9 Year Mortgage on the Secrets of Daily Deal Sites

Have you ever heard of Groupon, LivingSocial, or any of the hundreds of other daily deal sites? In short, sites like these offer their members steep daily discounts at local restaurants, stores, events, photographers, spas or nearly anything you can imagine you can buy. A free membership to a site that saves you money sounds great to us here at 9 Year Mortgage! But as always, advertisers are tricky and make it so easy for us to look past some of the little details that could cost us some money or time later. For this reason, 9 Year Mortgage has configured a list of 10 things you should know about daily deal sites that they won’t tell you themselves.

1. 40 out of 100 People Will Not Use the Coupon

Buyers remorse, busy schedules, or uninterested recipients are just some of the many reasons businesses have found that nearly 40% of the “deals” or vouchers purchased online are never redeemed. It turns out that the great deal customers think they’re getting is not always worth the time to use, either that or personal training sessions bought as a gift for a wife is sending the wrong message. So why would a business agree to provide a deal through a site like these when the objective of doing so is to get new clientele and customer loyalty? 9 Year Mortgage believes that it is simply because 40% of what they sell is free money- no work needs to be done in order to obtain it; any business would agree that that sounds like deal. On the other side of the deal is the customers, and their dilemma is to decide which site to purchase their deal off of. If a buyer is patient enough they could snag the original deal for an extra 10% off or more on sites like DealsGoRound and CoupRecoup a few weeks later. Sellers go to sites like these and sell the remainder of the unwanted deals at discounted prices.

2. 50% Off? Not Likely

The promised discounts of 30% to 50% off  or better at a local store or restaurant seem nearly irresistible right? Well, sorry to break the news that your newest purchase may not seem as great of a deal once you factor in an unpaid portion of the bill, a tip, and taxes.  Because businesses only receive around 25% of what the buyer pays for the voucher, we are finding more occurrences of price discrepancies over what was originally offered. To avoid paying more than expected 9 Year Mortgage suggests looking at the terms and conditions of the voucher before you purchase it. Pay careful attention to the valid dates, participating locations, and any extra charges you will be responsible for when you decide to redeem your voucher.

3. Having a Hard Time Cashing In? You’re Not Alone

Have you ever realized that is was the day before a coupon or gift card expired, after which your realization was followed by a mad dash to the store to get your deal? It is guaranteed that you are not the only one that does this, and businesses on daily deal sites are experiencing the same thing. It seems that deals for 75% off at a spa or fitness classes are not only appealing to you, but to hundreds of others who receive the same daily deal offer. Businesses like these are finding that people who purchased their vouchers are coming in to redeem the offer the week or day that the deal ended. Businesses like this, who require an appointment, are having a hard time meeting the needs of these last minute cash ins. If the business is unable to extend the dates the voucher is valid, you may not be able to use your voucher. To avoid such a problem, try scheduling early (even if you schedule for the last week the voucher is valid) or locate the refund policy on the daily deal site if you’ve already missed your deadline.

4. Limited Time Offer? Try Another Site

As mentioned previously, patience can earn you the same deal at a cheaper price on an alternative site. If you forget to check your email for your daily deal and find it has expired, don’t get upset because chances are the same deal will surface on another daily deal site in a couple weeks. Although there is a restriction on how soon another daily deal site can offer the same promotion, there is no restriction if the business wants to offer the same deal on their personal website or facebook page. So if you find yourself regretting your forgetfulness, try holding out for a couple weeks or visiting the actual company’s website to find a similar offer.

5. Having a Hard Time Staying Open

It is no exaggeration when9 Year Mortgage says that one new daily deal site is opened every day, with a total of at least 600 in existence. Some sites target the general public, while others focus on cities, certain religions, hobbies, organizations or lifestyle. Although Americans are always looking for the best deal and would never pass up a coupon or discount if offered, these sites are having a hard time obtaining and retaining customers, as well as finding businesses who want to participate. To top it off, only 75% of the businesses who find a way to stay in business actually offer a new deal every day. If you try buying from a smaller daily deal site, 9 Year Mortgage recommends that you do a background check on it first, and use a credit card for your purchase. By doing so, you ensure that the company will uphold the deal purchased if the site goes out of business, either that or your credit card company will cancel the charge.

6. Background Checks on Merchants Are Not Fool-Proof

Customers of daily deal sites are no strangers to being ripped off when it comes to the deals they purchase. It could be as simple as a photographer claiming anothers work as his or her own to obtain customers or raising the price of the item while it is offered as a deal. When such events are recognized many sites will discontinue the deal in order to prevent any more unsatisfied customers and ultimately a bad reputation. However,  these occurrences seem to be rare enough due to the extensive background check that is done before a daily deal site will work with them. It has been said that only 1 out of 7 applicants will be approved by such sites. Even though these sites go through a rigorous process to find reliable business, 9 Year Mortgage strongly suggests that you do your own background check on the business before you purchase any deal.

7. Diminishing Deals

It seems odd that even though one third of businesses who offered their specialties on a daily deal site were unprofitable, that 95% of businesses say they would do it again or recommend it to another business. These companies may use the a daily deal site just for the publicity and hope for future customers, but because of such lack of success and lost money, we might start seeing smaller limits on how many vouchers can be sold. It is suspected that eventually daily deal sites will also put limits on the deals, as to the time of day an offer can be used, or only advertise a new product or service.  If you want to purchase a voucher without any “gotchas”, then 9 Year Mortgage suggests that you check the terms and conditions or special limitations before you buy it.

8. You Are a Penny-pincher…

Pay $10 for $20 worth of food? Sounds good to us! On the other side of things, the businesses who actually deal with customers with vouchers are not always as enthusiastic as us. Restaurants or Home-delivery deals that are bought online often cause the business more pain rather than pleasure. Voucher purchasers are frequently unwilling to spend more than the voucher is worth, including tipping the server or purchasing a drink or appetizer. Other business owners have found that customers with vouchers will often take advantage of the deal, trying to get three for one, purchasing more vouchers than is allowed, or trying to use them at invalid store locations. When such attempts occur, businesses are faced with the choice of allowing it or refusing it, although the latter often results in complaints and negative publicity. To avoid such negative attention, most businesses are forced to succumb to such customers. As a result to these customer schemes, customers and 9 Year Mortgage clients alike may be seeing gratuity included with future deals or other additions to avoid customers skimping-out on purchases.

9. …And You Are Still Over-spending!

How can someone pass up their life dream of skydiving, especially when it is for 1/4 of the price? Most can’t is what daily deal sites are saying. Deals featuring activities like sky diving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, flight lessons, or scuba diving lessons seem to get a lot of attention and buyers.  If such deals were not being offered on daily deal sites, you have to wonder if such individuals would take part in the activity if it was full price? 9 Year Mortgage believes that you and many others wouldn’t, or at least not at this point in time.  Offers like these or even 10 for the price of 5 cupcakes seem to be nearly irresistible to many, which are causing them to buy things they normally would not. Because of such deals, you and many others could be way overspending.

9 Year Mortgage Wraps it Up

9 Year Mortgage is always looking for ways that their readers and customers can save some money, and we are aware that belonging to a daily deal site is helpful at doing just this. Just remember that if you find that you have missed a deal you just have to have, check different sites in the following weeks to find one similar. Don’t trust purchasing a voucher from just any site, do your research and find out how reliable the company is. Once you have your voucher, 9 Year Mortgage encourages you to use it well before its deadline in order to escape the ineligibility that a lot of last minute users face. Most importantly, 9 Year Mortgage reminds you that you do not need every deal that is offered nor  do you need to take part in extreme deals; always ask yourself  “Would I normally purchase this if it were at its regular price?”. If you find yourself saying no, then more often than not, you don’t need it. With these helpful hints in mind, 9 Year Mortgage says Happy Daily Dealing!

 

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