Best Websites for Bargains
When it comes to online deals, one name comes up constantly. Everyone knows Groupon by now, and too many deal-a-day imitators to count have sprung up (let’s call them the Grouponites).
In fact, there are so many that even the aggregators that collect the best deals from the Grouponites, such as Yipit, are numerous. But what else is out there for finding great deals online? Plenty. There are private sale sites and deal aggregate sites, and many of these websites offer bonus for inviting your friends to join, offering anywhere from $5 to $25.
We’re going to cut short this intro to allow the dealmaking to commence, so click ahead for a wealth of opportunities in ten shopping categories.
By Colleen Kane
Posted 16 Feb 2011
Fashion
Website: TheFind
About: The Find does a few things that those discount and private sale sites do not. First, when you enter search terms (“silk blouse,” for example), it searches online shops throughout the world wide web to offer many choices, including discounted sites like Bluefly, as well as vintage items from Etsy and elsewhere. Then, underneath each thumbnail in the results it presents any applicable shipping deals and coupons. You can narrow down the search by color, price range, brands, accepted payment menthods, by online stores, and by security certifications.
Recent Deals: When doing a search on TheFind for, ahem, purely research purposes, yours truly found a $40 off promotion code for Bluefly, which I then used…purely for the journalism cause, to make sure it worked. (It did.)
Honorable Mentions for Fashion:Shop it to Me delivers sales to your inbox based on favorite brands, and HauteLook and ideeli offer short-term private sales and daily deals on designer fashions.
Electronics
Website: Slickdeals
About: Slickdeals is an unusual user-and-community-driven deal site using upvoting and downvoting to aggregate the most popular online sales, including many deals on electronics.
Recent Deals: HP Officejet 6500 All-inOne Printer for $50 with free shipping ($89.99- $137-93 elsewhere).
Honorable Mentions for Electronics:Woot is a popular deal-a-day site often featuring electronics. QuiBids is a unique (but not free) penny auction site for potential amazing deals of up to 95% off electronics and accessories, including the coveted iPad.
Groceries
Website: RetailMeNot
About: Don’t dismiss the humble coupon—It’s like Groupon, only with a lowercase “C.” With groceries, coupons are still the way to save (aside from growing your own or buying in bulk, if you have the room and enough mouths to feed). RetailMeNot is hugely popular not just for its printable store coupons, but it also has a database of promotion and shipping codes for shopping across the Internet.
Recent Deals: $4 off Nutro Dog Food, $1 off General Mills cereals, .75 off Muir Glen canned tomatoes.
Honorable Mentions for Groceries: CouponMom is a free site with a thorough selection of grocery coupons…just like your own Mom.
Green Living
Website: Pure Citizen
About: Pure Citizen offers daily deals on “conscious companies” (organic, fair trade, biodynamic, natural, sustainable, recycled, handmade) at up to 90% off. Customers can also opt to donate part of their savings to the day’s featured charity.
Recent Deals: Half off on SIGG aluminum water bottles, and an organic cotton/ ethical merino wool blend asymmetrical zip top, normally $145, for $76.
Honorable Mentions for Green Living:Organic Dealscollects sales and deals from around the web on food (like bulk sales from Amazon.com and Whole Foods specials) and much more, and the kiddie site Totsy sells eco-friendly baby goods.
Travel
Website: Kayak.com
About: The genius of Kayak is convenience: it searches hundreds of travel sites at once. Kayak also allows users to view at a glance the cheaper days to buy the same flights, among other handy features.
Recent Deals: An April weekend flight from NYC to New Orleans for $222.
Honorable Mentions:Travelzoo has long collected travel deals for the masses. More recently, numerous private sale sites like Bloomspot offer vacation packages to resorts and high-end hotels, and TripAdvisor just launched Snique Away,which has the benefit of integrated TripAdvisor reviews.
Luxury
Website: Gilt City
About: Gilt City (part of the Gilt Groupe site) offers local deals on high-end experiences, like classes with famed sommeliers and VIP treatment, like the VIP Package to Miami’s SOBE BubbleQ hosted by Bobby Flay, or exclusive presale tickets to see Florence + the Machine, which sold out both in NYC and San Francisco. In fact, a lot of deals sell out on Gilt City—making it all the more exclusive.
Recent Deals: New York Opera’s Spring Gala for 50% off at $625, and unlimited burgers at The Counter for a month for $98 (sold out).
Honorable Mentions for Luxury:Jetsetter is another private sale resource, this one offering upscale hotels and vacations at up to 50% off retail prices.
Restaurants
Website: BlackboardEats
About: There are other restaurant sale sites, and the Grouponites always feature dining deals as well, but BlackboardEats is the name that gets praised on foodie message boards for featuring buzzworthy restaurants. They recently began charging $1 to get each deal's pass code, or $20 annually for unlimited deals.
Recent Deals: 30% off lunch or dinner at Pane e Vino in L.A. and 30% off Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner at Pure Food & Wine in NYC.
Honorable Mentions for Restaurants: Restaurant.com commonly offers $25 certificates for $10 for over 18,000 restaurants nationwide. Also ask at your favorite eateries if they have a mailing list and you might just get special offers in your inbox.
Beauty and Body
Website: TaDa
About: TaDa is a group sale site that often features health and beauty aide web stores, as well as jewelry and accessories. If enough people click to trigger each day’s deal, say “ta da,” because the deal is on.
Recent Deals: Tada recently offered $25 for a $50 gift certificate to TheNaturalStore.com and offered prior half-off deals for Dermstore, Drugstore.com, LuckyVitamin.com, and Beauty.com.
Honorable Mentions for Beauty and Body: The majority of the Grouponites regularly offer daily deals on spas and salons.
Kids
Website: Zulily
About: Zulily offers up to 70% off on bigger baby and children’s items like strollers, bouncers, car seats, accessories, toys, as well as apparel including numerous organic clothiers.
Recent Deals: Pedoodles shoes at 50% off
Honorable Mentions for Kids: Many deal-a-day and group discount sites are aimed at families, including Kids.Woot,CertifiKid,Daily Deals for Moms,Doodle Deals,Kid Steals, and The Mini Social.
Home
Website: Overstock.com
About: For a major purchase like furniture, you’re going to want to read reviews, and O.co has a large enough user base to ensure reviews and (more helpfully) many reviews on most products. They also sell everything else for home and garden, bedding and bath. New features include a pop-up shopping mode called Window Browser.
Recent Deals: Mira Brown leather armchair and ottoman for $349.99, regularly $599.00
Honorable Mentions for Home: Despite the name, TechBargains aggregates thousands of deals on home goods with a function to compare prices. (They also showcase thousands of tech bargains.)