Deal of the Day Services – Are you smart enough to grab a good deal?
“Today’s Woot”, “Recommended for You”, “Best-Sellers” – familiar words, aren’t they? Well, if it’s about Deal of the Day services, I guess and Woot, Groupon and Amazon Local top it on the list of best companies. Everybody is always looking for a good deal whether it’s on food, travel, apparel, electronics, wine, or anything under the sun. But was that offer really a good deal to close? Hmmm.
If the price is right, most consumers always say it is a good deal. That’s right. But there are other things that you might just don’t know yet about Deal of the Day services. Maybe, it was really a bad deal offer.
I’m not here to discourage you. I’m here to make you smart with daily deals. There are hundreds of daily deal sites. They may have compelling web layouts and designs, but they’re just here to offer us a deal. Good or bad deal? You have to find out.
Here are my words of wisdom whether to grab a deal or not.
What you know, more or less, is that…
It expires in X hours. This is clever marketing: In stock: Polarized Sunglasses, 5 hours left or until sold out. And then here’s the big “ADD TO CARD” button. Will you grab it? Summer is coming, time is running down; go ahead darling.
It is discounted – $100 ($500) 80% off. That strikethrough is entertaining. Tap the item, choose between few more options on this offer for Italian Cuisine at Pizza Man, and you’re ready to click the “Give as a Gift”. Big savings, someone is hungry; go and click it.
It’s easy to “Add to Cart” and proceed to checkout. Amazon buyers, placing an order is just a 4-step process. You know that. That’s why it’s never been difficult to buy a deal and that’s why Woot also partnered with Amazon Payments. You can shop safely. It’s a speedy checkout.
Customers who viewed this offer also viewed… or Recommended based on your browsing history... Yes, you’re enjoying shopping for deals. Perhaps that’s what Deal of the Day sites want for you. So if they can extend your browsing time, they will.
Those were actually the typical stuffs that can easily convince you to grab a deal.
Here’s what you (might) just don’t know yet.
Let’s say you saw this excellent Getaway deal from Groupon daily deals. You booked a trip for 2 nights stay at Best Western Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, ON for only $94 (75% off). For a very important reason, you opted to cancel your trip. However, the book-by date (to the hotel) has already passed. Are you out the money you spent? No. Here is what Groupon says about it.
“If the book-by date passes and you haven't yet booked your trip, the promotional value is no longer valid but your voucher is still worth what you paid for it. You may use the paid value as a credit with the merchant toward the advertised experience only, unless the advertised experience is no longer available.”
There’s always a way to get a good deal. Sometimes, circumstances can turn a good deal to a bad one. But it’s not yet the end of the story because there are still options available to recoup your investment. Here are some of the best options to get a good deal.
Visit other Deal of the Day sites. You may not find the exact deal you want, but there are always good deals available for that same category.
Subscribe to Daily Deals site email list to be the first one to know about the good deals.
Analyze the numbers - sales stats, review ratings, deal specifics – and find out if they are really good deals.
Leverage the service offered by sites like DODTracker.com. They scour the web for up-to-the-minute offers (from sites like Woot and Amazon) and bring them all together on their page. (This one is new to me.)
They use your data for good reasons. It’s an ecommerce site anyway, same rules apply. They are tracking your activities so they can offer you better deals, if not spams on your inbox. Do you know how much was the U.S. consumer spending on daily deal websites last year? It’s a whooping 4.8 billion dollars, according to Statista. Now, can you imagine where statistics like this are coming from? From your activities on the sites, most likely.
You may find and get a good deal today, but tomorrow, maybe not. You have to exert efforts not just in searching, but also in understanding how those deals are being created and offered. Read the FAQs, join the forums, and know your rights as a consumer. At the end of the day, it’s still all about business and you always have to be smart on every deal of the day.
