Domino’s, McDonalds, etc. The more well known ones in Australia are Groupon and Scoopon.
I personally have a preference of buying Groupons/Scoopons over the Entertainment Book which I will discuss in another post.
Using these websites is a great way of discovering some lesser known businesses that you otherwise wouldn’t normally visit. In fact, in many cases you may not have even heard of the businesses. This may result in you discovering what I like to call “hidden gems”.
What you tend to find is the product/service on offer via Groupon/Scoopon will be cheaper than what their regular advertised price is in-store without a Groupon.
For those unaware, the concept around these websites is fairly simple. Keep in mind these are assumptions based on my understanding:
- Generally, the businesses listed on these websites are relatively new, lacking traffic, or just finding a way to stimulate demand. They leverage off a brand like Groupon/Scoopon try and “get their name out”.
- To do so, they sell their usual services/products at a discounted price. As an example, Ben & Jerry’s selling two scoops of Ice Cream at $4 via Groupon – normally $7.70.
- In return, the aggregators take a cut off each redeemed or each purchased voucher
The catch(es)?
- More limited availability compared to full paying customers
- Blackout dates and/or times and/or days of the week
- Minimum booking periods (i.e. must book at least 24 hours in advance)
- Expiry of vouchers
- Limited selection of services/products compared to regular customers
- A good example of this is restaurants – many of them have a different menu for Groupon/Scoopon customers with a more limited selection of food
- Generally a no refund policy
- In some cases, worse customer service compared to not having a Groupon
I personally have had largely positive experiences with Groupon/Scoopon and I don’t hesitate to use them. On the occasions when I do feel like I have had compromised service, I ensure the business and the aggregator know about it. My perspective is I do not expect to get bad service for using a voucher. I can accept the service I might experience would be secondary to full paying customers, but I do not accept bad service.
To their credit, the few times I’ve had to make complaints, Groupon and/or the merchant have been largely cooperative and reasonable.
Examples of Good Deals from Groupon/Scoopon
- Groupon: Lindt, Sharing Platter for Two People – $20
- Groupon: Amaysim, 2GB per month for 6 months – $20
- Scoopon: Jumbo Thai, Main Meal with & Coconut Water – $6 [Takeaway only]
- Living Social: Passionflower, Pancake/Crepe/Dessert – from $8
In addition to the above, you often find % discount codes that can be used at Groupon/Scoopon and sometimes Living Social. You may need to scroll down to see examples of the sitewide codes which come up from time to time. In the case of Groupon, they seem to come up every week!
And.. you can also get cashback or points!
Cashback:
Points:
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Spree
- Velocity eStore
The amount of cashback or points earned (generally at a rate per dollar) varies from time to time so it’s best you do your own research before deciding where to get the points or cashback from!
You generally won’t earn cashback when using coupons, but it appears the T&Cs are generally more lenient with earning points with the use of coupons.
These are not supposed to be stackable, although it has been reported that it is possible for it to stack, but there have been mixed reports.
That concludes my somewhat lengthy post about Groupon, Scoopon, LivingSocial and Ouffer. Feel free to leave comments and questions and don’t forget to subscribe!
