CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Daily deal web sites are the latest craze for Stretching Your Dollar. Most offer an item or service at a discounted price for 24 hours.
But as the craze grows, consumers have to pay closer attention to the ‘deals' they think they're getting.
Norely Ortiz is a bit of an expert on daily deal online shopping.
"It's almost like couponing plus," says the online shopper. She purchased a Wii charger deeply discounted at One Sale A Day.
The site is much like Groupon and Living Social. But Ortiz has expanded her horizons beyond the most popular sites. She got free children's earrings from Very Jane for referring friends,
"It's not your usual deal a day site because they're stuff is mainly handmade," Ortiz said.
If you are going to jump on the daily deal bandwagon, make sure your compare prices. Our sister station WTVM discovered a Kodak waterproof camera featured at One Sale A Day for 69-99, with a claim of an 80-percent savings.
But a closer look at the description reveals the cameras are used, described as ‘factory refurbished'.
Brad Wilson is founder of Brad's Deals. His site scours other sites for daily deals and helps compound the savings by offering coupon codes to deepen the discounts.
He urges people to use the same concept they do when shopping at brick and mortar stores, stack your savings.
"The best deals always have two or three or four or five pieces together. At their most basic, it's buying something when it's on sale, using a coupon and seeing if there's anything else to layer on top of that."
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