For those of you in and around Elmhurst, Today’s Groupon is $10 for $20 worth of groceries at Amano Boucherie, which is billed as a full-service butcher shop and gourmet grocery store. Grand opening is this Saturday, February 19, 2011, from 11 – 4.
Deets: Limit two per person; two as gifts; one voucher per visit; vouchers expire August 21, 2011. Hurry, as they’ve already sold almost three hundred of these.
for those days when you just don’t feel like digging through the freezer(s) for ice cream...we bring you Today’s Groupon for a $10 voucher for $5 to Häagen-Daz & Popcorn Palace in Naperville (or the Häagen-Daz Palace on Navy Pier).
Deets: Naperville voucher is for popcorn and/or ice cream – Navy Pier is limited to ice cream; limit two vouchers per person, one additional may be purchased as gift; one voucher per purchase; vouchers expire August 18, 2011.
Doesn’t it seem lately that every other Groupon is some sort of massage package (with the other designed to rub you the wrong way? can we say FTD, Blue Dolphin…)
Today’s massage package is for a 55 minute massage for $39 at Elements Therapeutic Massage
Deets: New clients only; not valid for hot stone massage; limit two vouchers per person; may buy multiples as gifts; vouchers expire August 18, 2011. This must be a fantastic place, because they’ve sold a butt-load of these vouchers already.
Truth be told, I’m getting pretty tired of the (what the writers think are) cutsie and clever ads for the daily Groupons. Let the deals speak for themselves! Ahem, I digress…quite frequently, it seems…
This is a sidebar deal for $10 for $20 worth of groceries at Fresh Farms International Market in Niles. I’ve checked out the prices on their weekly ads and wow. Examples: organic Braeburn apples $.88/lb; organic blueberries .98/6 oz plastic clam; boneless, skinless chicken breasts $1.69/lb. yeah, these are pretty good prices, I’d say.
Deets: Limit one per person, additional one as gift; valid February 21 through May 18, 2011. If you’re in this neck of the woods, jump fast – they’ve sold 250 more since I started this post.
I’m posting a short article about numerous problems with this deal I ran. If any of you purchased what I had believed to be a good deal with a reputable and reliable company, please don’t hesitate to have Groupon issue you a credit. I think FTD operated in a shameful manner…
No love: Groupon users revolt against FTD deal
By CNN
A day after Groupon offered $20 off of $40 worth of flowers and gifts from FTD, users are calling the deal a scam.
The coupon, which nearly 3,300 people bought, directed buyers to a special FTD website — FTD.com/groupon — to take advantage of the offer. The problem, users said, was that prices were higher than on the regular website, effectively diminishing the value of the deal. In fact, it appeared that a Valentine’s Day bouquet would cost more if users redeemed their Groupon.
“What a scam. The ftd groupon site has a price $10-$20 more than their own site. So basically you didn’t save anything,” Joann L. wrote in the comments section of Groupon’s site. “Yes — groupon, refund my money! The ftd.com/groupon site has higher prices than the regular site,” echoed another user. Disgruntled shoppers also noted that high service and shipping charges further depleted the voucher’s value. Others found that bouquets would not be delivered before Feb. 15, the day after Valentines Day. In response to the negative feedback, Groupon closed the deal a day early. “It was way too big of a headache for our customers and that isn’t how Groupon treats people,” Groupon’s spokeswoman Julie Mossler said in an email to CNNMoney. The deal’s original terms were that the Groupon could not be combined with other offers and discounts, which are already calculated in at the regular FTD.com site. But both Groupon and FTD acknowledged that the deal was confusing and apologized. “We understand that some Groupon customers were disappointed they were unable to combine the discounts,” said FTD Group President Rob Apatoff in a prepared statement. “We apologize for any confusion this offer may have caused.”
FTD set up a phone line specifically for Groupon customer care: 855-645-6214 and Groupon said customers are welcome to email [email protected] for a credit or refund.
“To make this right, we’ve worked together with FTD to make sure that discounts available on FTD.com will now also be available to use with your Groupon. For those of you who already purchased items that were on sale on FTD.com, FTD will automatically issue you a refund on the credit card you used with the difference as additional savings,” Groupon said in an email to its customers.
Today’s very special Valentine’s Day deal comes from Groupon: a $40 voucher for $20 to be used on FTD.com. Limit 2 vouchers per person, limit one voucher per order. Vouchers expire Jun 15, 2011; value decreases to $20/voucher on June 16, 2011 (so you can’t lose). This deal runs through Friday, February 11 at 11:59 pm.
.
Update: This was supposed to run through Saturday night, but went quickly. As I always say, you snooze you lose. Getting these online deals out of the way so I can concentrate on my real life – cats at Jewel, obviously!
Today’s Groupon is for Jill’s, A Children’s Portrait Boutique. For $100 total, you get a one hour shoot and a CD of your favorite 25 images, all of which have been digitally retouched (a $249 value). Choose additional digital images from the 60–80 taken during your shoot for $10 each. Printed images can also be bought at a discounted price: $10 per 4″x6″ image (normally $30), $15 per 5″x7″ image (normally $45), and $20 per 8″x10″ (normally $60). Clients also receive reprinting rights to their images. My note here: This is actually quite a good deal for families wanting the professional touch as a gift for grandparents, etc. So if you’re not being killed in this economy, avail yourself of all these deals.
Deets: Limit 3 per person, may purchase multiples as gifts. Vouchers expire August 14, 2011.
There’s a sidebar deal in Park Ridge for a cool-sounding store called Living Sea Aquarium, which carries both fresh and salt-water fish. This Groupon gives you your choice of two options: $5 for two passes for a guided tour or $10 for $20 worth of fish and supplies. With 8,000 gallons of water, methinks it’s like doing the Shedd on the cheap…
Limit two tour vouchers per person (reservations required), limit one fish and/or supplies vouchers. Vouchers expire in one year.
Sounds like a fun excursion for kids. Ignore the stupid Groupn “cutesy” comments (like I do on all their deals) and just look at the purdy pictures.
I’m tempted, really, really, really tempted. The sidebar deal today is $8 for two tickets to Hollywood Blvd. Cinema ($16 value) and/or $15 for $30 worth of Chinese food at the newly-opened Formosa Cafe in the adjoining space. Limit one voucher per person, one as gift (so one for you, one for your BFF and then your BFF runs the same deal). One voucher per table at Formosa Cafe. Movie vouchers cannot be used on opening week shows. $3 fee for 3D films. No purchase of food required for movie voucher. Formosa voucher valid for dine-in only.
Alright, peeps, I’ve done the legwork for you: prices at the Formosa Cafe are quite reasonable. I compared dinner and lunch menus and if you really want to stretch those Groupons, lunch is the way to go (Kung Pao chicken is $12 dinner and $8 lunch). These, to me, are very reasonable prices, especially since you always end up with leftovers, even on the smaller portion lunch dishes.
Vouchers expire August 11, 2011. Groupon not valid February 11 through 14th.
OK, here’s the daily Groupon deal. First glance I was meh, but after reading it and seeing the convenient locations (DG and Oswego), I’m publishing it. Glow in the Dark mini-golf at Bogie’s indoor golf club. For $4, you get 18 holes of glow-in-the-dark mini golf (up to an $8 value). For $20, you get the family night out package for four, including a half-hour moon bounce for the kids, a 12-inch pizza with drinks, and 18 holes of glow-in-the-dark mini golf (a $40 value). This second option is only valid at the Oswego location.
My take on the best deal on Groupon today? Check out the right sidebar of the daily deal for the Fontano’s special where you can order large catered platters of salad, pasta and meatballs for only $60 (value $123) or the puny deal of $5 for $10 worth of subs. Limit 2 vouchers per person, but an additional one may be purchased as a gift; vouchers expire August 9, 2011.
You may only pick one option. Fontano’s catering package consists of pasta, 30 meatballs, and garden salad for 25 people (or $2.40/person). Plan now for all those upcoming celebrations: graduations, birthdays and various other low-key parties.