Kiss Off those Group Buying Deals!

We recently had the kids back in town and one of the pix included this group shot with my four sons. They love their mama! They also love some of the good deals I buy them from sites like Seize the Deal, Local Living, Living Social,the ever popular Groupon and new group buying deals from OTA (Online travel agents) such as travelzoo. There's paintball for $35 a person, Broadway shows for $20 each, a four course meal & Flamenco show at El Cid for $22/person, and even a massage therapy session for $22/hour. Ok, that was last item was for me (and so was the Flamenco deal, if we're being really honest--OLE!).

But what is the use of spending money to save money if you do not or cannot redeem those coupons? Maybe the boys didn't come home for college break, you chickened out of the skydiving gig, or you had a really busy schedule and couldn't fit in a trip to the Beverly Hilton for that four course meal including champagne? In some ways you may be taking a leap of faith when you purchase some of these group buying deals.

The latest research shows that 20% of these daily deal vouchers go unused. But your loss may be another person's gain. Especially when there are companies set up where you can unload unused vouchers. Consumers can now sell their unwanted deals at sites such a CoupRecoup, Yuupon or Lifesta. Whether you want to unload a vacation you cannot take or a helicopter tour your wife won't let you go on, you can do it at these sites. There's even one place, DealChicken, that will give you a full refund up until the deal's expiration date.

For every deal you buy, there's a guy out there who wish he would have bought it, but passed. Lifesta will charge you 99 cents plus 8% on deals they sell and they provide refunds for phony deals. DealsGoRound has been in business the longest and is suppose to be the only deal reselling site you can use on your smartphone. Plus, they help you track the deals to remind you if it's going to run out.

So if you want to kiss off on one of your group deals, you can. But remember that you can never kiss off the fact that you love your mama!

Ellie Kay
America's Family Financial Expert (R)