Groupon....Great deals or scam?

paddypaws101

Has anyone else had dealings with Groupon??
So far, in my experience...if a deal looks to be too good to be true, it probably is!

adelight

I've never used it but Ijust had a look and it seems okay? Most of the deals you could get elsewhere though, the holiday and spa packages are just like the ones on travelzoo, and you can find loads of meal offers online.
Personally, i'd source offers from a few different sites so you can get them instantly not through this group thing.

red

i have used them a few times and think i have had a pretty good experience overall. i have found it is great for trying and coming across places i would not necessarily try or know about otherwise. on the good side, i have found a couple of salons that i would not have tried, but that is not to say i would necessarily return! my best experience so far was with a hair appointment i made but i gave the voucher to my mum and i have to say she has had the best haircut we have ever seen her with....

i have only gone for service type things - massages, hair cuts etc - and have been impressed that there is a person on a freephone number you can discuss problems with...so far, the only one that i have had is a voucher i am trying to get a refund on as the salon say they are too booked up to be able to redeem before it runs out.

my experience has led me to realise it is easy to be seduced by a great deal miles away but try to avoid doing this as you will probably never make the appointment and then lose your money. that said, it is worth going for and i think groupon are one of the better group buying sites out there.

paddypaws101

Thanks Red...but come on there must be more people out there who have used the site?
I will give you 2 examples of my experience so far.....
1) I bought a voucher for microdermabrasion....great price...called the clinic numbers ooh, 20 or 30 times and never got an answer. Drove down to the closest branch and far from being a swanky modern salon it looked more or less derelict. Not the place I would choose for a specialist procedure. I have applied for a refund on that one.
2) I am actually a therapist myself...and yesterday got a random phone call from a man professing to be part of a swanky Harley st clinic with a queue of clients asking me to set something up for them. I declined.
Today I look at Groupon and I see a Harley st clinic offering this particular treatment having sold nearly 1000 coupons. Too much of a coincidence, so I am pretty sure this guy has advertised this deal and has NO equipment and NO therapist.

morocha

mm interesting..
i just bought my first voucher last week. ipl treatment, i rang the place and i have an app in november just like i wanted... i searched for the place and it looks a good one.
but the deals looks to good to be true..

mogwai

i ahve bought a few things on there - massages, afternoon teas, laser treatments, and all been ok. Really happy about my laser deal, saved a packet there (several thousands) as Ive been meaning to do this for ages, and have been in already for my consultation/first session - all fine.

One way to make sure you are not buying a rubbish deal is to check out the place online before you book it (im really dozy and do this after ive booked it, but no really probs yet)

Have fun with it, it gives you a chance to try out new things without breaking the bank!

morocha

u mind telling me the name of the place ,please mogwai?

Princess_kate

I have bought quite a few vouchers throught them & have been very impressed.

jenniewb

I bought the emusic voucher which was advertised on here a few weeks ago. I paid £18 and got 150 tracks. I did as advised and made sure I was happy with what I was getting first which is what I'd advise anyone else to do if at all possible. Ring ahead, ask questions before pressing the card-details submit button. I had no problems with my voucher or using it but have heard others had issues with spa days and hair treatments and not being able to get hold of salons or companies.

Its hard to know who would be to blame for that, groupon obviously don't vet who they use for their codes so maybe the only thing to do is to make sure you know who your dealing with yourself.

Wahanda do great deals similar to this- not been let down yet.

amyb_2

I’ve purchased 5-6 vouchers in the last few months, and have just bought one for acupuncture / acupressure and hot cupping.

I only really go for the hair and beauty type treatments

Everyone has been easy to redeem, and the salons all salons I would be happy to pay to go to. As someone else has said I do always research them on the internet before hand – although most of what I have booked have been for salons I seen before anyway. Bizarrely I leave in a small village/suburb and so many of the offers have been within walking distance of my house.

For me it means I can treat myself to things I wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to (or get ‘extras’ i.e. cut and colour for the price of basic cut)

I went to one salon, and they tried to get me to sign up for a ‘pay monthly’ direct debit plan for their services and explained using Groupon was actually a cheap way for them to advertise and build client base. There was no pressure (and I was/am interested).

I would recommend using Groupon for this sort of thing to anyone. I would be more wary of the credit voucher type deals and I know from reading the Grabbit forum more people have had issues with these ones.

sabre50

I ordered my first voucher recently for a massage. Not had it yet but looks promising. Also I recently registered on topcashback and discovered Groupon is on there so if you go through them to order vouchers you should get 10% cash back on top of the original saving.