Since my last blog post last year “Get a deal you would not get on your own“, Groupon has continued to grow and provide consumers with great deals from Dental cleaning to bowling, and much more.  I discuss my latest deal.

Are you using Groupon yet? from ruben quinones on Vimeo, Pajama Cast #5

I drew a parallel to Priceline in my video, however, Groupon is more of a  a group buying service, not limited to travel services, and there is no bidding involved.  You just have to be quick to accept the deal as it is usually gone by late morning.  I absolutely love how they use twitter, allowing you to follow your local deals as they have multiple twitter accounts serving each city.  Since this video post, they have gone even more local in New York city providing local deals in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island.  Find out more about Groupon at deals in your local city at groupon.com.

My Grocery Deals brings bargains to your local area

Put away the scissors and stash of collected coupons from your local paper, there’s a new way to save at the grocery store!  Ok, perhaps you can still save the coupons, as deals may differ from the service, but mygrocerydeals.com is on to something.  As grocery stores look to compete for your dollar, and consumers are looking harder at their budgets in this economic climate, mygrocerydeals.com provides both parties with a viable solutions.  Provide consumers with savings, and allow local grocery stores a way to market and bring in traffic to their store.

How does it work?

On the site, you can search for deals in your local area by submitting your zip code.  You can also create a list of items you usually purchase and have those deals emailed to you when they become available, or just have any deals emailed to you weekly.  Mygrocerydeals.com does not actually sell the products, they are only letting you know about the deals that are being honored at your local grocery store.  Great idea, great service.

Only flaw?

Their facebook presence is a group page, should be a business page that you can be a fan of.  Also, it would be cool to have a twitter feed of deals in my local area.  I guess that would mean multiple accounts since the deals are local, perhaps they can do it by city like groupon does.

Groupon offers collective buying power

I came across this site after viewing a piece on their company from a nightly local news cast.  Groupon offers discounts to a variety of things in your city by leveraging economies of scale.  Basically you purchase the service by joining in with a group of others who are interested in this deal as well.  It creates a win win situation, you and group of others get a deal, and the business is getting business they would have only offered to a group to begin with.

Recent deals include a one hour acupuncture session, with a savings of $55, a two hour wine class with a savings of $25, and custom shirts with a savings of $60.  Groupon offers this service in multiple cities in the U.S.  Based in Chicago, this company has a good business model going for them, especially in this economic climate.  Customers get to enjoy services at a reduced rate, and businesses get some business flowing in as well as showcasing some of their other offerings.  I started following them on twitter, although, you should follow through the site, as they have several twitter accounts depending on your home city.  If you are from NY, just follow this link.