In the UK there is now a website called tickles.co.uk. It is like many other sites such as Groupon, in that it is a group buying/coupon site. However, unlike Groupon and other companies it is based in the UK, in the East of England. At the time of writing it is only in Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge and since I don't live in any of these areas I am unable to give a first hand review - however I will collate information from elsewhere to explain the concept of the site and welcome you to add your own personal thoughts below.
First a bit of history - Tickles.co.uk was set up in 2010 in the city of Norwich and has since expanded to Ipswich and Cambridge, with plans to launch in London. In January 2011 half of the company was sold to a regional newspaper publisher and so it is expected that there will be a degree of advertising for tickles on local newspaper websites, particularly those in the east of England.
Tickles is like many other similar websites - it is a group buying service. Basically Tickles establishes links with companies in the cities/towns in which they operate. The company agrees to give discounted services to Tickles (which Tickles pass on to the customers) as long as enough people purchase the service. These discounts are often well over 50% and potentially up to 90% and on a range of items as diverse as spa treatments to discounted smoothies to driving lessons. The company works by offering each deal for a specific length of time - normally this is a day but it can be a weekend or even a week.
Tickles is currently advertising that it will be launching in London, where there are already many different such websites including Groupon, Keynoir, Living Social and KGB Deals. Once this happens I should be able to give a first hand review. Until then though all I can say is I think the company is reputable. It has been going for almost a year and is part owned by a large regional newspaper company. Furthermore, many people think that such website must be scams, but Groupon etc have proven that this isn't the case.
Have you used Tickles.co.uk? How would you rate it? Would you consider it to be a scam? I welcome your comments as I am sure other visitors to this site will.
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I used my tickles voucher this weekend and had a night for 2 in Norwich boutique hotel for £20 instead of £135. It was a real bargain and I would recommend this to the public. The hotel was really nice and the rooms were ideal.
ReplyDeleteI would not have stayed at the original price as money is tight for everyone. I hope they offer options for other parts of the country i.e. peak district, lake district, and other scenic places in the future as this would give more people the opportunity when otherwise would not have been possible. Well recommended.
Hi, I met some reps at the Grand Designs Live in Docklands last weekend and had a chat with them. I am already a member of Groupon and have experienced a couple of excellent deals with them. Although it is established in just a few cities at the moment, if the deals are going to be as good as Groupon, I don't see why it will not be as successful.
ReplyDeleteI have used the Norwich site and I have never had a problem with it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (x2!) and Richard thanks for providing feedback. It is good to see that you have had good experiences with Tickles and I would imagine it is good to have an alternative to Groupon as competition should improve the deals and service to the consumer.
ReplyDeleteI have used Tickles and all the deals have been half price or better (realy half price) and i have taken the wife out several times for meals and we always go back and eat again if we like the place and pay full price. Currently i am loving the earlham arms which appeared a month or so ago. Unlike Group On they keep it local and keep the money in norfolk which is a good thing. also Group On have appeared on watchdog unlike Tickles so for me it has better integrity.
ReplyDeleteI have used tickles norwich several times, no problems . More resturant deals would be good
ReplyDeleteNo back up in the case of problems, rude staff of seemingly 17 year olds. Wouldn't use them again.
ReplyDelete