Careful what you buy through Groupon

TBeckett100

A story

I was reading the holiday forum and someone was frustrated about a holiday they bought through groupon. Whilst looking at the group on site I thought I would have a look at the deals in my area

I came across this
http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/gg-groupon-goods-global-gmb-h-663-52/47725416

Sofa's look ok, was tempted so I did a little digging

In the terms it mentions the sofa will be supplied by Furniture Wholesale Central Ltd. so I ran a Google name check to find the director Dinesh Karshan Visavadia had recently fined for selling furniture which doesn't pass fire safety

http://birminghamnewsroom.com/2014/08/city-furniture-firm-fined-11250/

The owner didn't attend meetings and basically had no idea of the material used.

So beware Groupon. Always dig!

keyser666

Standard, anyone can use groupon, no due dilligence done on them, look at Katie Brown and GBG Salons

paddyrg

Here's how Groupon works - they sell vouchers for at least 50% off the headline price. They also expect to take 50% of the voucher price. This means the supplier is seeing AT MOST 25% of the notional value of the goods.

There are 2 types of advertiser - unsuspecting small businesses thinking they can afford to lose money on each sale to get the extra custom (this is usually a mistake, Groupon customers are not loyal pet much by definition), and commercial entities who game the system. Some companies are mayflies, they are created days before the advert, have an unrealistic RRP (which, with a trading history so short they'd never have sold any at), then deep discounts to still make a profit on cheap and shoddy goods. They tend to be high margin things like memory foam toppers, 'designer' watches, and other Chinese tat that will look like a bargain when the clock is ticking and you've no time to do proper research. These guys are still making a profit on each item at 75%+ discount, and have no real expectation of follow-up custom. You can see how some corners might get cut!

elsien

You might also say, please read the small print.
As I remember, one person on the holiday forum who was displeased didn't appear to have done this and was then surprised by the added extras they'd have spotted if they'd bothered reading to the end.
Basically, do your checks. Always check out the deals against company websites and other similar businesses first. I buy experiences not goods, and haven't had a bad one yet. Some have been just ok, but if I'm getting (for example) a treatment that costs £30 elsewhere for £12 I'm not expecting miracles, OK is fine.