Did ya read the WHOLE article???
he didnt "just" generalize with helicopter rides...he broke it down
he also put out there what i did, and like i said, I dont have a problem with people making money....I have a problem with them doing it in a dark room in their tighty whiteys
"It was right about then that I grew tired of the conversation. I could do the math; he didn’t even know what numbers to plug in. All he saw was a sweet deal for Groupon: $495 x 50% x 30% = $74.25 per voucher sold. Multiply that by, say 250 vouchers, and
Groupon pockets over $18K —
just by making a phone call and doing a bunch of things that are likely handled by its computer systems. Cha-ching! On to the next business!
heres the positive spin
The Exception:
Fixed Cost or High Margin Businesses
Of course, this is just my business and another one similar to it. Clearly, businesses that have fixed costs or high profit margins can afford to get only 25¢ or 35¢ on the dollar for their products or services.
One guy who contacted me the last time I wrote about Groupon or Living Social has a rock-climbing business. He already has the equipment and the storefront. His operating costs don’t change based on the number of people who show up to use his facility. The extra few dollars per person he received through his deal could actually help him make ends meet. People paid $8 for a $16 service; he got $3.60 per voucher. He told me he expected 20% to 40% no shows and was happy with his deal. Of course, he only sold a few hundred.
Restaurants might also do well, since they often have high profit margins. (What does it really cost to make a latte?) But at least one restaurant owner suffered badly after a Groupon deal, primarily though larger crowds than she could handle, people using multiple Groupon vouchers to pay for an entire meal, and gratuities to servers based on the discounted amount rather than the full price (which didn’t make the staff very happy at all).
I wonder how many others have had similar experiences but just haven’t blogged about it.
My wife has bought a few vouchers for theme parks....well guess what, they are happy as
punch to have someone walk through their doors, cuz they are open and burning power anyway.. In hopes they will return, in a mth or so at full price, and/or by the goodies there at 2-400% mark ups
For an owner/op, I think its horrible cuz your chasing around all this cheap stuff...if you have 2-3 trucks then its probably fine to keep your guys working, as you already have some fixed costs there anyway...
O/O BAD IDEA PERIOD
