I know this has absolutely nothing to do with reading, writing or books – but hey-ho, I couldn’t find a decent discussion thread to pop my thoughts into. I’m not actually here to really moan about Groupon, or the range of companies that offer similar things – just really offering an observation on my own use of such sites. (If you don’t care, please feel free to come back tomorrow when there will be a book review!)

When I first discovered Groupon, like many people, I was caught up with the range of offers I could make use of: supercar driving, facials, haircuts and fancy food…lovely! I bought a fair few offers – not a ridiculous amount, but enough. It was a bit like visiting the shops in the sales – I felt like I was missing out because it was a bargain, without always thinking whether I actually needed it. I knew there were a few offers I’d bought and not used – one was a hotel break and Groupon refunded that in credits, so I was happy enough with that – but I hadn’t actually added up how much I’d paid but not used. (I did this today and found that I’d spent £200.00-ish on drift racing, facials, a haircut, days out, etc. that never happened because I didn’t get around to it – not quite the bargain I’d thought!)

This year, I’ve already been much more selective – I tend not to ‘give things a go’ now, because I know I won’t get round to using them, opting only for things I would have paid full price for. We’ve had a couple of terrible meals in places that even hard-up students would not eat (and their pictures looked so good on the website) and so I’ll only get offers from places I’ve heard are good. It’s exactly the same thing you learn about the sales: I’m only interested in offers on stuff that you’d pay full price for in the first place, at places you want to go. Otherwise it’s just a waste of money.

What about you? Are you a Groupon fan, or more Group-off?