Posted on Groupon today. If you exclude the special Groupon discount (Bday10) the savings for this are terrible. 75c and $1.25.
Treetop Walk Experience, Child
$14.25 $15 | Save $0.75
Treetop Walk Experience, Adult
$23.75 $25 | Save $1.25
Have you seen any worse?
Made me cringe
This one - Xiaomi Piston Dazzle Earphones with Microphone for $22.95 Shipped at Groupon via Tinydeal springs to mind.
Problem is that it was $6.59 shipped straight from the retailer (now $4.59) who Groupon were reselling the deal from.
I was surprised that deal escaped with only 2 negative votes.
Lol…i dont understand how otherwise rational people impulse buy this sort of thing….just coz its on a deal site does not automatically make it a deal!
Yeah and the Groupon/TinyDeal rep actually posting it! Never did work out which company they repped, after the first few comments they got out of there fast!
The OP was associated with Groupon (it just showed Tinydeal temporarily due to the alt store, which we removed shortly after).
Sneaky
Wonder if they came back as a sockpuppet?
Usually easy to spot :)
Ask ham how many sockpuppets I've put away :P
@Spackbace: ham, how many sockpuppets has spackbace put away?
Do groupon / COTD reps reguarly post crap deals like the one you listed above?
Im guessing most dont get to see the light of day for long, with spackbace on the case, setting the pace
Lol I don't think many Groupon reps have posted. (Here ya go, only 1 rep has posted 3 deals)
And COTD reps - 1 post here, many here in 2014
@Spackbace: looks like COTD has really dropped of more recently….surprising on the groupon stats too - i thought they both would have a much stronger repping presence on ozbargain
Funny how the best reception either got was the great 'Catchbargain' hoax of 2014…gold
Thats groupon for ya….the misses far outweigh the hits.
Had a look through todays groupon deals….couldnt find anything worthy IMO
Dont know why i bothered
I think a lot of these 'deal' sites like groupon , COTD etc have had their day - the planets have to line up for a really good deal to be had with available stock of something you actually want + % off promos + free shipping etc
Too often i reckon people are just buying up the crap they want to off load - there a lot of 'buyers remorse' with such sites i reckon - some of whom are soon be walking among the trees
I think the deals that are beauty services are the worse.
$1000 of laser wrinkle therapy or similar for $50 - yeah sure.
Yeah some of the 'discounts' are ridiculous.
A business that advertises on Groupon isn't usually doing that well from what I seen.
A lot of businesses are told a bunch of bull by Groupon sales reps to get them to sign on in the first place….Businesses will give them a shot, get burnt and not return
Oh didn't realise that.
Not surprised though Groupon is company that needs to squeeze every cent out of their customers/partners.
@GameChanger: its just hard sales environment its not unique to groupon …happens a lot in digital media - sales reps come in and just say whatever they need to to get businesses to commit, as the client churn rates are pretty high so you always need more newbies on board
The reps stay for a year or so, collect a few decent monthly commissions, then bail leaving a trail of destruction.
new reps come in and the cycle starts again.
The actual business can always blame a rougue rep, who has since left the company…lbut they know darn well whats up
@pointless comment: I recall some on here having a bad experience with groupon restaurants. Suppose your comment explains why the restaurant didn't provide a great experience, the sale rep must of squeezed them and wowed them with stats to get them to accept a low/loss.
@GameChanger: consider this scenario: a restaurant commits to groupon, Groupon sells a bunch of discount meals…and a few weeks later your restaurant is packed on friday and saturday night with customers effectively only paying half price.
Weekends are where smaller places make their money so In order to actually turn A profit, they have to put on less staff - maybe even smaller meal portions
Customer leaves with bad experience, resatuarant never uses deal site again
I have an area that i wouldnt mind to get the wrinkles out of.
Not sure i trust a laser there though
unlimited laser on 1 area for 2 months - but you can only book once every 5-10 weeks (and its up to them what your required wait is)
so you get 1 session only
Sounds like something a relevant body should be investigating.
Shouldn't be called "unlimited"
Such a big saving :P
NOT!!
Websites like Groupon and COTD have become so big these days that people automatically assume the stuff on their is cheap.
I haven't had a look at the financials but going by Groupons deals lately I suspect they have a whole fan base of suckers that buy stuff often.
Lol….thats one of the bluntest comments ive seen on this site
Tell us what you really think?
I seen Groupon deals up voted a fair bit on here, it makes me sad that mindless voting occurs because people associate bargain with Groupon automatically.
Once again, pretty blunt
@pointless comment: Yeh tad harsh, Groupon does have some specific bargains. I think those site wide 20% off though creates an assumption things are really cheap.
@GameChanger: agreed. Some of the best ones inthis vein were dick smith (up to) 70% off sales where a few cheaper items had a big discount….but people still walked in the doors looking for a cheap macbook
COTD does a lot of this too - 70% off XS and XXL clothes but only 30% off RRP for average sized stuff. People chuck a bunch of crap their carts - some items at good prices, others not so much….pay, then a few weeks later after its almost forgotten, a mystery box arrives and BAM! As i said above, they have the buyers remorse
@pointless comment: Yepp, I think with online buys people are less inclined to return as the process take effort.
Quite like COTD. Have been burnt by Groupon because of stock arriving close to code, but have achieved refund back to my credit card. Just purchased a great deal for hotel in Phuket which is far cheaper than I could find on line through Scoopon. So, basically my advise is to not get over exited about the price & look carefully before pressing the " Buy Now" button. There are bargains to be had out there - just do a little further research before purchasing.
Yeh im sure there are still deals to be had for many people - ive bought from both groupon and COTD in the past - but the volume of their sales relies upon repeat patronage by the same buyers - thats why the most effective marketing Tactic they have is spam emails to the same people, several times a day, week in, week out, For ever more.
Have to agree with you there - but they are not spam mails - just annoyingly repetitive.We have had a couple of great holiday deals through Groupon + many fantastic restaurant deals through all of the major ones we get bombarded with. It's for that reason that we don't press the " un-subscribe" button.Should it be a problem into your life then just do that. We just press delete,delete,delete……………… !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What holidays deals have you taken?
Haha yeh me too buddy….you dont wanna miss the next bargain, no matter how long between drinks!
But "annoyingly repetitive" is a key characteristic of spam emails….just saying ;)
@GameChanger: no answer….maybe the phuket deal he got was short dated - like much product on these sites - and he had to drop everyting to jump on the plane
@GameChanger: I got a hotel in Bali once. Was on my short list, but I was about to cut it due to being more than others.
Than, between a discount code and cash back, it came up as the cheapest on my list. Loved the place, too.
If I see a deal that appeals, it only takes a couple of minutes to look on eBay. Often the item also appears there, at a much cheaper price. The latest craze on Groupon may well be something that has been on eBay with multiple sellers for months.
True, a lot of sellers just dump hard to sell product / services on groupon or cotd and split the sale with the deal site.
Cotd especially is notorious for this - a lot of stock is last seasons designs, odd sizes and factory seconds…truth is if cotd cant sell it, it would go to charity or landfill - in this context, in many cases you literally are buying junk
Also, while the actual company providing the good or service is prepared to accept say 50% of normal rate, the actual deal site marks it right back up to maximise their cut.
Thats why you see ridiculous stuff like the OP - its insulting that these mobs spam you 3 times a day telling you how to save 75c on a freaking tree top walk !!
Unlike a lot of you we do not spend 24/7 checking our mail.
So to answer your question - so far my husband & I have taken advantage of 5 holidays through both Groupon & Scoopon.
1 * JW Marriott in Kao Lak, Phuket 12 nights for Apx. $900.00 including full breakfast & airport transfers.
2 * Mantra in Nusa Dua Bali over Xmas & new year including full breakfast & airport transfers 14 nights upgraded to a suite for $1000.00
3 * Presidents Park Bangkok 12 nights including full breakfast ( no airport transfers but went through Viator to organize)
cheap though @ $800.00 for a suite
4 * Mantra Koh Samui ( near Fishermans Wharf ) beautiful views, full breakfast & airport transfers apx. $1200.00
5 * Sun Prime resort Kamala beach ( two hotels next to each other, 1 for families & ours for adults only) again over Xmas & new year including special meals for Xmas eve & new years 14 nights without airport transfers $ 1200.00
Have just booked another Scoopon deal for the Kata Sea Breeze Resort for August - 22 nights $ 1100.00 - full breakfast & transfers all above was total price for the 2 of us.
We spend a lot of time in Thailand, Bali etc. as we also cruise a couple of times a year.
Do hope this info. Is useful to you.
Also, polite responses would be greatly appreciated Gamechanger & Pointless Comment ( how appropriate that is )
Some nice prices there….looks like you really know how to wade through all the rorts these companies serve up!
And the prices for the both of you?
The deals seem pretty good, but I'm not entirely sure as Asia is generally very cheap for hotels any ways.
Check this latest one out Gamechanger. I checked every site before purchasing the Scoopon vouchers for Kata Sea Breeze which also includes a short massage each. A Thai dinner, signature cocktails & late check0ut. In addition I purchased 2 vouchers to make it up to the 22 nights we wanted - so the massages , dinners, cocktails will apply twice.
Nice
Would you say Sccopon is better for travel deals?
No, not particularly. We have obtained these deals with both Scoopon & Groupon. Some of the deals they offer you wouldn't even send your Mother- in - Law to ( if you didn't like her of course !) But others are really good value. I have been watching them for a few weeks now, so when this one appeared - decided that it was the best. We checked out all the reviews - apx. 90% were good - but then you always get the complainers ( if they had a free week in Buckingham Palace they'd still find fault with something ! ) This hotel is situated in the area we were hoping for - has great beaches & is easy reach to all main areas such as Patong - also to the very end where the beaches are spectacular.
In truth, the reason for this trip is for both of us to have some dentistry work done + a holiday - so much cheaper there, even though we have private insurance. Again after research we have booked a clinic in Patong which has top reviews - so Kata isn't too far away. Car hire is cheap so the holiday part should be good - even though we may not be able to sip our drinks without dribbling ! Hotel straws in handbag me thinks , to use.
Hope this may help you for any future trips planned.
Thanks for the reply
Do post the holidays you go on as bargains so we can have a chance of going on it as well!
I have bought Scoopon travel vouchers at steep discounts on ebay.
Thanks for the post made me LOL.