Trading Floor

Discussion: 10 Comments

• Posted by Leena on August 3, 2010 8:38 PM

  I started using Groupon about 2 months ago. I started looking at it because a friend kept suggesting it. I soon found reduced priced tickets to a tennis event. I also found a discount on wine shipments from an online store. After purchasing two wine groupons I tried to use one only to find that the wine could not ship to my home in Rhode Island. I wrote to groupon siting the lack of detail in the fine print of this offer. They promptly replied and refunded my money. I have nothing but good things to say. It also is nice to see local businesses that I actually visit popping up on the daily groupon.

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• Posted by Steve Strom on August 4, 2010 6:21 AM

  I am a huge fan of Groupon.

  I keep an eye on the deals. There is a hoarding mentality that I’ve fallen into in the past. I am aware of how my mind works and have been pretty good about buying only the Groupons I will use within a short time.

  I bought my first Groupon in March when a restaurant in my neighborhood had a great offer. As I would be going to the restaurant no matter what, so I bought the max that day.

  A few more notes: * I have two Groupons for cities I will visit in the next few months. (I live in Boston and the Groupons are in NYC & SF.) * I tend to avoid Groupons that expire in just 2 or 3 months. * I use the Groupon iPhone app which I love. * I have spent maybe $200 on Groupons * I have gotten about $50 bucks in referral bonuses.

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• Posted by Lucy on August 17, 2010 2:49 PM

  I got a half price set of tickets for a local yoga studio. When I signed up I had a cold, and somehow didn’t get around to getting the tickets until too late. The yoga studio was very rude & would not let me use he Groupon thing after the date. So instead of getting cheap yoga classes I was out $45. I will never use Groupon again.

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  Response to Lucy
  Posted by Linus on August 26, 2010 1:42 PM

  I’ve used Groupon many times before, and was a big fan. But now I’m reconsidering after reading Lucy’s post. I had no idea that they sent out magic mind-control rays that forced you to wait until after the coupons expired! And for the yoga studio to actually expect you use the coupon before the clearly-communicated expiration date? Why, I’ve never heard of such an absurdity!

  Groupon is clearly at fault here, and the boycott is well-deserved. Way to stand up for your consumer rights, Lucy!

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• Posted by Randy on August 20, 2010 2:45 PM

  I subscribe to and use a few on-line deal sites including Groupon. I have found these sites offer some really great deals from all types of local businesses that usually offer 50% off or more. I often find services and businesses I would not have been aware of or even thought about using (they’re awesome for creative date and gift ideas AND saving alot of coin at the same time!)

  I live in San Diego and have purchased from a few of these types of sites with both good and bad experiences. The one I seem to continually have the best experience with in San Diego is a site called TheDailySave.com They tend to have much better deals and a wide variety of offers from all types of businesses. Every business I have dealt with though them have been extremely cool and 2 actually allowed me to use my deal coupon even though it had expired! I dont know if this is the case with all of them but this was my experience twice through TheDailySave.com site deals.

  In my experience I think they are a great idea and I use them to save a ton of money on things I normally use and things that are such a great deal that it’s fun to try!

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• Posted by Misti on August 26, 2010 4:25 PM

  I don’t use groupon. I don’t use coupons, either. Nor membership discount cards, nor credit cards.

  I prefer to pay full price, actually. (I stop shopping at stores if they put pressure on their staff to push memberships, either. Goodbye, Kroger.)

  It’s not that I’m rich. Actually money is pretty rough for us, these last couple of years, in spite of the huge garden, canning, and foraging.

  But I am convinced that the ‘more for less” and “instant gratification” mentality we’ve succumbed to in these last 40 years are damaging us more than we can begin to realize. I am also not willing to do business wit someone who intends to turn around and sell my information to profit from me twice.

  Instead, I do business with local people, I pay them what their goods and services are worth, and we all benefit.

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  Response to Misti
  Posted by Kelly on August 29, 2010 8:02 AM

  I work in a resturant that decided to go a groupon. I think the resturant sold about 1500. I can not believe how many guests made copies of their original groupon and tried to use it again. It is really sad when you have to go back to a table and say ” I’m sorry sir this has been used before do you have another one” knowing that the guest is dishonest and trying to take advantage of the system.

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  Response to Misti
  Posted by Steve Strom on August 30, 2010 8:14 PM

  I agree that an “instant gratification” attitude is prevalent. I am not immune to it, but try to be self-aware.

  I tend to do business with local people and was ticked at Groupon’s Gap coupon. I was in the minority that day.

  I too, worry about my information online and what might be done with it. Still, I post comments on websites with links to that information. Seems like it gets out there whether it’s through Groupon, APM or Google.

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• Posted by A. Anderson on December 20, 2010 12:06 PM

  I’m a big fan of Groupon — have been using for almost a year now. I posted my first Groupon experience to Facebook and had at least one friend thank me for trying it and making sure it actually worked.

  This past weekend, I used three Groupons:

  On Friday night, we went out for BBQ to a place I’d been meaning to try. Paid $10 for $20-worth of food — spent another $30 while we were there. I “checked in” on Facebook and had several friends comment they’d like to go there sometime.

  On Saturday afternoon, played glow-in-the-dark mini-golf for half price, then stuck around for the arcade. I’ve already recommended it to a friend and will likely provide a positive Yelp review.

  On Sunday, had half-price front-row tickets to see a live performance of Handel’s Messiah. I’d never heard of the event, or even the venue, before seeing the Groupon. My boyfriend had never seen a live orchestra before the event. Thanks to Groupon, we’ve just expanded our entertainment horizons.

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• Posted by Nelum on December 27, 2010 9:00 PM

  I work at a family-owned restaurant and have dealt with the Groupon, Dealzon, Restaurant.com, MetroDiningClub fiasco. Groupon is a good deal for a customer, no doubt about that! However, customers often don’t read the fine print, so when they see their bill and find out alcohol is not a part of the coupon or that their appetizer won’t be discounted, they get angry with their server. In the end, the restaurant is down a chunk of change and the customer leaves unhappy.

  I would personally prefer that my restaurant discontinued their Groupon participation as well as all these other coupon deals found on the internet. Perhaps then we could just simply lower our prices.

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