Groupon, keep on keepin’ on with your daily deals and endless savings

Lately I’ve been hearing all the rage about this new online coupon website called Groupon. When my cousin recently purchased a grocery delivery deal from it, my interest peaked.

Basically, Groupon features a daily product (examples include maid service, restaurant gift certificates, painting classes, personal trainer, etc.) at a ridiculously good price, usually at least 50% off of the regular price, if not more. If enough people agree to buy the product at the reduced rate, then it happens. “Collective Buying Power.” To be clear, the deal will only occur if enough people want it, but usually that is not the issue. In fact, I’ve seen the deal sell out before! Also, once you buy the Groupon, the deal lasts for a while, so it’s not like you have to rush out and use the product in the next week or something.

At first I wasn’t sure what I thought about this idea, but since signing up to have the daily deal emailed to me, I’ve become more and more intrigued. Today I decided to purchase my first Groupon deal: an oil change at Groovy Lube Automotive for only $16, as opposed to the usual $36, giving me a 56% discount and an extra $20 in my pocket (which I desperately need!).

Knowing myself, I can see how I could use Groupon as an excuse to shop…dangerous. With how much I’d be saving on my daily purchases, I’d be rich though, right? Oh, wait, it doesn’t work that way. However, I do think Groupon is really practical for purchasing things one would be buying anyway and, okay, I’d be open to an exceptionally good splurge deal. It is still saving, after all!

I think what I like most about Groupon, is that it tries to support local Austin businesses. For example, here are some of the recent past deals:

• $32 for a ($65 value) family membership to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• $8 for a ($17 value) large special pizza from Southside Flying Pizza
• $49 for a ($125 value) 90-minute acupuncture or massage session at Dragonfly Wellness
• $85 for a ($199 value) queen room and breakfast for two at Mansion at Judge’s Hills
• $35 for a ($85 value) segway tour from Segway Nation

I haven’t gone through the whole process of actually using my Groupon yet, but so far, it’s been easy and fun. My cousin, Taylor Anne, has great experiences as a Groupon Customer as well. They also have cool features, such as for businesses to buy in bulk and for the Groupon deal to be given as a gift.

To check out the daily deals and even sign up for a daily email, visit their website at: http://www.groupon.com/austin

-Shannon