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I am glad it worked out for you, but I find the practice of raising prices so you can claim a discount to be abhorrent - I hope businesses don't do it to me mor
by andrewljohnson 15y ago
I am glad it worked out for you, but I find the practice of raising prices so you can claim a discount to be abhorrent - I hope businesses don't do it to me more than I think. This is the same scam that happens in every mall jewelry store.
I guess the big question is did you make the price increase "to all customers" permanent, or is that part of the Groupon song and dance? If you just do it during Groupons, then while it may work, it's deceptive. You're not helping any customer in any way by perpetrating your "discount." It might be good for the bottom line, but the tactic is all about fleecing the sheep.
This is another business tale that I'll chalk up as an argument against Groupon. At least it tells me I need to get dirty to use Groupon effectively. I think Rocky over at TechCrunch is spot on - Groupon isn't run by evil people, but it's set up to be gray and shady by nature. It's Conway's Law brought to life.
- joeguilmette 15y agoThe 10k is still $169, is in effect for all customers, and is advertised as such on our site. We wanted to boost T-Shirt sales so we raised shirt prices $5 and then gave everyone a $5 off coupon. It worked like a charm, and nothing is nefarious about that, is it?
- andrewljohnson 15y agoI think if the overall price increase is permanent then it is indeed not deceptive on your part... totally fine by me at least. On the other hand, if that's what it takes for a business to use Groupon effectively, then that makes me question Groupon's long-term value to consumers. EDIT: Here, I made a picture. Is this good for me as a buyer of things? http://i.imgur.com/zJrxw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zJrxw.jpg
- theatrus2 15y agoIts nothing new to Groupon. Its a classic retail strategy - have sales or discounts on a continuous basis. In effect, many people do not pay the high-margin MSRP price.
- joeguilmette 15y agoSo maybe the $99 jump is as big of a deal as it sounds like - but assuming they go into the funnel that we want them to: -buy a $99 weekday only 10k jump -reserve a weekend, upgrade to 15k for an additional $30 they are getting a $199 product for $129. still a GREAT deal.
- randall 15y agoCuriously, do you ever sell any shirts w/o a coupon? I mean literally, not figuratively, have you sold 1 w/o a coupon?
- joeguilmette 15y agoThe prices listed on everything is inflated $5, but we don't even bother 'redeeming' the coupons, the prices are just $5 lower in the computer. We really don't care, we just want people to feel like they're getting a deal and to think harder about looking at the shirts and buying one. We also spent a lot of time and money making them cool, attractive and well made.
- pbhjpbhj 15y ago>we just want people to feel like they're getting a deal and to think harder about looking at the shirts and buying one. So you get them to commit to spending the full amount, come to the till cash-in-hand and then you let them walk away with the extra $5? What do you do with them then? Is there a "reserve your next discount drop for only $5" deal or something? It looks like you did price differentiation then failed to complete on those that can afford the higher price.
- joeguilmette 15y agoThey get the coupon before they buy the shirts but after they jump, in their diploma packet. more people buy shirts because of it.
- thaumaturgy 15y ago> I hope businesses don't do it to me more than I think. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that this is exactly Safeway's entire business model.
- dclowd9901 15y agoFree market. If someone thinks x isn't worth $169, but it is worth $169 after 20% off, that's just savvy business. You'll find in marketing, perception is nearly always more important than reality.