Groupon?

[sozzledchops]

anyone used this, especially for weekend trips/holidays? Not sure how it all works.

used it lots but not for hols. Ive looked at trip offers a few times, but they normally seem to work out cheaper elsewhere, or the reviews are terrible, so I'd be careful.

Groupon send a voucher, and you book directly with the person doing the deal. Ive used it loads for haircuts, and various other things too.

I have just booked mil and fil anweekend away through groupon fr Xmas. You just buy the deal a nd when it finishes you get a voucher. You then call the hotel direct and book. I am just going to give them the voucher and let them book it

YABU

Use it all the time, if you go through Quidco you get 5% discount. Also look at KGBdeals you get 15% discount if you go through Quidco first xx

I use it A LOT. Last week DP and I went to a sushi-making class. We paid £20 for something worth £140, it was us and 6 other people being taught and at the end we got to eat all the sushi. Was absolutely amazing, and would definitely recommend Groupon for anyone.

Have also done a photoshoot, had a full day of make-up tutorial, photography class, swarovski crystal earrings, a remote-control helicopter... the list is endless!

I use it a lot, kids toys, mattresses, beauty stuff. Never had a problem.

I've used it once so far, and using it this weekend for some wine tasting and next week for a hair cut and colour. I think as long as you pick and choose your deals ( I see quite a lot for things I could buy the same price elsewhere, such as toy kitchens etc) then you cant really lose. Unless you're addicted and buy a load of pointless things!

pud1 - be careful - because so many people buy vouchers and the deals are (usually) only available on specific days and for a couple of months it may be that by the time your PIL go to book their holiday that no dates are available.

I hadn't realised, but the company only gets half the offer cost that you pay and Groupon take the rest, so its worth considering whether you'll get a good deal for your money.

I bought a gas safety check - the man broke a piece of our boiler (then said he hadn't of course) and then turned my gas off until I called the company and got them to book him in to come back and fit the new part. I ended up paying a further £140 for a different company to come that day to replace the (£12) part. In addition to the £39 for the original check. The 2nd company queried why he had even removed the offending part - they'd have removed the whole unit, not just the small fragile bit.

I'm sure I was just unlucky, but I suspect that if they're only getting £20 for the call out then they're going to be looking for extra work?! I wish I'd thought it through more before booking the wretched offer. :(

I've also heard that some restaurants have special, cheaper Groupon menus, so you aren't getting as much of a saving as you'd think.

I have had very bad experiences with Groupon. Paid £28 for a carpet clean and couldn't get hold of the company - no one answered phone. Complained to Groupon who told me to keep on trying as there could be a lot of people trying to redeem their vouchers. I knew this wasn't the case, as the phone went straight to answer phone. Eventually Groupon admitted they had had a lot of trouble with this "partner" and would refund my money. That was 3 months ago and despite continual reminders it has not been refunded.

The Observer (Sunday paper) has been running articles on Groupon and there have been many complaints, eg when trying to book into a restuarant being told there were no spaces available as soon as the customer mentioned Groupon, and major difficulties in trying to book into other venues.

Many of the people in the articles are saying to always check with the "partner" first to see what the full price is as it may be cheaper than the Groupon price.

Just the luck of the drawer I guess.

I used it for a falconry experience. It was at a place I had visited before. I suspect if we had payed the full price then there would have only been a 3 or 4 people on experience instead of 15, but we did have a lovely time and it was worth the money.

I think you have to be careful of what you buy, and why they are doing it. Slightly concerned about the 50% cut! That seems an awful lot.

I have used it twice with good results - once for a course of laser hair removal and once for a restaurant deal. But at the initial consult for the laser I did say that if I was happy with it I would book direct next time, and be a long term customer... and recommend them to my friends... So maybe they made a special effort?

And restaurants are used to having a certain proportion of their tables filled at a lower cost (top table and so on) and they take the loss as a kind of marketing spend - the fuller the restaurant looks, the more people think they are doing well and will come in or come back. If that makes sense.

Having used both groupon & KGB I can say groupon are better with dealing with any issues. I bought a voucher from KGB for a restaurant kept calling them to book no answer I emailed KGB received no response. I have had haircuts with groupon quite a few times and also a fab few restaurant deals.