E-coupon to expire? Websites that buy

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - It's happening a lot to purchasers of “E-deals," those discount coupons from websites like Groupon and LivingSocial .

"More than 20 percent of people who purchase daily Groupons aren't actually using them", says Today.com Senior Writer Allison Linn.

Linn says most coupons have an expiration date and that purchasers of coupons for services such as scuba lessons for example, often times allow them to expire for some pretty practical reasons.

"Maybe, you bought a Groupon for a romantic restaurant but you broke up with your girlfriend and maybe you don't to go to that restaurant anymore”, says Linn. “Or, maybe, you got a Groupon to go to a nightclub in San Francisco but then you find, 'I'm not going to be going on that business trip. I don't need that Groupon anymore’”.

Now, there are websites to re-sell purchased coupons to be used before they expire.

DealsGoRound.com and CoupRecoup.com are two examples of the hundreds of such sites.

The website may charge sellers a fee for the listing, but at least some cost is recouped and the coupon is used as originally intended.

“Businesses like Groupon and LivingSocial really want people to redeem these coupons, much like retailers want people to redeem gift cards”, says Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation.

With some 400 E-deal sites available online, look for the coupon re-sale market to continue to grow.

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