Groupon was the original daily deals site, but it has spawned some ridiculous offshoots. The local-meets-social-meets-discount aggregator has become a staple of your inbox, and if these coupon curators weren’t personalized enough there are a slew of extremely specific services out there.
Startups.com (Groupon for online business owners)
After spending some time as a resource for online business owners and website operators as KillerStartups, the service got itself a new domain name and decided to put all that online office data to use. It’s not just Startups, and you can subscribe for free to get 50 to 80-percent discounts on anything from software to e-books. Once the site reaches 10,000 members, it will start releasing daily coupons.
Sciddy (Groupon for senior citizens)
Yes, we know, strange name choice. Moving on, Sciddy is going out on a limb and trying to scoop up that burgeoning sector of elderly Internet users. You heard right. Sciddy aggregates all of the senior discounts available for the 65-plus population in their respective locations.
Example coupon: 10-percent off at Quizno’s
RapidBuyr (Groupon for office supplies)
You won’t find any deals on spa trips or exotic cuisine here: RapidBuyr bypasses the element of fun and is all business. The site sends members 30 to 70-percent discounts on B2B supplies, like Mozy software or copier ink. The real value comes in when RapidBuyr hooks you up with affordable IT outsourcing or staffing assistance. That’s right: You can actually use the daily deal site to purchase cheaper employees.
Example coupon: 50-percent off an expert on-site system evaluation
PopMarket (Groupon for music collectors)
This groupon knockoff describes itself as the “ultimate shopping club for music fans.” The beta site e-mails its members exclusive, 24-hour sales of media memorabilia with discounts of up to 70-percent off. Most of the items are box sets or special editions; a lowly CD doesn’t quite cut it.
Example coupon: $29.99 for The Definitive Elvis Presley Box Set (regularly $59.98)
JDeal (Groupon for Jews)
File this one under bound to offend somebody. Founded in 2010 by Jodi Samuels and Allen Ganz, as the site puts it “For six days, they sought incredible deal after incredible deal…and on the seventh day, they closed them. And jdeal was born.” The site is laden with many similar puns (i.e., “you don’t have to be a rabbi or a doctor or a lawyer to figure it out – although if you are a doctor or a lawyer, are you single?) and hooks you up with discounts to local Jewish museums or events, Jewish-owned stores, and even various unrelated deals.
Example coupon: $5 for $10 worth of kosher wine from Gotham Wines and Liquors
