Fat Wallet is a deals page that provides coupons and cash back offers to its members and general site visitors. But is it all it’s cracked up to be, and can you really score some deals with it?
Overview
Nothing is better than saving money on purchases, and feeling like you’ve gotten something for the best price going. Likewise, it’s sometimes painful to learn that you’ve paid more than you should for a product after you’ve already bought it.
The Claim
The claim made by Fat Wallet is that it is home to the “savviest shoppers on the Internet”. In order for that to be true you’d have to be able to get reliable deals from the site each time you go there. However, our research discovered that the site really doesn’t offer much advantage over a Google search or just shopping at Amazon.
The Hype
Fat Wallet has been around for a long time in the world of the Internet, started over a decade ago by a lone entrepreneur. In that time it has grown to be able to have a number of employees and has been voted one of the best places to work. They seem to be doing a good job of keeping their employees happy, and offering a polished site to visitors and members.
The Cost
It’s free to browse through the different products and services at Fat Wallet, and we weren’t even bugged to sign up at all. All of the best deals are listed on the main page of the website with no sign-up required in order to be taken to the website with the deal and make your purchase. They make their money by collecting commissions on the sales made at the sites they send traffic to. It’s a common business model, and one that is used by big companies and small alike.
The Commitment
Since you don’t have to sign up there’s really no commitment involved with using Fat Wallet. You can optionally sign up as a member and get cash back bonuses credited to your account that you can eventually use to make further purchases. You may actual find that you end up buying things you don’t really need just because they were presented to you as a deal. It’s a haven for those that love their shopping therapy because there is always a wall of new products for you to scroll through and something is sure to jump out at you.
Evaluation
Some of the deals listed aren’t really deals at all. Take for example this desk that was listed on the site for $79.88:
But after clicking through to Amazon the price is $128.25:
This may be a simple error, or it could be a way to send traffic over to Amazon and put their affiliate cookie on people’s computers and devices so that they get commission on any sales made. To truly be a “deal” they would have had to be offering the desk at a price lower than what an Amazon visitor would find it for directly through Amazon.
The caveat to using a site like this is that it overrides the usual buying cycle that goes something like this: “I have a need that isn’t being met. I need a product that meets this need. I will seek out that product and buy it for the best price.” Instead you’re left with a buying cycle that goes something like this: “Look at that deal! Gimme gimme gimme!” This can lead to purchases you wouldn’t have made and you can end up spending more than you have budgeted for the month by being presented with so many seemingly good things to buy.
Final Fat Wallet Review
Overall, we were unimpressed with what Fat Wallet showed us. There were some cool features, and we don’t doubt that they’ve paid back over $42 million dollars in cashback bonuses. But the deals we looked at were either a) for stuff you probably don’t need b) expired or c) misleading or d) not very good deals at all. One feature we did like is that they scour deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial and present them to you in a nice interface.
While the site might have started out with one man and his vision to help people find deals, it seems to have devolved to a generic deal site after being acquired by Performance Marketing Brands. You may be able to find a deal here, but be sure to cross reference your finds with Google to see if you really are getting a decent deal.
Our Recommendation
Most times it’s best to drop the name of the product you’re considering into the Google search bar and you’ll instantly be presented with prices that the item is currently going for. You may be able to find the same item at the same price or lower from retailers that are more well-known and that you’d trust with the sale.
I like the layout of the website and the functionality. I also agree with Mike on this. The site doesn’t distinguish itself against other similar sites such as Groupon or even ebay or Amazon. But I do think if you are looking for a specific product, having numerous sites to search through for comparison shopping is never a bad idea. Having said that, if the majority of the deals are misleading or expired, then it ends up being a complete waste of time.
Let’s face it, if you’re scouring the web for deals that could save you a few dollars, you’re probably skilled at comparison shopping and finding the best price. It’s hard to say that Fat Wallet is the best, but there are some good deals on it. And since there’s no commitment, you might as well check it out and decide if it’s right for you. The site does work, but it’s also a competitive marketplace. Nonetheless, Fat Wallet has been around for quite some time and they provide a service for which there’s lots of demand. Sometimes coupon codes can save you even more on an already discounted item.
It looks like they’re trying to compete with Living Social and Groupon and end up failing immensely. One of the most unprofessional things you can do to your website is have functionality issues that interfere with the user experience. In this case, having a glitch that shows the wrong price for supposedly discounted products that ended up not being a great deal after all. But as Alex mentions it’s always good to have a site that we can use to our advantage to get better deals.
HI Allison,
That is a very good point you make about wasting your time on a site that isn’t accurate. I have tried different sites like this and I have yet to be impressed with any of them. As you mentioned, Living Social and Groupon are both very good and I have never seen either of them be inaccurate. It would be frustrating to me to see an add for something that seemed like a good deal and then when I go to purchase it the prices jumps up considerably. I wonder how they’ve been in business so long?
I haven’t heard about Fat Wallet before, and now I know why. I’m surprised they had so many customers given the fact that some of their offers are faulty. (Or, who knows, maybe Ricardo was right and it was just a glitch.) Now that I know I don’t think I’ll ever use their services. I think I’ll access their website when I’ll want to buy a certain item, or even just to browse every once in a while, but I doubt I’ll find a better deal than on Groupon or LivingSocial. Still, I think it’s to our advantage, the customers, to have as many coupon sites out there as possible. This will only mean better deals for us.
I am an avid deal searcher! I love Amazon, Living Social, and Groupon! I checked out Fat Wallet, but as everyone has been saying, it’s not much use! Why waste time on a site that isn’t reliable? I have found that knowing the exact name of an item, then searching for it on Google shopping is more accurate and useful. After all, Google is a search engine by nature! I don’t see how Fat Wallet is successful. Other deal sites have really stepped up their game and increased user friendliness. I don’t see how Fat Wallet can have many repeat customers!
I’m glad I checked out these reviews first. I had heard about Fat Wallet but didn’t know anyone that had actually tried using it. I did do some basic searches without taking the time to register or sign up. While there were a couple of things the piqued my interest, I suppose the deals were for things I didn’t really need and imagine would just be a spending waste. I too am a big fan of Living Social and am equally hesitant about Fat Wallet leading you to the wrong prices (is this a glitch?). It’s good to know that a fellow deal shopper essentially found the same problems I did.
My husband and I spend a lot of time finding the best bang for our buck. We utilize programs like Groupon and Living Social (especially Living Social!) to find the best deals, specifically catering to our local area. Fat Wallet provides an extremely similar service but there are a few reasons it doesn’t quite make the cut. First off, like Does It Really Work mentioned, it sometimes lists the wrong price for a featured “deal.” I feel that by using Fat Wallet I could be wasting my time because of it’s lack of dependability. With reliable businesses like Groupon and Living Social, I can’t see how this could be a better option.
While I like the name of this site, and their business model makes sense, I checked it out for myself, and I found the same thing as you did. There were deals, but most of them weren’t as good of a deal as they claimed to be. One was for a cell phone that said it should be $500 but is reduced to $15… except it only counted if you were getting a new Verizon contract. That is the same deal they always have, pretty much. If they lowered the price of the phone after the price you already get off if it from a contract or an upgrade, that would be exciting.
I don’t think people would only use this for buying things they don’t need, though. This works the same as with any type of coupon. There are always a lot of coupons to buy two get one free on something that you only want one of. You end up spending more by doing that than you would if you just bought the one thing you needed. If you use coupons correctly, though, you can sometimes find deals on things you need, and then it’s really nice!
Maybe if you need to make a big purchase, it would be nice to check this site to see if there’s a deal you can snag on something you know you want to buy.