Adventures in Groupon

I've had the opportunity to use 2 Groupons in the last couple weeks. Groupon is a website that offers deals of the day based on your location. The deals are usually limited in number, offered for a limited time (usually just that day) and some must have a limited number purchased before the deal is actually good. (If the minimum isn't purchase, your money is refunded.) Different Groupons are offered in different markets, so if you live in Dayton, your offer will be different from Columbus, which will be different from Cincinnati, etc. You can buy a Groupon out of your market; just be sure to read how to redeem it before purchasing. You don't want to purchase a Chicago Groupon that must be redeemed in person if you live in Houston! Anyhow, sometime late last fall, they were offering free gift codes, and I was able to snag $35 worth to apply to my account, and recently there were 2 Groupons that caught my eye.

My first purchase was from Purely American, which is actually an Ohio company that does business online only. I was able to get a $40 credit to the company for $20 (which was deducted from my gift codes). They also included a $7.95 shipping credit. The company sells specialty soups and baking mixes, spices and nuts. I love this kind of thing but can never really justify spending $6 or $7 on a mix! I was able to get 5 different mixes plus 2 pounds of Virginia roasted peanuts and only spent 95-cents out of pocket. Because I ordered during a stretch of really bad weather (my kids had 3 days of school off in a row!) and I knew where the company was located was probably iced in, I knew shipping would probably be delayed, but my order arrived within about a week. I haven't made much from the mixes because of our schedules but look forward to baking this weekend. And the peanuts are really, really good!

My second purchase was a $20 Barnes and Noble Groupon that only cost $10 (again, deducted from my free credits). We went to Columbus on Saturday, and I bought "The Everything Freezer Meals Cookbook" and a bar of Godiva chocolate. :-) My total came to $20.06, so I only paid 6-cents out of pocket! It was kind of funny because when I went to check out, as the cashier was ringing up my purchase, I started to say, "I have a Groupon..." and he said, "Oh! a Groupon!" This particular Groupon was available for 4 or 5 days nationally instead of being a local deal and was obviously very popular!

I still have a $5 credit left on my account, and I'll keep my eye out for something to use it on. ($5 Groupons do come up occasionally; usually they are more in the $10-$20 range.) I would probably purchase another Groupon with "real money" if it was something that I used regularly or could give as a gift toward the holidays. A lot of what is offered in my market seems to be for restaurants and yoga/spa deals, which I wouldn't particularly use. I would probably try more things that I wouldn't normally wouldn't (see my first deal above!) if they were to give out more credits, but I would be surprised to see that happen again. Anyhow, it was fun splurging over the past few weeks without really spending any money. A girl needs that once in a while!