Hip2Save.com is mainly a deal hunting blog that has been around since 2008. Hip2Save also posts coupons and freebies besides the deals. We followed Hip2Save over the course of 3 years and we are glad to be able to review it for you.
PROS:
- Updated everyday with lots of deals.
- Layout "Grid" view is useful to get an overview of all the posts.
- During the holidays (and all year round), the deal posts can save you a ton of money on gifts.
- Site loads fairy fast and isn't bogged down by advertisements.
- Freebies section is very easy to follow.
- Gives credit when credit is due. This is huge because lots of other bloggers just steal content without linking back, but Hip2Save is always linking back. Awesome.
- Great YouTube video series on how to coupon.
There are a few minor issues with Hip2Save.
- The amount of posts can be VERY overwhelming. Some days, there is an upwards of over 50 posts and that is simply just too much to take in. It's hard to keep track of the deals. The average person doesn't have enough time to swift through 30+ posts each day, so it is easy to miss out on something good.
- Freebies are sometimes posted late and they are out before the readers are able to take advantage of them. Freebies are posted a lot faster on other sites.
- This might not be a con for everyone, but Collin (the owner of the blog) has her face posted literally everywhere. Her face is all over the template and images in blog posts. It gets a little bit annoying to the average person who just wants to save money.
- Collin has a big team of employees working for her but most people seem to think it is just Collin running the blog. This is due to the fact that the Hip2Save team make it seem like it is Collin posting and commenting on the deals.
- Affiliate links. Affiliate links everywhere. The Hip2Save disclosure policy does state this so it isn't a secret, but literally every single deal-type post has affiliate links. We understand the blog has to generate revenue, but this leads us to question if deals are posted JUST for the purpose of making money. What if the deal isn't really a great deal but just to help the blog generate revenue?
4 comments:
I love H2S and have been following the blog for years but lately I feel like it has grown too much to the point where it isn't fun to follow. Collin (or her team) legit posts like 100 times per day. It's becoming harder to follow the blog! :/ Will still follow but will try limit my browsing to just the freebies/coupons section
Becoming harder to follow the blog. Seems like there's a new deal post every 5 minutes... App has a lot more ads now too.
I still follow H2S but it getting SUPER SUPER cluttered lately. I don't know how they do it, but they literally post a deal every 5 minutes and it has gotten to the point where it is overwhelming to browse the site. I wish they'd cut back on the posts. Sometimes less is more. I might have to switch over to another site that is easier to follow
Hip2Save will ban you on Facebook and their Website if you try to inform their followers (via comments section) that a deal they post is bad, such as an Amazon item that receives a D or F rating on fakespot.com. They will remove your comments to hide the fact that the deal they posted is shady. The only reason I can think that they would remove informational comments and block the user, would be related to possible loss of affiliate commission they receive from posting the item/deal. This is a very shady practice. I used to love this site so much, but I can't back a site that wants their followers to be ill informed so they can profit themselves from sale of a suspiscous item. Do yourself a favor, any Amazon item they post, grab the Amazon URL for that item and plug it into fakespot.com first before buying. A few months back they posted a deal to a non-approved UGG vendor, who was a known counterfeiter. I informed them, showed them my chat with UGG stating that business was a known counterfeiter, and they left the deal posted. They used to screen deals much better, now they just seem to churn out as many deals with affiliate links that they possibly can. Hip2Save started as a couponing site, but has now turned into an influencer/affiliate monster. Don't trust them anymore.
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