Group buying sites have become popular these days. They offer you some sort of purchase at a reduced price, based on a minimum number of people purchasing the offer. Some of the most popular are Groupon, Living Social and Seize The Deal. I’ve used such sites and recommended them.

There’s one that I’ve recommended and tried to use called SaveMore. I now believe that this is merely a scam. When I signed up with the site, they gave me a $10 credit, or so they said. Later when I went to make a purchase, there was no way to apply the “credit.” The offer was for something I use, so I went ahead and purchased a $10 voucher for $5.

When I went to redeem the voucher, I discovered that the offer was for a physical gift card. That’s unusual; most of these sites have you print out a coupon rather than wait for something to be mailed to you. But I put in my info and waited. And waited. And waited.

I’ve made a few comments on Facebook and have had a seemingly concerned customer rep respond. But searching a bit on the Internet, I’ve found lots of complaints and no satisfied customers. I’m glad that I’m only out $5, though I will try and keep an eye on my credit card statements to make sure they don’t hit me for anything else.

I mainly wanted to write this in case someone saw one of my recommendations and wanted to buy from SaveMore. I can’t say unequivocally that it’s a scam, but I will repeat the obvious: Buyer beware.

And I’d love to hear from satisfied SaveMore customers who can assure me that this is no scam.

Update (9:00 a.m., CST): Got an e-mail from a SaveMore account rep informing me that my gift card “hasn’t gone out.” Mind you, this is for a card that was purchased on November 4 and redeemed on November 21. “Hasn’t gone out”? Still seems scammy.