Well here’s a stupidly good deal that you really can’t pass up on (especially if you’re going to buy something at Amazon in the near future). LivingSocial.com is having a nation-wide deal on a $20 Amazon gift card, 50% off for $10. The deal started a couple of hours ago and went from 50,000 takers, to 200,000 to the now incredible 740,000 sign-ups (as of time of writing). Grab the deal fast as time is running out.

For those that aren’t familiar with Living Social (or sites like it such as Groupon), these are daily group-buy deal websites that presents you with usually location/local based deals. You can see from the screenshot above that they’re currently presenting me with Orange County, CA deals.

Groupon and LivingSocial have both been around for quite awhile now (about 2 years+), and both are legitimate companies offering local deals. If you’re wondering why and how Living Social is doing this sweet Amazon deal, in short, Amazon has invested about $175 million into Living Social in recent months. It’s unsurprising that they’d want more coverage and brand recognition for the company they’ve invested in, and its most likely Amazon is heavily subsidizing this particular deal.

Still Not a Big Fan Yet of Local Deal-of-the-Day Sites

Although I’m a big time bargain hunter, I still haven’t really taken advantage of any Groupon or Living Social, etc. deal sites yet. Simply put, most of the deals don’t really interest and/or entice me. A quick skim on local nearby deals shows that I can premium skin care in Los Angeles, discount on a cleaning agency in Orange County, and uh, yoga sessions in San Fernando Valley. Today’s Groupon deal shows $20 for $40 worth of scrapbooking supplies and classes at a local scrapbooking store:

Having said that, these deal-of-the-day group buying sites can be of great value to users and local businesses that sometimes promote on them (even if results are sometimes mixed). You can find and support local businesses that you may have never heard about before, and for the local small businesses, perhaps earn a new loyal customer.

Have you tried sites like Groupon and Living Social yet? If so, share your experience in the comments below.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the Amazon deal if you’re buying something from Amazon in the near future (the gift card will be available the following day).