Groupon Secrets: How to Save Money in Online Shopping
Groupon offers great deals on tons of different products, including lots of things you probably need to buy anyway, like food and cleaning supplies. If you want to save money using Groupon, it’s important to keep these secrets in mind while shopping. Otherwise, all your hard work may go to waste if you aren’t getting the most out of your Groupon discount codes!
Use the following feature
Groupon offers steep discounts on everything from wine tours and clothing to massages and manicures. While many of these deals are too good to pass up, Groupon doesn’t always alert users when prices drop after they’ve purchased a deal. To make sure you’re getting every pound’s worth, sign up for Groupon emails. By doing so, you’ll receive an email notification whenever a deal drops in price; then go ahead and buy that same deal on a later date if it’s still less expensive than normal—no discount code required! Make sure you check out Groupon Goods as well. Here you can find deep discounts on new products like wearables, jewelry, and electronics.
Buy from sellers who have a good business reputation
It’s one thing to buy a product that is defective or doesn’t live up to its marketing claims, but it’s an entirely different scenario when you lose your money because of a fraudulent seller. It’s not unheard of for sellers on group-buying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to change their contact information—perhaps because they are flakey or have sold out of inventory—or shut down their businesses after selling thousands of pounds worth of goods at half price. To protect yourself, look up customer reviews and take care of merchants with whom you don’t feel confident. You can find addresses, phone numbers, and other basic information about online sellers by using websites like Yelp and Google Maps.
Don’t get excited about saving money
If you’re buying something online, take a quick moment to think through whether it’s worth getting. Is there an alternative that will serve your needs just as well but cost less? If so, you might be able to save some money by doing without a Groupon offer. But even if you do end up using a deal, don’t let the excitement over how much you are saving cloud your judgment. After all, if it was such a great deal, why would Groupon need your help paying for it? Steer clear of any deals that seem too good to be true and remember that discounts are not only about price—your goal is to get good value for money. That can come in many forms. Are there useful extras included with the product?
Don’t expect much customer service
Groupon is a deal aggregator, meaning they find deals and pass them on to you. That’s it. You’re not dealing with a merchant, so you’re unlikely to get any kind of customer service if something goes wrong. And honestly, that’s probably for the best – Groupon is trying to offer you more than awesome prices; they want your business. Use Groupon secret discount codes to save more money. On top of the already substantial savings opportunity on Groupon, you can save extra money with another secret tip: that is, by using a Groupon discount code. For example, new users can get an extra 30% off with a voucher code! Not bad! You can also find discount codes for already active users that can get you from 5% to 25% off!
Check shipping costs
When you’re buying online, shipping costs are an often-overlooked portion of your final purchase price. But if you don’t check shipping prices before making a purchase, it can end up costing you more than you originally intended. If a vendor doesn’t list their shipping policies (or they don’t make it clear that they charge per item shipped), read carefully through product descriptions and reviews to see if anyone else has experienced high or hidden shipping costs. Do be aware, however, that retailers will sometimes list products as having free shipping when, in fact, they only ship items within certain zip codes for free or will have different policies depending on whether or not you sign up for their email list.
Bundle deals only make sense if you need multiple items
If you’re going to take advantage of a bundle deal, make sure you need all of them. Often, we’ll buy two items for a discount when one item is all we want. Sometimes, we buy additional items because they were on sale, even though it wasn’t something we needed at that time. When that happens, don’t fall into temptation and buy additional items because of impulse—think about whether or not those extras will become clutter in your house. If it won’t go with anything else you have, or if you don’t know how often you’ll use it, think twice before purchasing it. Groupon is meant for finding deals on products and services that interest you—don’t let extra goods become an unnecessary burden!
Read all purchase conditions carefully
It may be easy to breeze through terms and conditions, but you must read every last one. After all, even Groupon sometimes imposes additional charges on specific purchases or shipping destinations. If your order goes over a certain price point, for example, you may have to pay more than what Groupon originally told you. It’s best to know as much as possible before finalizing your purchase—and we recommend taking notes along the way (If there are additional fees and it wasn’t stated upfront, would you still buy from that store?). If you don’t want any surprises during checkout, always check back with Groupon periodically for updates. They can change their policies at any time without notification.
Check reviews on independent websites, like Google or Yelp
If a website isn’t well-known, it’s probably best to avoid it. The same goes for sites without an established track record of happy customers. If you find customer testimonials from unbiased sources—like Google or Yelp reviews—take them seriously. A review with five stars doesn’t guarantee a company is trustworthy, but one that has received multiple complaints is worth being wary of.
