

Ask HN: Can someone explain how Groupon works? - faramarz

I'm curious how the model works.<p>Also, do you think they seek out partnerships with a lot of shops, or only franchise businesses who can help them scale.<p>How does the Groupon team scale? Are they mostly business dev. and sales guys? or they build something nice and wait for the shop owner to discover them, offer coupons etc.<p>How do the businesses afford to give 90% off on items and still profit?<p>Basically I want to get an understanding of Groupon as a customer, but also as a curious startup guy. Hopefully some of you guys can shed light on the business side of things as well.<p>Thanks
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vincentchan
You can check out this that we have few days ago:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1282627>

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csmeder
it makes sense for companies that hope to create repeat customers. Many
fitness places love Groupon for this reason.

Or for companies that have huge mark up because they can't improve numbers
with lower prices.

