Groupon offers an interesting way to save money on food, attractions and random activities and services in the LA area by providing volume discounts for a minimum number of purchases.
Groupon.be is a website that promotes volume discounts on certain products, attractions or events every day for each geographic region. The discounts are steep, but they are based on a minimum number of people accepting the offer. If the minimum is not reached by the deadline, no one gets the deal.
This means that if you purchase the deal offered by Groupon, but not enough other people participate, your credit card will not be charged and there is no deal. The minimum number to make up the group varies depending on the offer. Some businesses have found the offer so successful for their business that they keep them going indefinitely. Other businesses have complained that Groupon offers have nearly put them out of business.
Deals offered by Groupon.com range from small things, like half price on ice cream or discount rides at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, to $150 off an ocean view hotel room or $700 off laser hair removal.
Pros
New offer every day
Discounts on a variety of things
Significant discounts
Cons
If there are not enough people participating, you don’t get the deal.
There are a lot of complaints about customer service.