Here's the money quote: > If Groupon matches these payment terms, they’ll need cash faster and need to grow faster. (Google Offers accelerates the rate at whic

Here's the money quote: > If Groupon matches these payment terms, they’ll need cash faster and need to grow faster. (Google Offers accelerates the rate at which Groupon’s scheme has to draw in new suckers.) If Groupon doesn’t match, it gives Google a key differentiator to win deals. If those businesses go with Google’s more generous terms, that too will starve Groupon of the cash it needs to pay earlier merchants. I found myself laughing villainously as I read that. Google offers to by Groupon. Groupon demurs. Google destroys Groupon by forcing the Ponzi scheme into overdrive. Oh, it feels so good! Google, I forgive you everything! By the way, didn't we all flip the scam bit on Groupon months ago when this article showed up here on Hacker News: Groupon in Retrospect (posiescafe.com) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1698833 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1698833