Not sure how many folks do this, but I'm now in the habit of searching "daily deal" sites before my foreign trips to see if there are any useful offers. Groupon and Living Social are pretty universal these days: like I just bought a rafting trip in Malaysia. And I've used them for restaurant meals in Europe and Australia. I'm pretty picky with what I buy -- given that it's pretty much use it or lose it -- but I haven't had a bad experience yet. It's actually gotten a little easier to find the deals these days, as the offers used to be "live" for only a day or so, but the new business model seems to keep them alive for weeks, so you don't have to be that vigilant in checking for them.

For Groupon itself, the trick seems to be to pay by paypal. I haven't had any luck paying direct by credit card. To get it to work, I first log into paypal on my computer, and they go to the groupon site to pay (selecting paypal, of course). With livingsocial, I've been successful just using my credit card.

To find local daily deal sites, I usually google something like "Sydney daily deals" and there's often an aggregator who collects all the offers from the different companies.

So, what is the question?

I guess it's just a tips. A useful reminder and contribution.

I've done it in Argentina and Indonesia.

I used to buy a lot of Living Social in Indonesia when they took Paypal, but they stopped. Groupon is similarly a PITA to pay for in Indonesia. I rarely find great deals lately.

Been doing it for quite a while, neat opportunity to experience/seek out local holes-in-the-wall we mightn't experience otherwise. Nice idea to put it out there!

...but, generally, I do worry about Groupon. On the one hand, I appreciate the deals hanging longer. But it also seems like a shift from predominantly an inflow of new deals from new companies, to perhaps Groupon inviting or even asking companies to stay on longer to fill our screens.

Skeptic that I am, when I ponder "Why?" my working hypothesis is that the doubts raised by Groupon's business hiccups may have sapped their prospective clients' confidence. Which would be more obvious than the effects of customers' confidence ebbing. Now, don't get me wrong. I am "heavily invested" in Groupon. (I don't mean as an investor per se, but they have a lot of float from me.) Actually, between LivingSocial and them, they're driving me nuts.

Sorry, iahphx, if this is hijacking your thread.

Moreover/however ... this "flash sale" model is being picked up by every... well, for example, AAA, my online newspaper boston.com, the local radio stations' websites, and I even have one this morning in my ZipCar email, "from the friendly folks at Godiva" .....

Yeah, just a discussion topic. I'm sure there's more to learn on buying these. As a foreign traveler, I know things tend to cost me more than in the USA because I'm less familiar with local deals -- especially when the local language isn't English and it's harder for me to understand the "locals pricing." Like I think I would find most non-chain USA restaurants to be expensive, but I know what kind of promos and specials they offer. For the merchants, it may actually be a win-win, because (for example) I'm not likely to pay the full tourist price for a rafting trip, but if you give me a fair "locals price," I'll take the family.

I think they've discovered that they don't have enough fantastic "daily deals" to make you go to their website everyday. Just like supermarkets and department stores don't generally run constant 1-day sales. The model might work better if you offer the promo for a week or two. And I notice that, when I buy a groupon, they offer me the opportunity to buy "old deals" as well.

In another vein, it's interesting from a cultural perspective to see what Groupon Goods are offered in different countries.

Possibly worth a mention: You can buy Groupon GCs at many supermarkets. Using the right CC can save a decent extra amount, especially if you can score some gasoline rewards.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. And the clientele they're pitching too. Like the vast majority of the "models" in South Africa groupon are white.

Yeah, but that discount won't work on foreign Groupons -- different payment interface, which is why you need to use paypal (USA credit cards don't seem to work). It MIGHT work on livingsocial, but I haven't seen livingsocial gift cards.

While we're at it, they can be purchased through the airline program shopping portals, and earn miles or points. Not sure if it works for Groupons in other countries. But then, in my experience, getting the points isn't that reliable in the US, anyway. (Cartera - but that's a whole 'nother thread.) iahphx, I'm gonna hijack your thread yet.