A recent trip to Chipotle with a coupon redeemed from a random Facebook advertisement bought me two burritos for the price of one. When a friend gave me the coupon, the deal seemed too good to be true, but the coupon was in fact legitimate. And according to the Chipotle cashier, many burrito-buying customers had brought in the exact same coupon throughout the week.
Recently, many daily deal websites have increased advertising for their services. Coupons like the one from Chipotle can be found in the “sponsored” section on the right side of the Facebook home page. Another social buying company called LivingSocial has begun advertising during the ad segments featured on Pandora Radio.
These websites are one of the newest trends in social media. They offer free coupons for daily deals on products and services in your neighborhood. Well, at least the subscription is free. Once you give the website your email address, they send you daily deals via email. If you want a particular deal, you must pay for it online before the day is over.
Student Monica Cowdery heard about LivingSocial from her mom a few months ago, when she convinced her to subscribe. Since then, Cowdery has bought 10 yoga classes for $20 for a studio on 6th Ave. and $20 worth of food at Marlene’s, a local health foods store, for only $10.
“One email a day is kind of a lot, but when you get an offer for a deal you’re interested in, it’s ok,” Cowdery said, adding that “it is a nice way to get out and support the local Tacoma community, which I would have done anyway. But getting a deal is nice.”
Groupon.com is another website that offers daily deals. However, it offers deals on products and services that are more typically done with a group of people. One of the most recent deals was for movie tickets to the new film “The Lincoln Lawyer.”
Tickets were $6 and each person could buy up to two tickets, encouraging multiple sales per person. The only catch seems to be that tickets must be bought via Fandango.com and obviously used before the movie leaves theatres.
Student Wilson Bailey used Groupon.com to buy $50 worth of American Apparel clothing for only $25. Bailey said that he had a positive experience with the website and doesn’t “really care about getting an extra email every day. It is worth it to get all those emails when you finally get one that is 50 percent off something you really would buy.”
Bailey commented that the majority of the deals were for trips and activities and not just products. Deals of the past week have included 66 percent off interior and exterior auto detailing from Derek’s Car Wash and $24 boat rentals from Northwest Boat Rentals in Poulsbo.
And more daily deal websites pop up every day specializing in certain services and products. Restaurants.com is one that gives you discounts on local food establishments. Dealnews.com and Woot.com also offer daily deals for products like mattresses and iPad cases.
“There are some weird deals, but overall, it is a lot of fun and when you find a deal you want, it is worth it,” Cowdery said.
