Friday, March 19, 2010

Less Is More

I have a very stylish and savvy friend who is a master of getting deals. Seriously, if discount shopping were an Olympic sport, this girl would be lousy with gold medals. She owns Black Friday, hacks Cyber Monday, and could write the book on discount shopping on every other day of the week, too. She goes into Lohmann's and Nordstrom Rack like a well-seasoned general going into battle, and always departs with the bountiful spoils of war (she actually expressed disappointment that, due to a short timeline planning her wedding this summer, she wasn't able to get her dress at the "Running of the Brides" dress sale at Filene's Basement in Boston).

While I admire, and frequently envy, her bargain-getting skills, I have come to terms with the fact that I just don't have it in me (whatever "it" is). I like what I like and if I can afford it, I'll buy it.  Ideally, I'd like my deals to come to me. And, that's why I love Yipit.com, a deal-aggregator website that was started by my friends Vinny and Jim. Yipit allows you to enter your location and interests (say, "Spas" and "Bars and Clubs", or as specific as "Teeth Whitening" or "Boot Camp"), and shows you the best deals relevant to you in your area, which are compiled from sites like Groupon, LifeBooker and Dealist. Instead of getting a ton of emails full of "deals" that aren't interesting to you, you get one email tailored to the things you like. Trust me- it'll fit better than an off-the-rack wedding dress.

Yipit is currently available in Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, and San Francisco and is coming soon to Atlanta, Las Vegas, London, San Diego and Washington, DC.

Want bargains in your neighborhood fast and cheap? Deal with it.

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