Some websites, such as Trade Me, have added a daily deal section to their home page in order to get their share of the daily deal buying crowd. Others, such as daily deals website, 3deals.co.nz, have been set up purely to promote new deals every 24 hours.

How do deal a day websites work?

Each site varies but generally a product is offered at a discounted price that is only available for 24 hours and only online. Most daily deals websites offer a wide range of products – from electrical goods to beauty products – while others offer specific products such as wine or console games.

How much does it cost to use these sites?

Use of most one day deals websites is completely free. All you pay for is the product and shipping. Depending on the site, you may have to register for a free account. Generally this is recommended even if not required to make a purchase as you may be able to save your address details and order history so that you can complete the check-out process much more quickly on your return visits. This can give you an extra advantage when purchasing a very popular product as you’ll be able to complete your purchase before the product runs out of stock.

Can I pick up my purchase from a store?

In most cases, no. Your purchase will be shipped to an address that you specify. Shipping costs may vary depending on the size and weight of the product purchased as well as if it requires any dangerous goods certification for shipping.

Tips for buying from deal a day websites

• Make sure you register for a free account so that you can save your address details in order to make the buying process much quicker next time you buy
• Sign up for any email alerts and notifications so that you can be informed of the next products before they appear on the website. This is essential to make sure you don’t miss out on a great bargain that may get snapped up quicker than you expect.
• Once you’ve chosen to buy, keep an eye out for any buyer or subscriber-only specials that may only be available to people that have purchased.
• Ship the product to your work address if possible. CourierPost sends overnight parcels to work addresses by 9am on the next working day. Plus you’ll have a better chance to ensure you are available to receive the item personally.
• Keep an eye on the side specials. Many websites will feature 1 to 3 main deals but will have some smaller deals running at the same time.
• Use the refresh key! Visit the website just before the product change-over time (often 10am or mid-day) and hit the refresh key (F5 if you’re on a PC) to refresh the screen until the new deals appear.