Crowd Sourcing with a Safety Net

By now, you should know the drill. You get an email first thing in the morning from Jetsetter, or Living Social, or Groupon and in it is a tempting treat: perhaps half off at a restaurant, teeth whitening, or in the case of travel deals, a discount at some splashy resort.

The teeth whitening (or dance classes or lingerie shopping discount) is usually relatively easy to redeem because its offerred by a provider in your city, and you have a good six months to perk up that smile.

Photo by Shannon Hurst Lane

Travel offers can be more problematic, as those who've purchased on an impulse have found. Users think they'll be able to get away, but then, just as they're about to finally take that resort vacation or tour, they get slammed by deadlines at work, or the school play calls extra rehearsals for your child. The discount expires and you've been left with a very pricey downloaded peice of paper.

That's why I was happy to hear about the debut of Yuupon.com. Like the rest, its deals are both in North American abroad, and the discounts seem to come in in the 40 to 50% range (though whether that's a discount off the usual price or off inflated rack rates is unclear...as it usually is. But unlike most other group buying sites (ie if enough people buy, everyone gets a discount), with Yuupon, you can get your money back if you decide to cancel your purchase. Purchasers have 8 days to get a refund if buyer's remorse sets in.

Yuupon also lets non-members check out its offers, great for those who don't want to overload their email in-boxes. So take a look: there's no risk involved in doing that!