Social Shopping Made Simple

We love everything about private sale sites and social shopping sites — that is, everything but the daily deluge of emails and sale notifications.

Thankfully, we just found two websites that take the headache out of hunting deals by compiling the best of the best in the members-only marketplaces — one for private sale sites, one for social shopping sites — so you can shop for the best bargains in two easy online destinations. Add these to your bookmarks now and say sayonara to all that spam.

LuxeChoice
Founded in December 2009 by Jerzy Glica, LuxeChoice is an elegant online directory of all the hottest invitation-only sale sites for designer deals and discounts. And, well, it's hot to death. LuxeChoice is one click away from an invitation to all the latest additions to the private sale landscape, and the (constantly updated) list is easy to browse. Sure, you know about Gilt and Rue La La and Hautelook...but what about Snappy Tuna (for kitchenwares) or Zulily (for jewelry)? Though you'll still have to click through to each site individually to find out which brands are on sale that day, LuxeChoice is a great way to keep track of existing accounts and find out about new sale sites to join.

"The invitation only boutique market is crowded indeed but there's lots
more room for innovation and new players," Glica told Shoestring by email. "Gilt posted awe-inspiring revenues in 2009. Rue La La made waves when it was purchased by GSI and when it announced a partnership with Bravo's Launch My Line. As a big bargain hunter, it's exciting to see all these options flourish. As a guy, it was great for me to see the launch Gilt Man and Jack Threads. Men are too often overlooked when it comes to fashion or luxury goods so it's exciting to see that Hautelook and Rue La La also now offer a great selection of gear for guys."

UrbanSpoils
Billing itself as the "Kayak of deals," Seattle-based Urban Spoils aggregates all the daily deals from local social shopping sites like Groupon, Tippr, Buy With Me, and Living Social — the brainchild of two entrepreneurs whose former haunts included Yahoo! and Microsoft. Once deal-seekers refine the display by their metro area, Urban Spoils becomes an at-a-glance dashboard of all the discounted restaurants, spas, and diversions currently on sale in their city.

Need more of a reason to pay attention to (and get organized about) these two growing marketplaces of social shopping and private sale sites?

According to a recent press release, Urban Spoils co-founder Raj Bharti says, "In the post-recession era that we are living in, consumers are looking for value more than ever before and group buying is here to stay."

Amen to that, we say.

Story: Copyright 2010, Shoestring LLC. Image: