pwfm Money Monday - Groupon Regret

Do You Have Groupon Regret?

 Groupons are coupons that give huge discounts on out-of-the-ordinary items, like spa treatments, fancy dinners, or helicopter rides. The trick is, a certain number of people have to sign up for the item before the actual discount kicks in. For example, maybe 25 people need to commit to the spa treatment for half-off – but if only 24 people do, no one gets the discounted item and no one’s credit card gets charged.

Well, the groupon craze has exploded and millions of people are signing up for these things – only to regret it later! It’s called Groupon Regret and we read about it on CNN.com. Basically, people think, “Wow, wine tasting classes sound cool! And they’re so cheap! I’ll buy those!” then, after one class, they realize it’s too far away. Or they’re not really that into wine. You can’t return the classes and get your money back, so what do you do? That’s where Lifesta comes in.

On Lifesta.com, you can hawk the groupons you’ll never use! Since the site launched in July, tens of thousands of vouchers have been uploaded and sold! Take Polly Chung in New York City. She bought a groupon for a bunch of half-off visits to a gelato shop, but now that it’s February and she’s freezing cold, she’s not in the mood for gelato. So she posted her unused coupons on Lifesta. The seller sets the price and Lifesta charges 99 cents for the listing – plus 8% of the sale price. The item stays up on Lifesta until it sells or you take it down. You can search Lifesta by city, or by a category, like food, clothing, or events. So if you impulsively bought a romantic dinner for 2 on Groupon, but you just broke up. Don’t have Groupon regret. Just go over to Lifesta and sell it.