There are things to remember before you get on a deal with a coupon selling website. A lot of people have the unfortunate luck of losing money due to rip-off websites and scams. Be especially cautious of these kinds of things if you are new to the world of coupon buying. Coupon Advisor will guide you through the world of coupon deals and big discounts with easy to follow tips and reminders.

Coupon Advisor is a user-based site that relies on information given by professionals and customers that had experienced dealings with various coupon deals and giveaways. Based on these facts and experiences provided by these people, Coupon Advisor assures you that the tips you will get are comprehensible, factual, and reliable.

 Coupon Craze Warning!

You Must Read This Article Prior To Purchasing a Coupon From a Group Buying Coupon Site

Online collective buying sites took 2011 by storm and are set to grow further in 2012. The success and massive attention garnered from US based, Groupon, has stirred up a wave of online group buying coupon sites in Australia. Sites like Jump On It, Spreets, Cudo, Scoopon, and others are using the basic model of providing bulk discount deals, making it a win-win for both the local businesses and the consumers.

So why are there so many complaints about the group buying industry? Put simply, it is a growing industry which is largely self-regulated. The massive growth in the number of group buying sites has resulted in increased competition making it that much harder to sign new businesses up. You may well think this would be a win for the consumer, and it may well be. However, the problem appears to be that with the increased competition and desperation to sign up new deals, the group buying sites are not vetting the businesses to the extent they should be. Nor are the group buying sites explaining the terms and conditions to the businesses, resulting in a strained relationship from day one. Who ultimately pays for the lack of attention to detail? You, the consumer, that’s who.

Www.couponadvisor.com.au (“Couponadvisor”) launched in 2011 because it noticed that there were consumer complaints popping up all over the web. Some group buying sites were not delivering on their promise and many were failing to properly address consumer's concerns. Coupon Advisor is built on the idea of gathering users' complaints, highlights, and recommendations and bringing them together on one site. 

Adam Howard, the founder of Coupon Advisor explains, "With the massive growth of coupon / deal sites, we noticed that many of them are not delivering what they promise. It is a growing community and has already become a place where you can read about vendors not accepting vouchers on certain days, not giving coupon customers full access to all services or menu items, and sometimes the situation is even worse. Sometimes, the businesses actually shut down before you have a chance to redeem your voucher!”

However, Mr Howard states that he is a big fan of the group buying sites, and encourages consumers to use the sites on the condition of greater transparency. Ultimately, it is about giving the consumer great deals, and there is no doubt that is happening.

“Some of the reviews that consumers have left on our site have been chilling. You just feel so sorry for the consumer that has to deal with that kind of stress. However, to some sites’ credit, they have come on the site, responded to the complaint, and fixed the problem. Why Pay Full Price in particular seems to really take the feedback seriously and has come on the site and resolved the issue.” Mr Howard said.

In December 2011, the New South Wales Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts announced the nation’s consumer protection regulators had commenced a new national project on group buying and daily deals websites and businesses. The Minister said the project, was a necessary response to the growth of the industry and subsequent spike in consumer complaints.

1.To ensure the consumer have access to product and service information they need to make informed choices

2.To promote compliance within the industry with relevant

3. Increase consumer confidence in dealing with group buying sites

The Code sets out some minimum standards that group buying companies should follow and encourages them to:

1. Make sure that all communications are clear so that subscribers fully understand the offer before they sign up to it

2. Make sure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place

3. Ensure all marketing and electronic messages comply with the relevant legislation

It’s still too early to tell how successful ADMA will be in being the watchdog for the group buying sites. It does however appear as though the language is full of feel good language, with small incentive on the sites to do the right thing. In particular (and this is not a requirement of the Code), big sites such as Scoopon still fail to provide a number for their customers to call.  It is debatable how much confidence this must give the consumer.

Only time will tell how well ADMA deals with complaints. We recommend disgruntled consumers contact ADMA but also list their complaint with Coupon Advisor.

How To Avoid Problems

Ok, so lets get down to it. You can avoid problems with group buying sites by sticking to the following basic rules:

1.     Understand the terms and conditions of the coupon: this is critical as transparency is the key to a good transaction. Make sure you take the time to check out what the key terms and conditions of the offer is. What are you getting for your money? Are there any time limits on the offer?

2.   Refund Policy: Does the site have a clear refund policy you can follow in the event things go pear shaped? If so, is it clear and easy to understand. Some coupon sites have been advising their customers that it is not the sites issue, and the problem needs to be taken up with the business itself. This clearly is not acceptable. 

3.    Check and see whether the site has a phone number you can call: If it does, give it a try and see how easy it is to get hold of someone.

4.    Check Coupon Advisor: Visit Coupon Advisor to see the types of feedback other consumers have posted. This will give you a good idea about the integrity of the site.

What To Do If You Have a Complaint

Where to go if the consumer has a complaint:-

Coupon Advisor (www.couponadvisor.com.au)

Australian Direct Marketing Association (www.adma.com.au)

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (www.accc.gov.au)

Local Fair Trading office