Groupon Victoria, Couvon, DealFind, TeamBuy, and Other Daily-Deal Sites Offering 50-90% Local Discounts: Victoria BC

UPDATE: August 11, 2012

Are daily-deal coupon sites like Groupon losing their appeal?

To keep Scrimp or Splurge readers informed, I follow all of the daily coupon websites targeted to Victoria consumers. (See the full list below.) Some days, it seems I’m getting considerably more junky offers than legitimate bargains sent to my email box.

In the beginning, these daily deal websites and their coupons were a fantastic source of savings. Groupon Victoria launched in September 2010 with deep discounts of 50% to 90% savings on Victoria entertainment and services from spa treatments and yoga sessions to car detailing and restaurant outings.

In the last few months, however, I sense that some daily deal sites have begun to lose their way. For one, there may just be too much competition for the advertising dollars available in Victoria’s relatively small local business market.

Another problem—stemming from the increased competition for local deals—is that, to flesh out their daily offerings, many super-coupon websites have diversified into discount travel opportunities, national products and services, and, frankly, gimmicky “as-seen-on -V” products such as doodads to for your cell phone or iPad, diet supplements and lycra “slimming” hot pants.

Fortunately, there are still worthwhile deals and steals among the dreck. I still regularly buy coupons for home repair services, new restaurants, spa and esthetics treatments, oil changes for my car, etc.

Of the Victoria daily deal sites I’ve compiled below, the top six are definitely worth a subscription so you don’t miss the best offers. The others sometimes have good offers, but be prepared to delete a lot of pesky pitches for purse organizers, iPod power chargers, and the like.

1. Groupon Victoria* Still the King of Deals.
2. Couvon* Consistently good deals on this site. As of Oct. 27, 2011, Couvon acquired  GOYAdeal, a former Victoria competitor. The merger should strengthen Couvon’s position in the Victoria daily-deal market and help ensure its future.
3. Dealfind Victoria* Loving their unique local offers like handyman and maid services!
4. EthicalDeal Victoria* Quality local offerings with eco- and social conscience.
5. GEECEEZ: Good local deals with the advantage of having a variety of offers at any given time, not just one daily deal. The down side is that not all deals are a minimum 50% discount. Savings range from 20-80% off.
6. SwarmJam Quality local offerings.
7. TeamBuy Victoria* Quality local deals.
8. Tastygo Victoria* Mix of local and national offers so far.
9. WagJag Victoria* Leans more toward national offers than Victoria-specific.
10. Best Island Deals* Offers for the Vancouver Island area. Generally disappointing content so far, but could improve.
11. Offeron Victoria: Offeron has become a site that markets Groupon-style coupons that previous buyers acquired but have been unable to use. Relatively few Victoria coupons have appeared. Take close note of expiry dates.

*Note: Just FYI. Most group-buying sites encourage users to share their sites with friends by offering existing clients credits (e.g. Groupon bucks)  for each new referral, payable if/when the new customer buys into a deal. I’ve noted with an asterisk above where my hot links to the various sites include an “affiliate link,” meaning I would potentially receive some benefit if my readers choose to join. No cost to you, of course.

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