So I clicked on one of the to many emails I receive daily from Groupon becuase "iconic amusement park" was in the title. Turns out it was CP tickets for $33.50 good through 9/11 and thought someone might be interested so I went to my browser to look up the details, but couldn't find the deal directly. I am in Columbus and it turns out my location was set to Cincinnati. Turns out if I set my location to Columbus, Cleveland, or Sandusky the deal would show up in search results, but not Cincinnati, Denver, Falls Church and a few other random cities I entered.

I have purchased a few things from Groupon but do not have extensive experience. Clearly this is a targeted campaign. I imagine a business could set a deal for only locals or maybe even not for locals depending on their goals.

Does anyone with more experience with Groupon know of a way to strip out such filters or a separate service that does so? Or if doing so is any violation?

It's not much help, but I can give you a little insight. Groupon does cold calls to businesses until they get the deal they want. We have gotten one other two calls a year for the last 8 years, even after telling them to not call us.

Unfortunately I don't know much about their sales.

Groupon deals are often offered on a per-city basis. It's legitimate to look at a different city's Groupon page to see deals offered there.

 

Sometimes, there are Groupon coupons or cash back deals to make the prices even better. Do be aware that 30-50% of the Groupon purchase price goes to Groupon instead of to the vendor.

 

Groupon deals usually don't last very long. The idea is that they bring in additional customers who wouldn't have otherwise visited the business. The CP deal still seems to be live: https://www.groupon.com/deals/cedar-point-15

 

 

Does anyone with more experience with Groupon know of a way to strip out such filters or a separate service that does so? Or if doing so is any violation?

 

I've used Groupon (and similar sites) to get good, last-minute prices at Great Wolf Lodge for the annual holiday party. It works well as long as you know exactly what you're purchasing.