<p>^^ Yes, this is what they told me. </p>
<p>There is one currenly being offered through Columbus that looks good to me. For $16 you may have $35 in groceries through Dormzy. You can apparently apply part of the at Groupon toward the shipping if you want. I think that if you spend $49, the shipping is free. This looks like a good offer to me for people with children away at school.</p>
<p>I was going to post about Groupon on the opentable.com com thread because the issues that business owners are having with both are similar. Now that there’s a Groupon thread, I’ll pipe in to say that some small consumer product businesses are finding that the Groupon trend is anything but positive. The typical terms are that Groupon takes 100% of any coupon under $10, leaving the business struggling to pay its costs with the remainder of what the consumer pays.</p>
<p>Here’s one perspective: [Posies</a> Cafe Groupon in Retrospect](<a href=“http://posiescafe.com/wp/?p=316]Posies”>http://posiescafe.com/wp/?p=316)</p>
<p>Sounds to me like this business owner didn’t do her homework very well in advance to see if Groupon was the right decision for her. Of course, people who try to abuse the system or don’t read the rules often pose a problem - I’ll give her that. But the $$ figures are something she should have simply sat down with a pen and paper with FIRST before agreeing - and if necessary (like other businesses do) limit the amount sold. </p>
<p>If you read the comments below the article (many that there are!) you will hear many differing views.</p>
<p>Madison Groupon running a cookie special…2 dozen for $22 which includes shipping.</p>
<p>I agree with abasket. Through the comments you can begin to see both sides of the Groupon idea.</p>
<p>I have another question about it. If you buy a groupon from company A and then 2 months later company A offers the same deal in another city or even the same city, can you buy a second groupon to use with company A again, or is this a one time deal for that consumer with that company, regardless of the number of times it is offered? I understand that the consumer can use only one Groupon for themselves per offer (and can buy more Groupons as gifts for others. I have noticed that some cap the quantity of these btw).</p>
<p>As a user, I really love it. We have bought some great dinner tickets, and also 2 for 1 movie tickets just recently. </p>
<p>I haven’t found LivingSocial to be very good (for me) as in my city it is more about spas, and beauty treatments, that do not appeal. But Groupon is more about entertainment which suits me great. </p>
<p>We are doing things we would not otherwise expose ourselves to, because the opportunity presented itself. I would hope it leads to repeat business for the companies that experiment with it (even if its a loss upfront perhaps).</p>
<p>I’m looking at this from both the consumer and retailer perspective … and while it’s generally full of good deals for the consumer, I do not see how it is a good deal for me as a retailer. Restaurants, services, entertainment venues, or very high markup items, yes. I can see how GAP can do well with it (they work on a very high margin) but for your typical local independent retailer – it is not a good idea.</p>
<p>It typically is NOT a good deal for the business, for all the reasons stated above. The company uses the old “fear of loss” sales tactic. They also pit businesses against each other - only offering the deepest discount. Most retailers would not do it again, but most are small businesses, not all, and they want to do some kind of internet, social media advertising and they aren’t sure what to do. So they do this. Keep in mind, as more and more of the local advertising dollars go to national websites/ emails, etc … your local media such as radio, tv and newspapers will struggle more than they are. That is where you local sports, weather, news comes from - and it costs money to provide those local services. As the local advertisers turn to advertising like this and consumers support them - there will be less and less local content in markets. Just something to be aware of as we spend our dollars.</p>
<p>Another Interesting Study:
[Survey:</a> 42% of Groupon SMBs Would Not Repeat](<a href=“Welcome screenwerk.com - BlueHost.com”>Welcome screenwerk.com - BlueHost.com)</p>
<p>The Groupon that I just purchased is interesting because for $16 one can purchase $35 worth of goods (shipping can be included and it they charge $7 for shipping on purchases under $49). They have priced into their product for shipping for other customers already because when one purchases $49 in product shipping is “free”. Under $49 shipping is about $7. I think that there is a enticement for the consumer to purchase an extra $14 in product above the Groupon to get “free shipping”. I don’t see as much downside for a retailer who markets this way.</p>
<p>Looks like the business that has the cookie deal in post #24 likes Groupons because they appear to be promoting Groupons on their website.</p>
<p>I suppose if it is a bad idea for small businesses, they won’t be doing it and Groupon will die. If it does work for small business, Groupon will survive. I don’t see where any small business is pressured into participating so I really don’t see the downside here (except perhaps, one failed experiment). </p>
<p>I think the idea would be for small business to take a loss for the Groupon, but gain a lot of recognition and repeat business (as coupons are supposed to do). But also they may benefit like companies do with gift cards…only a subset of Groupon certificates bought will actually be redeemed.</p>
<p>There are times in small seasonal businesses where it would simply be nice to move some inventory and justify keeping staff on so that good well trained people can work year round. I had a business that had half the sales in January as July, I can see the appeal of a LIMITED number of add on sales that covered hard costs being helpful, if it brought in new people or even old people in the off season and perhaps helped kick start a new habit. If it was only my regulars and all of a sudden they all paid half price, that would hurt.</p>
<p>I have used Groupon or LivingSocial for 2-3 items, a salon & a gift card to a nationwide retailer and possibly one other. The salon will not make any money on me as I cannot afford to pay full price for the service, but I tipped based on the retail amount and I have passed out their brochure to several friends who spend more on salon services than I can.</p>
<p>Our local Groupon today is a good one - (I like the restaurant ones the best!) - Mongolian Bbque $20 value for $10!!! Bought one for myself and 2 for stocking stuffers for my kids.</p>
<p>I used a restaurant Groupon and liked the restaurant and the discount. Thought it was a good deal. My D was the one who turned me on to Groupon and mostly I don’t see much that I want. </p>
<p>A book group friend shared with the group that she and her D used a Groupon to have their teeth whitened for half the regular price. This place offered a UV whitening process and even with protection, my friend said that her gums were burned?? Makes me wonder who are the folks offering these discounts? Businesses that can’t get customers? I guess I was surprised that my friend was so calm about the fact that her gums got burned–her comment was–“it was a little uncomfortable and it went away and now my teeth are white and it was cheap”.</p>
<p>Well some businesses must find it to be profitable - the one locally mentioned above (Mongolian barbeque) already has over 1200 sold and the offer will continue over the weekend. It does say “limited number available” but it apparently isn’t TOO limited!!!</p>
<p>^^Wish that Mongolian BBQ Groupon was available for their Michigan locations. I love that place!</p>
<p>It’s rarely profitable, they discounts are 50% off. Of the remaining 50% that the customer is charged, Groupon takes 60% of that charge. As one other poster said, if one can sell a limited number to move inventory, or try to attract new customers, that can be a good tool. When someone sells their product for 20% take of the original value - even in large quantities, that is rarely a good deal for the business. It is for the customer.</p>
<p>Anyone care to post great Groupon offers here each day? Many of us have signed up for one or more notifications for our area (or our children’s locale) but can’t keep track of every city that may have a great offer. I’ve never made a purchase yet but some do look enticing.</p>
<p>I do just that on my blog everyday. There are two posts per day. One has the Groupon deals for every city. The other post is all the deals that can be used by anyone (in any city or town) because they’re redeemable online. </p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>GroupRoundup (love your moniker), welcome! I am glad that you found us and that through another poster we found your blog. I do plan on clicking onto your daily blog.</p>