Deals Review

Had been hooked to deals, vouchers, coupon recently.  Here is my experience.

Top 5 Best Deal-Hunting sites I visit

• I Love deals http://ilovedeals.sg/
• AllAsiaDeals http://ilovedeals.sg/
• Deal          http://deal.com.sg/deals/singapore
• Groupon  http://www.groupon.sg/
• Big Deal    http://plus.bigdeal.sg/

ILoveDeals and AllAsiaDeals are websites that consolidate different deals from various website. They allowed for easy search by category, website sources.  Much more convenient then browsing through multiple websites or subscribing and receiving multiple emails each day.


4 Rules to Best Deals

Terms and Condition
Look through the Terms and conditions carefully. As merchants offer such low price deals for marketing purposes, for Fitness or Beauty services like spa or facial, they usually specify that it is only applicable to 1st time customers only.  While for Food and Beverages, usually there will be some limitation on the usage like 1 coupon per table or applicable only during weekday or valid for lunch hours for restaurant in neighborhood.
Compare
Do take time to compare the deals, that's when the consolidated website helps. Similar deals from the same merchant are posted onto different websites. Depending on the amount each website charge, the amount offered to customers can be quite different, up to $3-5
Location
Do take note of the location of the deal.  Some merchants at ulu ulu places used this to promote their sales.  If the place is not accessible, the savings might not be worth the time or taxi fare.
Expiry Date
There is always expiry date tied to the deal.  Beware of those deals that expires within a short period.
For Fitness and Beauty service like facial or massage, do plan and book early to ensure you can get the weekend slots.


Other Tips to enjoy best experience or to maximise your deals

Things to bring along to enjoy the deal
Reminder that most website requires you to print a physical copy of the voucher and bring along your IC for verification.

Rewards
Most websites offer rewards for referring a friend.  It can get as high as $8 per referral.
So if you are  buying vouchers for group gathering, do get your friends to signup and buy separately to enjoy the rewards which can be utilised for future purchase.
However, beware if it's big group for popular deals as the deal could be sold out before the end of the sale period.

Missed the deals ?
Try to ask for extension if possible, especially when it is more of the merchant not being able to cope with large number of purchases.
A few (1 or 2?) website actually offer refund if the deal is not being utilised. Do run through their FAQ for details.