OK sorry another random post about things that popped into my head. So being from CA and very close to Napa and Sonoma I enjoy wine. In Puerto Rico the CA wines are 3X the price they are in CA. Here, South American wines are very popular, like Malbec. So I am sure I can probably fine all sorts of wines but where do the more affordable wines come from?

And do you guys have anything like Groupon or Gustazos or Sale.com? Any sites where you get things at a discount? I am thinking that is a big no because the islands are small and there is just not that much competition but you never know. Or maybe you guys have something a little different but similar.

Wine is in most stores and it's about the same prices as what I paid in Texas. A few are more expensive, but lots of good ones to be found in the $10 - $20 bottle range (Schooner Bay is where I shop the most). I enjoy wine so I have the prices memorized!

We have a lot of South American wine and California wine. Not as much Australian, and other states like Washington. Some restaurants like Tutu Bene have some really fabulous Italian wines.

No idea on Groupon, I haven't seen anything like that, but if somebody knows hopefully they'll post. I imagine it is as you say, because the islands are small and there isn't that much competition. Plus for Groupon they have to guarantee a minimum number of "deals" and it might be challenging to get them.

My opinion is that personally I can't stand Groupon. Seeing what it created at businesses in Austin and the mob mentality - I stopped buying them a long time ago.

It's funny because I never used Groupon back in San Francisco but once they came here several other similar companies started at the same time. In the Bay Area I can get a very detailed pedicure for 25 USD. I can get a good pedicure for 20 USD. Here in PR you can't even find a bad pedicure uder 45 USD. So when Groupon started offering them for 20USD which is what they should be anyway I snatched them up.

And to be very honest I can't stand Groupon and their customer service here is awful. it is groupon.com.pr which is different then the states and the support is based in Chile and when they hear my English they hang up on me. I have had so many problems with businesses closing or them canceling it after I buy it. I actually use Gustazos but I figured people would know the word Groupon and not Gustazos. I know many business owners that much prefer to deal with Gustazos. And I have never had a problem so I have never had to use their customer service which is a good thing.

I see some of the businesses repost deals so they must be making money on them. Again this is for Gustazos not Groupon. It doesn't quite create a mob mentality here and I get services for just a little under what they should be instead of the asinine prices they try to charge.

By the way while I am taking about it how much are pedicures and facials on STX Julie? I have a feeling I will be doing my own pedicures.

Groupon says: "Sorry we aren't there yet. Closest city to you is Orlando." Fat lot of good that does, eh? I have never even seen coupons here. You can get a group together and buy wine from a wholesaler for a bit of a discount. But I have to say, if you are looking for bargains, the VI is not a good place to search.

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ChanelCinq


By the way while I am taking about it how much are pedicures and facials on STX Julie? I have a feeling I will be doing my own pedicures.

Very good. Nail salons everywhere - I can point you to a few local ones. Facials, massage, etc, go to Renuatum Spa at Kalima Center - local discount 20%. They're on Facebook...there are lots of other good options too. I think STX has more natural, body, energy work, etc - but I haven't experienced much on STT.

Soapbox: I think Groupon and their ilk force businesses to discount and "cut corners" on quality products for bargain-hunters. It also causes a mob mentality of "cheap" - you get what you pay for. I've seen businesses mobbed with groupons and actually lose money - the pursuit of a "good deal" has become a destructive obsession. Business owners hope that Groupon customers will purchase add-ons above and beyond just the Groupon (that's the line that's sold to them to make the deal), but it rarely happens. Plus restaurants, people don't tip enough (they tip on the discounted price, not the actual), services are forced to rush people through...I could go on and on. Discount culture is not quality living, and it actually costs us all more in the long run. A good book to read that explains more of my view on this is "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" by Ellen Ruppel Shell. Eye-opening.

Edited for typo.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2012 04:56PM by JulieKay.

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East Ender
Groupon says: "Sorry we aren't there yet. Closest city to you is Orlando." Fat lot of good that does, eh? I have never even seen coupons here. You can get a group together and buy wine from a wholesaler for a bit of a discount. But I have to say, if you are looking for bargains, the VI is not a good place to search.

Yeah I couldn't really try that option because it is weird. Puerto Rico isn't part of the US Groupon. Their groupon address is groupon.com.pr and I had to create an entirily different login and password which happened to be identical to the one I have for the Groupon in the states. So my point is I asked you guys as there was really no way for me to tell if it existed in the USVI or not.

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JulieKay
Very good. Nail salons everywhere - I can point you to a few local ones. Facials, massage, etc, go to Renuatum Spa at Kalima Center - local discount 20%. They're on Facebook...there are lots of other good options too. I think STX has more natural, body, energy work, etc - but I haven't experienced much on STT.

Soapbox: I think Groupon and their ilk force businesses to discount and "cut corners" on quality products for bargain-hunters. It also causes a mob mentality of "cheap" - you get what you pay for. I've seen businesses mobbed with groupons and actually lose money - the pursuit of a "good deal" has become a destructive obsession. Business owners hope that Groupon customers will purchase add-ons above and beyond just the Groupon (that's the line that's sold to them to make the deal), but it rarely happens. Plus restaurants, people don't tip enough (they tip on the discounted price, not the actual), services are forced to rush people through...I could go on and on. Discount culture is not quality living, and it actually costs us all more in the long run. A good book to read that explains more of my view on this is "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" by Ellen Ruppel Shell. Eye-opening.

Edited for typo.

Julie so what are the range of pedicure prices?

ANd the Groupon issue. Honestly I feel in PR it just brings the prices down to what they should be for most services. At 45 plus tax pedicure, so a 50 USD pedicure that is only 45 minutes becomes 20 bucks. That should be the price of a pedicure.

And the yoga studios use them and keep using them as it brings in new customers. It's Yoga is 3 blocks from my place and every 4 or 5 months they will do a Gustazos 30 days for 30 USD. But they allow both new and existing clients which is nice. Then afterwards they will offer the Gustazos people 3 months for 180 USD (normally 3 month for 325 USD) and I lot of people sign on an aditional 3 months and after 4 months they are hooked and pay regular prices.

Another yoga studo does 10 classes for 12 USD but only for new students. They do that one about every 3 months. So these studios are obviously benefiting from these companies.

And tons of restaurants use them here. And some of my favorites too. So again they must be benefiting.

The Groupon issues you mention from the states probably don't exist here. I only bought one US Groupon. It was 25 USD for 25 yoga classes that must be used in 60 days once activated. The thing is that many studios do 30 days for 30 USD anyway for new students. I bought this Groupon while living in PR but I tried to use it when I went home for Christmas. The owner said that 6,000 were sold and she can't accept it and that I had to ask Groupon for a refund. That was my expirience with Groupon in the states. She admitted that she didn't put a cap on it. She knew she made a lot of mistakes but she should have had Groupon contact the users because I had that for 10 months and I could have been informed in advance as I would have bought a different yoga package at my home studio. Anyway I have really bad luck with Groupon too but used that as an umbrella term for all those discount sites.

I probably should have just started a new thread but I like to keep clutter down and in this case I am answering my own question.

So I got the email below today about daily deals. It sounds kind of like Groupon or Living Social or Amazon Local or one of the many, many sites out there. But none of the links were clickable. I emailed the company but I probably will not hear until Monday. Below is the email I got from no-reply@referlocal.com:

Good day, Readers!

We have an important announcement! You can now get great DEALS from the Virgin Islands from your favorite newspaper, The Daily News! With our new partnership with ReferLocal.com, the company that has brought great savings and tremendous bargains across the United States, we’ll now be showcasing the same type of terrific offers and more at USVIDEALS.com.

You can also get these amazing local offers from The Daily News and ReferLocal right from our website. Just click on “Today’s Deals” at www.VirginIslandsDailyNews.com

GREAT savings from local businesses like: Prana Spa, Enkai Sushi, Mickey Mania, Evolution Surf and more are coming your way! Get a sneak peek of the new site and enjoy this special exclusive offer: Sign-up today and earn 500 POINTS toward anything in our online store as well as great prizes including an iPad, Apple TV and gift cards to Amazon.com.

Earn MORE points by sharing your favorite deals with friends through Facebook, Twitter and email. There is no limit on how many points you can earn, so sign up and start sharing now!

Using USVIDEALS.com is a wonderful way to show your loyalty and support for local Virgin Islands businesses — all you have to do is click!



Regards,

Jason Robbins

Publisher

The Virgin Islands Daily News

I lived in Monterey for many years and have family in Sonoma. I buy California wines from Premier for about the same price I paid in California. Just be careful to store the wine in a cool place. I have a beverage center set to 58 and the wine and champagne seems fine.I have not used Groupon in the Caribbean.

Chanel are you asking for STT or STX?

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CAtoSTX
Chanel are you asking for STT or STX?

Oh I didn't go back and read my whole post. I remember I had posted about discount sites. I only resurrected because of the email I received. But I will be moving to STT eventually.

I got another email from the new discount site and I was able to sign up. If it is anything like what happened in Puerto Rico it will start out very, very slow and ramp up. If people would like to sign up I would appreciate it if you use my referral code if you can. It is:

referlocal.com/chanel