More and more websites like Jump On It, Scoopon and Spreets (if you know of more, do let us know in the comments below) are on the rise these days. If you are not familiar with how websites like these works, here’s a short summary. They offer daily deals of stuff to buy, but instead of things, they offer experiences on the cheap, e.g. beauty treatments, cheap dining at posh restaurants, holiday packages (fancy swimming with dolphins? A balloon ride?), etc. There will be a quota of customers to fill when you purchase the deal. For example, if there are at least 20 customers who purchased the offer, then the deal is on, and your credit card is charged. If not, then your credit card is not charged, and the deal expires. These deals are not just available in Melbourne. Click on the city you’re after, and you’ll see local offers too.

I haven’t tried out any of the dining, gaming, etc offers, but I was very interested in the beauty treatments. I think it’s a good opportunity to try out beauty salons you’ve never been to before, and have beauty treatments at very affordable prices. I’ve already purchased 2 facials, a hair treatment and an IPL treatment (which I’ve never tried before, so the last bit should be interesting).

Beauty treatments in Australia aren’t cheap; a lot of which cost hundreds of dollars. With offers from these websites, you get to have facials, massages, mani-pedis, hair treatments, etc for well under a hundo. Score, if you ask me.

However, there are a few caveats to the very enticing offers:
– Check the expiry date to the offers. Most of them last a good year, but there are some which only lasts 3-6 months. Once the offer’s expired, your voucher’s useless.
– With the very cheap prices offered, you’ll bound to find hundreds of people who jumped on the deals as well. Get a move on, quickly make your booking with the salons as a lot of them will be fully booked out, especially during the weekends. A friend of mine couldn’t get any bookings in till February 2011!
– You might bump into some hardselling from the salon. I haven’t encountered this yet, thank goodness. Reputatable salons will not give you any grief, as they are known for good customer service and would want your repeated business. Do your research on the salons first before you click on the “Buy It Now” button.
– You might not get the full experience the salon would offer with the full-priced treatment.

It’s advisable to just purchase a few of these offers, arrange your bookings to a beauty treatment a month (something to look forward to, at the very least), and enjoy them. It’s very easy to be enticed by the amazing prices some of these salons offer, and certainly very tempting to keep buying. Bear in mind that it all adds up, and you might not be able to get the bookings you wanted. Research the salon, make sure you space all these treatments out, and enjoy.

I’ve got a facial waiting for me at the end of the month, which only cost me a mere 29 bucks, and I can’t wait!

I’m not affiliated with any of these websites and I’m not paid to do this write-up. Just thought I’d share some goodies I discovered with you.