When he bought a package of massages for half price ($245) from Groupon, Nathan Barusch of Phoenix, Ariz., had every intention of going. But things got busy at work, he couldn’t schedule an appointment and the expiration date was getting close. He decided the smart thing to do was sell it.

Barusch didn’t have any luck on Craigslist, so he searched the web and found a site called CoupFlip, which offered to buy it for $60.

“It was certainly better than getting nothing, so I was happy,” he said.

Barusch told me he would use the site again if he ever found himself in a similar situation. And it seems a lot of people who buy daily deals don’t use them for one reason or another.

According to a study by Uptal Dholakia, an associate professor of management at Rice University, two out of 10 daily deals (21.7 percent) are unredeemed when the promotion period ends. CoupFlip estimates that as much as 30 percent of the $5 billion in annual deals sold last year may go unused.

Some sites, like MyCabbage (formerly DealsGoRound), are a marketplace where buyers and sellers can do business. It offers a mobile app for the iPhone that lets you organize, share and redeem daily deals with friends via Facebook.

CoupFlip is different. It actually buys unwanted deals from Groupon, Living Social and similar sites and resells them. Your transaction is with the CoupFlip, not some third-party.

“We create a marketplace where you can actually sell your daily deal today,” said CEO Phil McDonnell. “You don’t just list it and wait around to see if somebody will take it, because these things expire. You can go on and in less than 30 seconds upload it, sell it and be done with it.”

The site, which went national in October, uses a complex algorithm to come up with the purchase price. It’s based on expiration date, how many were sold and the Yelp! score of the merchant.

“The idea is to give you a fair price,” McDonnell told me. “If your deal has a pretty good expiration time on it and also was a popular deal to being with, we’ll generally pay up to 70 percent.”

Payment is made through PayPal in 10 business days. This gives the site time to validate the voucher.

Shop for deals on deals
Of course, CoupFlip doesn’t make any money unless it resells these vouchers. So it offer deals on these deals for spas, entertainment, vacations, even clothing. It’s also a great place to look for last-minute restaurant discounts.

Most of the coupons on CoupFlip are 10 percent less than what they sold for on Groupon or Living Social. But as the expiration date gets closer, the discounts get bigger.

“We actually have some deals that are 98 percent off the face price,” McDonnell said.

Audrey Brown, a teacher in San Francisco, used the site when her glasses broke. She remembered seeing a Groupon for an eye exam and $150 toward new frames. She went to Groupon, but the deal had expired. CoupFlip had it.

“It was fantastic,” she said. “It was really fast and easy. I would definitely use them again.”

There’s always a risk when you buy a deal voucher that was sold to someone else. It could be fake or already used. Some are not transferrable. That’s the benefit of using CoupFlip. The site guarantees the voucher is authentic, is still good and is transferrable. If there’s a problem, you’ll get your money back.

By the way, maybe you got gift cards for the holidays that you don’t want or can’t use. You can turn that plastic into cash at a number of sites that buy and resell them. Here are a few you might want to visit: Plastic Jungle, Gift Card Granny, Card Hub, Cardpool, CardCash, GiftCards.com

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

A lackluster economy plus ubiquitous mobile technology are behind a surprising date-night trend: More than a quarter of people say they’ve used a coupon to pay for a first date.

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for CouponCabin.com found that 26 percent of people have brought a coupon to a first date. A voucher or discount code is no third wheel, though; 26 percent also said they would react positively to a coupon-financed first date, up from 18 percent last year.

Nearly three-quarters said that using a coupon wouldn’t prompt them to walk out or deter them from seeing the person again. Only 1 percent of people said they’d walk out on a date who proffered a coupon, while 3 percent would vocalize their displeasure and another 12 percent would keep quiet, but turn that first date into a last date.

“After the past recession and with the recent state of the economy, people definitely have to start educating themselves on how to save money and do what they can to put some extra money in their pockets,” said Jackie Warrick, president of CouponCabin.com. “It’s definitely become a part of people’s everyday life and it’s not seen as taboo.”

According to the survey, 49 percent respondents said they’re more likely to use a coupon on a date because of the economy. (The survey was conducted on a random sampling of more than 2,300 adults, not necessarily CouponCabin users, which might have skewed the results pro-coupon.)

More than seven out of 10 respondents said it’s okay to use a coupon on a date anytime, while 37 percent said it’s acceptable for married couples and 31 percent said students can get away with pulling out a coupon when it’s time to pay. Only 4 percent said it’s “never” acceptable to use a coupon “on any kind of date.”

While the economy is the catalyst, the growing use of smartphones is what makes date-night couponing so prevalent, Warrick said.

“With the rise of digital and mobile technology, people can access coupons on their phones on the go,” she said. Technology makes it possible to use coupons without pre-planning: Merchants use location-based services like Yelp and Foursquare to push offers to people in the area, and mobile apps mean it’s not necessary to print up a paper coupon or gift certificate at home.

The ubiquity of daily deal sites like Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com, which frequently offer discounts on date-friendly activities like bike rentals and sunset cruises, also contributes to the growing acceptance of cut-rate dates, Warrick said. “It’s definitely allowing people to get out there and do more.”

But you don’t need to take your date rock-climbing. Couponing has been incorporated into that old standby of dinner and a movie, Warrick said. Sites like Fandango and Restaurant.com let restaurant and movie theater operators reach customers who want a traditional night out without breaking the bank.

Rather than viewing a coupon as the mark of a cheapskate, Warrick said it’s actually a desirable quality to display on a date in these economic times. “It definitely conveys that you’re smart with your money,” she said. 

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With the rise in the tendency for local businesses to offer extreme discounts through Web sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, coupon-clipping has gone mainstream. 

Still, one might assume that the good old-fashioned coupons that are cut out from the newspaper or offered at the entrance of the grocery store are primarily used by shoppers on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, who the need discounts the most. But that’s not the case, according to a new study conducted at the University of Arizona’s Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

A team led by professor and department chair Anita Bhappu studied coupon use among people who were responsible for doing the household grocery shopping, and found that 26 percent of the shoppers made up a category of shopper they dubbed as the “coupon diva.” (Bhappu’s group used a third-party market research firm to administer the survey, which was taken by over 250 people nationwide and represented the U.S. population in terms of gender and race distribution).

These shoppers, who would use six or more coupons on each shopping trip over the three-month period of the study, were high earners, with 24 percent of them reporting at least $75,000 in household income; 78 percent of the coupon divas were white; and 51 percent of them were women.

"They don’t use coupons because of financial constraints, but because they perceive coupons as saving them money," said Bhappu in a statement. “Part of it is the value perception. It's not just about money – it's about time and money."

On the other hand, 71 percent of the people surveyed were “non-users” in that they rarely or never used coupons when they went shopping. Of the non-users, 61 percent had incomes of $35,000 or less, and 26 percent were African-American and Asian-American. That’s compared with 16 percent of the coupon divas who were African-American or Asian-American, and 68 percent of the non-users who were white.

One other standout characteristic that differed among the so-called coupon divas and the non-users was whether or not they had children—64 percent of coupon divas had children at home, while 81 percent of the non-users did not have any kids. So one plausible explanation about coupon use could have to do with the number of mouths to feed in a given household. “Their grocery bill is just larger than the non-users,” surmised Bhappu. “That may be one of the reasons they’re looking to save money on their grocery bill.”

Bhappu's team had previously conducted studies about how and why Arizona shoppers use digital coupons and found that use by so-called "early adopters," who also happen to be affluent, was rising.

And while paper coupons are still used more often than digital coupons, the noteable takeaway from the previous study, Bhappu said, is that there was no perceived stigma or embarrassment at all among the frequent coupon users. In fact, “they give coupons to other people in line who don’t have them,” said Bhappu. “They chastise people who don’t use them, saying, ‘You’re wasting your money.’”

So now, perhaps, coupons are so mainstream that even affluent shoppers feel comfortable cashing in on discounts without feeling like people are looking at them funny.

Indeed, the popularity of sites like Groupon and Living Social have put coupons in the spotlight and made their use commonplace, particularly by affluent females. And so has the advent of TLC’s “Extreme Couponing,” the madcap TV show in which discount-obsessed shoppers load up on cartfuls of more goods than any one family could possible handle, all for mere pocket change and aided by a fanatical use of coupons.

But Bhappu also pointed out that the “coupon divas” tended to see value in the time spent searching for and using coupons, while the non-users did not, which could also relate to whether or not there was a stay-at-home parent in the picture who had the time to clip coupons to save on groceries for the family, versus an employed person who didn't have kids but also lacked as much time at home. (She would also like to control for employment status or type of job in future studies.)

And with the longstanding economic recession, more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck - and, perhaps, coupon to coupon.

The Deal Chicken

It sure is getting crowded in here. Here being the group coupon marketplace.

The newest entry in a niche already crammed with the likes of Groupon and Living Social comes from Gannett Co. The newspaper publisher announced Tuesday it is expanding nationally a daily online deals business dubbed "DealChicken."

DealChicken, which it calls a "new and unique daily deals business," will be available in more than 50 markets across the U.S. by the end of the year, Gannett said.

As if acknowledging it was joining a flock in the field, Gannett made sure to include this quote in its statement announcing the expansion:

"The daily deals space is getting crowded. But the industry is fast evolving and there are many opportunities out there, especially in local markets where these deals are developing into a new category of local advertising," says Peter Krasilovsky, vice president at BIA/Kelsey, a market research firm. "Gannett has a strong brand and knowledge of its local markets. It is well positioned to compete in this space."

The DealChicken website,  chock-full of fowl puns ("hatching deals daily") features offers in 57 large and midsized markets, ranging from Appleton, Wis., to Phoenix, Ariz., where the project was launched last year. The website also includes a mascot that resembles the well-known Twitter avatar.

DealsGoRound.com

Anyone who is regularly tempted by those daily deal e-mail alerts has probably already learned the hard way about group coupon regret.

That’s the feeling you get when you realize you will not be making it to that restaurant, helicopter tour or art class before the dreaded daily deal expiration date.

It was only a matter of time before someone saw a business opportunity in that sinking feeling. A number daily deal resale sites, including Lifesta, DealsGoRound, CoupRecoup, Skeedka and SellMyDeal, have popped up recently. They’re adding yet another layer to the frenzied expansion of the daily deal industry.

The fact that such sites exist shouldn’t come as a surprise. A recent academic study of the daily deal industry found that more than 20 percent of the people who bought daily deals from sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial and BuyWithMe never actually used them.

The sites operate like a clearinghouse of sorts, offering potential buyers a long and varied list of deals that are for sale in their area.

Many, including Lifesta, DealsGoRound and SellMyDeal, charge a fee to the seller if the coupon is sold.

Other sites, such as CoupRecoup, connect buyers and sellers to each other directly and don’t charge a fee.

The resale sites generally let the seller set their own price. In some cases, it appears sellers are charging more than they paid for the deal.

Kris Petersen, founder and chief executive of Chicago-based DealsGoRound, said he think that’s because the sellers are factoring in the transaction fee and hoping to break even. He said they don’t yet see people trying to make a lot of money by reselling hot coupons for a premium.

Many – but not all - resale sites also offer some form of guarantee if the coupon turns out to be bogus or used, as long as the problem is reported quickly. Petersen said DealsGoRound has had to refund money for about 10 of the thousands of customers who have bought a deal through their site.

The potential for dishonesty is one reason Groupon cautions against such sites. The company says it has no way of knowing if the coupons that are being sold have been faked or already used.

“We don’t encourage people to use them because we have no way to verify that they are, in fact, authentic vouchers,” Groupon spokeswoman Julie Moser said.

DealsGoRound’s Petersen counters that resale sites are filling a gap in the industry.

“The consumer needs the protection of being able to get rid of something they paid for and for some reason or other can’t use,” he said.

Have you bought a group coupon you couldn’t use? If so, did you eat the cost or try to resell your deal?

The daily deal frenzy appeared to reach a crescendo a few weeks ago when Groupon – the company most associated with the group coupon model - announced plans for an initial public offering.

Now, a new study is raising concerns about some possible pitfalls of the daily deal model of offering steep discounts, mostly from local retailers and restaurants, for a limited time.

Utpal Dholakia, an associate professor of management at Rice University, surveyed 324 businesses in 23 markets who had participated in daily deals with Groupon, LivingSocial, OpenTable, Travelzoo and BuyWithMe.

He found that the good deals for consumers weren’t always good deals for businesses.

A little more than half of the businesses Dholakia surveyed made money on the deals, while a little more than one-fourth said they lost money and the rest said they broke even.

That might not be so bad for retailers, if they thought they’d gain a new customer or make money in other ways. But the retailers said about 36 percent of users spent beyond the deal's value, and only about 20 percent of customers returned for a full-price purchase.

About half of the retailers said they’d run a deal again, while around 20 percent said they would not, according to the study. About 30 percent were unsure.

The fact that some retailers aren’t clamoring to do another deal could be a red flag for the daily deal companies, whose business model depends on companies who are willing to provide the deals.

Another potential problem: Dholakia’s survey found that more than 20 percent of the people who bought the deals never actually used them.

Groupon has impressed retail industry watchers with its astounding growth – the company has more than 80 million users, and more than 7,000 employees, even though it has been in business less than three years.

But some also have worried about how well the company can sustain its success, and make money. Groupon has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since it was founded, which is one of the arguments against investing in Groupon’s stock.

Nevertheless, an intriguing mix of deep discounting, web-based marketing and local business support has clearly touched a nerve for many people. It’s also spawned a massive influx of daily deal companies, including Living Social, Google Offers, a Facebook deal site and countless other niche players.

The crowded field appears to have few loyalists. Dholakia noted that the vast majority of the businesses who responded to his survey said they would consider doing a deal with another daily deal site, rather than sticking with the one they’d already used.

“Overall, our findings lead us to conclude that there are relatively few points of differentiation between the daily deal sites, making it harder for any one site to stand out from the others,” Dholakia wrote.