Have you ever bought a discount coupon from a daily deal site and later regretted your decision?
The emergence of hundreds of daily deal sites, such as Groupon or Living Social, has enticed millions of people to buy coupons for a variety of goods and services at steep discounts. Some deals can be so tempting and often result in an impulse purchase. In fact, an estimated 20 percent of these discount coupons are never used.
Now there are sites where you can sell your unwanted daily deal coupons and regain some, or perhaps all of the money you spent. DealsGoRound.com and Lifesta.com are two such sites. At DealsGoRound.com, sellers can list an unwanted coupon at no charge, but the site will take a cut of 10 percent if it is sold. At Lifesta.com, sellers pay 99 cents to list the unwanted coupon, and the site will take 8 percent of the sale price. Since the daily deals are offered at such substantial discounts, sellers may chose to list their coupons for more than they paid and still offer a great deal, therefore making a small profit on the coupon.
Groupon and Living Social’s terms of use prohibit unauthorized resale of its coupons. However, DealsGoRound.com has been in business for over a year and has yet to hear complaints from any daily deal site. It claims it will stop listing coupons from specific sites if they are asked to do so. Groupon does not encourage the use of these sites since it cannot guarantee that the coupons are authentic. However, both of these sites guarantee refunds to buyers if there are any problems. Both sites also require sellers to submit the coupons electronically before they are listed.
Another site where you can sell unwanted coupons is CoupRecoup.com. This site works more like Craigslist wherein buyers can contact a seller directly. The site does not offer any guarantees. However, since there are no fees to list, sellers may like it better for that reason alone.
For a buyer, these sites offer a way to get deals that they may have missed out on. Also, buyers do not pay fees on any of these sites.
Before trying to resell a coupon, check with the daily deal site to find out if it is possible to get a direct refund from the site.
LivingSocial patrons have five days to return a deal for any reason. Groupon does not offer returns but will work on a case-by-case basis to give refunds or credit if there is a justifiable reason that a buyer cannot redeem a coupon.
All is not lost if the daily deal coupon has expired either. In compliance with state and federal laws, once a coupon expires, it only loses its promotional value after the expiration date. The coupon can still be redeemed at the price you paid for it. For example, if you paid $10 for $20 worth of services, the coupon is still good for the $10 after the expiration date. If customers have any problems, the sites will work with businesses to make certain the coupons are honored. In certain situations, however, buyers will be entirely out of luck. For instance, if a deal for a one-time event, such as a concert, is purchased, and it passes, then no money will be refunded.
Sources cited:
http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-sns-ap-buyers-remorse-072111,0,904887.story