More online shopping from me..
So I might be one of very few,but I actually do check my junk inbox (keeps me occupied while at work).. hoping that one day I will come across an amazing deal from the many many deal websites that I subscribe to. And one day I did finally come across something I was mildly interested in! Yay!
So my friends and I recently purchased a deal on livingsocial for a midweek trip to Rye. We have locked in dates and very excited to go!
The only other experience with purchasing or participating in online deals was when my friend and I decided to claim one of those Facebook offers for a $10 breakfast deal at Pancake Parlor. At first, I thought, ‘wow! $10! So good!”, But little did I know, that wasn’t the case. It was just an average meal- nothing exciting and noting went wrong, so why did I feel let down? I can pin point it to Facebook. Other people’s comments and the amount of likes had set up expectations for me in my mind. I haven’t claimed another offer to date.
Popular deal websites
However, I am hugely excited to go on this trip. Don’t get me wrong- I definitely had my reservations before booking! Will it be a scam? Is this too good to be true? How do I know this is legit? Am I really getting value for my money?
Having also read other experiences (namely for deals.. food ones especially), it definitely made me reluctant because of high expectations and the perceived value for money. This is also goes back to meeting someone on one of my recent travels who works in the customer service team for one of the deal sites. She said the main thing to look out for was the Terms and conditions and to read the inclusions very carefully, so you know what you are expecting.
An article from Mashable outlines why daily deals are here to stay. The main points for the intense trend in daily deals and social buying are the fact that customers want more value for their money, businesses will reap rewards, and the market is maturing, but still growing (at least in the US it is). However this is only one side to the debate. The main arguments against, particularly from the business owners is that it does not encourage loyalty as customers are constantly looking for better deals, and more ways to save money. That is, these social buying sites and online deals are attracting the wrong kind of customers. What do you think?
Can anyone share with me any hints or tips for buying these deals? Have I walked into a scam? Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with these deal sites? Please do share- I love reading other people’s experiences and stories!
Here a video right from the horses mouth to convince you into group buying. Just for fun 🙂
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