It was back in 2010 when I was unexpectedly admitted to hospital and I overheard a couple of nurses talking about a website where you could get deals of all kinds. One of them mentioned she’d bought a foreign holiday and “saved hundreds of dollars”.

I was intrigued and when I returned home decided to browse for ‘GrabOne’. No trouble finding it and what an Aladdin’s Cave! There were all sorts of deals with savings to be made so I exited the website – fast. It was just too tempting! It did make me wonder, though, and a day or so later I returned and booked a swanky hotel deal in the Marlborough Sounds to be used as a Christmas present for us. While booking that, I also saw a wine deal too good to miss so placed a wine order, “because it’s Christmas”.

I soon realised that there were really two ways of using this website. I could either go berserk, like the seasonal sale-bargain hunters, buying up anything and everything or else I could assess what I needed and then wait for a deal offer to come up.

Since then, over the last 5 years it’s amazing how much I’ve saved on items I’d otherwise have had to purchase at full price. Wheel alignments, WoF certificates, gardening labour, food and drinks – no, not just alcohol but fruit juices & soft drinks are just some of the range. Then there’s been the trips away to places we’d always wondered about visiting but dithered. This was clinched by a really good hotel offer. Otago (that was a motorhome GrabOne deal), Wellington, Napier, Tasman Bay, Golden Bay, Palmerston North (we’re open-minded South Islanders!), Christchurch have all featured along with other places. Some great restaurant deals too. We’ve eaten superbly in places we’d not otherwise have been able to afford. Also some great GrabOne Experiences like the TraNZAlpine, Pelorus Mail Boat, Dolphin watching are just three. Occasionally, and I mean very rarely, we get a disappointment but hey! At the savings we’ve made, it’s no biggie when something’s not perfect.

I’d say that GrabOne is lifestyle-changing. If something’s on the daily conveyor-belt of offers and it “fits” with a plan or idea you’ve got, it’s a ‘win-win’ for you and the trader. It’s now a family joke when our kids and their kids come to stay with us for a holiday and we’ve got a few bargain coffee, meal & drinks vouchers. “Oh, so it’s a GrabOne Day for us, eh? I wish we had that in our country. Such a cool idea.” It’s great having the feeling that you’ve got what you want and a bargain thrown in.

Peter Radcliffe

Meanwhile, please keep those offers coming and here’s to the next 5 years!