Judging a Daily Deal

SHOPPING · GLOBAL

Judging a Daily Deal

How deal sites work, checking the real price, vouchers and your rights

Deal sites sell a voucher rather than a product, and the questions worth asking are about what happens after you buy.

Check the reference price

A large percentage discount is calculated against a stated original price, which may be a recommended retail price nobody has charged. Search the item independently before deciding anything is a bargain.

Regulations require price claims to be genuine, and enforcement is imperfect, so the check takes a minute and is worth doing.

Vouchers and redemption

For experiences and services you usually receive a voucher to redeem with the supplier. Check the expiry, the blackout dates, whether appointments are actually available and how far you would travel.

Redeem promptly. Unredeemed vouchers are where the model makes its money, and the supplier may cease trading.

Delivery and the seller

Goods deals are frequently fulfilled by a third party, sometimes shipped from abroad, which affects delivery times, returns and any customs charges. Find out who you are actually buying from.

Your rights

Distance selling gives a cancellation period in the UK and EU for most goods, and goods must be as described and fit for purpose. Rights on services and vouchers differ and are worth reading.

Pay by a method offering protection, since that is your recourse if a supplier disappears.

The honest test

Would you buy this at this price if it were not discounted, and would you have bought it at all? A discount on something unwanted is not a saving.

Before you buy

Wait a day on anything above a small amount, since urgency is the mechanism these sites run on. A deal that is genuinely good is still worth having tomorrow, and most are repeated.

Keep a note of what you bought and when it expires.

Travel and experience deals

Check exactly what is included — meals, transfers, taxes, the specific hotel rather than a star rating — and what the dates actually are. Package travel rules give protection that a voucher for accommodation alone does not.

Search the hotel or restaurant directly, since the deal price is frequently close to the standard one.

Subscriptions

Check whether a deal enrols you in anything that renews, and diarise any date at which a trial becomes a payment.

Paying safely

Use a credit card or a payment method with protection, since that is your recourse if a supplier ceases trading before you redeem. Keep the confirmation and the voucher code somewhere findable.

Check whether the deal site or the supplier is the seller, since that determines who you claim from.

Comparing

Search the same item or service at two ordinary retailers before buying. It takes a minute and settles most decisions.

Reviews

Look for reviews of the supplier rather than the deal site, and read recent ones.

WHERE TO BUY

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