Social Buying Motivated By Psychology--NOT a Great Deal

From Techland. Isn't this how Wall St. operates--social buying and selling motivated by psychology?

"...I'm often tempted to buy Groupon's because I think I'm missing out on a steal. There's a couple things that he forgot to mention, however:

- Although it seems like it's 50 percent off, that discount only holds if you're buying the exact amount of your gift certificate. I recently bought the Groupon for $25 for $50 at any American Apparel. The item I wanted was $40, so I ended up buying two of them to get my maximum $50 worth. That's only a little more than 30 percent off - and I had to buy more than I needed to get my discount. I'm not complaining because I still did save money, but it wasn't as much of a discount as it seemed.

- You feel like you're saving $50 when you pay with your coupon at the counter, but you forget that you put the money up front in the first place. Your money just sits in these coupons until you find something or some time that you need to use it or you find yourself at the expiration date and decide you have to use it before you lose your money.

- How many of you out there have participated in a social buy because it was an awesome price and didn't consider if you really needed it? Yeah, facials and getting my nails done is always fun, but I don't really need these services as often as they are offered on these sites. I feel like I spend more than I normally would. As my uncle likes to remind my family, "It's not a bargain unless you need it."

...

"...since the social buying companies often partner with smaller businesses, so it's really hard to make time to get to the place since it typically isn't your usual spot. That was the reason why most of my Groupon's expired. It's very rare to get a Groupon that works at more than one location, so when you pick a random good deal it might be hard to cash in if the company is not on your way home."

...

"...social buying isn't as great as it seems at first glance, I have to admit that I'm not going to give up checking these sites everyday. After all, there's nothing as addicting as a cheap buy, and I'll eventually use those three manicures, four massages and seven gift certificates for restaurants that I bought before they expire, right?"

Yet another sheeple that thinks the expiration date applies to the time you have to actually USE the darned thing! Federal law says they must be treated like gift cards, and you have up to 5 years to redeem these things.

THE EXPIRATION DATE HAS TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THE OFFER IN THE FIRST PLACE--NOT THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE TO USE IT.