Ridiculous Detroit Discounts

[REL]

$12 for 2 admissions for the Detroit Science Center today on Groupon.

Not only that, but today's side-deal is a $25/year subscription to Crain's Detroit Business!

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu1315497

[313WX]

It just goes to show what type of economic crisis [[Metro) Detroit is really in.

[laurin]

It just goes to show what type of economic crisis [[Metro) Detroit is really in.

Not necessarily. The Groupon site operates in many, many different cities and is known for their great discounts.

[fryar]

There is a similar site, called restaurant.com, that is also out there. It allows you to buy discounted gift certificates for area restaurants that participate in the program as a form of advertising. If you buy one, you may get to use it to offset $25 on a $50 bill, for example.

Also, if you buy one, you'll soon get spammed by their special offers promising 90% off their gift certificates and such. Great deals can be had. My father is a bit of a devotee, and responds to the spam, buying hundreds of dollars at once [[even though the special offers are not linked to quantity). He won't stop talking about it, which is why I am familiar with it. Anyway, bottom line is, when applying the special discounts, he spends $8 for $100 in gift certificates. There's some strings attached - like some restaurants won't let you use them on drinks, for example - but they're a really good deal if a restaurant you like participates.

Flipside is, don't fall for any ExxonMobil or Citibank credit card offers of a free restaurant.com gift card, it's not much of a bonus.

Just thought I'd mention it. But Groupon is also a great deals site.

[Thruster315]

Not necessarily. The Groupon site operates in many, many different cities and is known for their great discounts.

We scour Groupon all the time. Sometimes that stuff is useful, sometimes it's not but a buck saved here and there is a great thing. It's also a great vehicle for people who want to advertise their services and get their name out there too. I don't see this as any sort of indictment on the fiscal strength/ weakness of Detroit at all, 313WX.

[Johnlodge]

Recently used Groupon to help a client fill up an event that wasn't selling well. The response was amazing, it's a cool site and they are great to work with.

[txlady]

restaurant.com is a great site, I've been using them for about a year. If you sign up for it hold out, they frequently have 70 and 80% off sales. They're having one today, but you have to buy before midnight local time. Well, they are where I am, anyways.

groupon.com is another one I've been using for a long time, it's good for little splurges like spa treatments or high-end salon visits. I even have a deal for $50 worth of The Gap stuff for $25.

[fryar]

If you sign up for it hold out, they frequently have 70 and 80% off sales.

Yes, and that's for the already-discounted price of the gift certificate. So the $100 gift certificate which sells for $40 normally will cost $8 at 80% off. Just be sure to make a note of the strings attached, which differ from restaurant to restaurant. Typically, you will have to have a bill for 2x or more the value of the gift certificate, they may not take it in a weekend, and it may be food only. But that said, if you find the right place, you can treat the fam to a night of three course meals with wine galore for $92 off your bill [[provided you cross the $200 mark).

[REL]

I have found that restaurant.com has too many restrictions. I prefer Groupon over all the other sites, although I did just find Cliff Bell's on restaurant.com which made me happy