Photographers, just say no. No only does it in the end, end up costing you money to fulfill your sold orders, it invites the type of clientele that follow the deals, not the artists.
Perhaps my first post came in a little strong. I'm by no means saying that no one should use groupon,
Well thats exactly what it sounds like you are saying!
I'm just not satisfied personally with how they have things setup. I would purchase a groupon if it was from a well known, reputable business, like say, a hotel chain, or a nation wide retail store, short of that, no, I'm not satisfied enough as a consumer that I could trust what I was buying.
Ummm, so don't buy it then, what's the big deal that you have to disparage them just because they don't meet your personal satisfaction?
so there is no chance for add on sales, unless you are able to rebook someone at your regular price.
Was the photographer involved in your local area?
Were you worried that you would lose business to them with the offer?
Was one of the people whom had their images used a friend of yours?
You seem to be taking this much more personally than just from a consumer perspective.
Is there some personal interest you have in the matter?
You have no idea what you are talking about. Their overhead is tremendous. Sending 280 million emails a month is not cheap, nor is having a staff of 170 employees. They are like any other business, charging what they feel is the market rate for their service. I decided it wasn't right for my photography business, but I do see high relevance for my day job and we are exploring how to best leverage their platform.
The OP hit the nail on the head in one aspect, Groupon is definitely for the Deal Followers - that's the whole premise of the service. Before you bash on the companies that fill that niche, or the consumers themselves that fall into that category, I would recommend you do some research into consumer behavior online, and the demographics of the various types of people who use email and social media sites. If you don't understand your consumers, you aren't going to do well anyway. There is plenty of research out there, just start searching. Maybe start by going to Twitter and following the #et10 hashtag for a start. I think the other issues from the OP have been addressed well, no point in getting into that any deeper. FWIW, Groupon is the fastest growing company ever - naturally they are going to have some critics.
I am passing this on to a friend of mine at Groupon, we'll see what they have to say.
Their cost per sale is small compared with a small merchant who is selling food or toys or any other physical product. Sending emails to people is very cheap compared with other types of advertising; that's why you see so much of it in your in-box.
In order to be able to handle the additional volume of business, it is likely that the small business that does one of these promotions is going to have to hired additional help which is going to increase their costs, they are also going to have to purchase additional goods that they are not going to be able to sell at a profit because the Groupon pricing takes such a large cut of the price. Groupon also puts the credit cards fees onto the merchant .... so in what seems to be their usual senario, the merchant has to price the product or service at half of what they normally do, Groupon takes half of that plus pases on the credit card fees onto the merchant and so the merchant has to pay their costs out of less than half of what they would normally charge for the product or service ... I don't know about you but I want to make money at my business and this senario does not give me that option; all it does is tell the cunsumer that the product or service is not worth the normal price ... It is a great busniess model for Groupon, I'm sure they are very happy with their return on investment but as an advertising medium, it is too expensive for most small businesses; I can see where it would work for a large company; they have the resorces where they can do an advertising campaign that loses money in the short term.
I did look at the possiblity of doing one, the costs do not justify the lack of return.
Sam has said it spot on just a few posts above. We can agree to disagree, but it sounds like borderline price fixing if you insist on others charging more to simply sustain your own business. You should be happy others are charging so little...less competition as they disappear after going bankrupt.
My suggestion was now where near a price fixing suggestion. To put it more succinctly you simply can not have a self sustaining business if you charge less for your product than what you spend to create it. In fact that is actually illegal in many areas (its called predatory pricing). The point of my post was to get others to consider all of their costs when setting prices. I also pointed out that if you want to lower prices and still be profitable to look at lowering expenses by becoming more efficient or cut out unnecessary overhead (for example using a home office rather than renting an office if all you do is on location work).
I can even see where a photographer may be able to profit from a groupon type offer if they structure it correctly.
Follow up: I did talk to Groupon and while they have customer service people for Groupon users they don't have any for businesses.
So basically no phone support, businesses must sign up on the internet.
Still it can be a great service for many types of businesses.
This one reason I don't do business with companies that don't have phone support. OK, OK except for SmugMug! That has been my only exception!
But their e-mail support has really provided me with everything I need, so no worries mate.
Follow up: I did talk to Groupon and while they have customer service people for Groupon users they don't have any for businesses.
So basically no phone support, businesses must sign up on the internet.
Still it can be a great service for many types of businesses.
This one reason I don't do business with companies that don't have phone support. OK, OK except for SmugMug! That has been my only exception!
But their e-mail support has really provided me with everything I need, so no worries mate.
Sam
Reports are now showing that groupon says there is a strict enrollment process to set your groupon up with a business. However many people who have used groupon say there is not. Also there is a huge discrepancy in wether or not a cap can be placed on the number of groupons sold.
In regards to the comment about groupon being the same as using a magazine or newspaper to advertise, it really isn't. Yes, the business uses groupon to connect with their following, as you do in a magazine, however, that is where the similarities end.
Reports are now showing that groupon says there is a strict enrollment process to set your groupon up with a business. However many people who have used groupon say there is not. Also there is a huge discrepancy in wether or not a cap can be placed on the number of groupons sold.
In regards to the comment about groupon being the same as using a magazine or newspaper to advertise, it really isn't. Yes, the business uses groupon to connect with their following, as you do in a magazine, however, that is where the similarities end.
I do believe each of us has made our positions known with respect to Groupon.
So if you have some direct experience with Groupon, feel free to comment. Otherwise, it's just beating a dead horse.
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I am interested in finding out the details as well. I wish groupon was in my city, Id offer a mini portrait session with limited small res digital files as part of the package. And see how that went.
Comments
Agreed.
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Well thats exactly what it sounds like you are saying!
Ummm, so don't buy it then, what's the big deal that you have to disparage them just because they don't meet your personal satisfaction?
Was the photographer involved in your local area?
Were you worried that you would lose business to them with the offer?
Was one of the people whom had their images used a friend of yours?
You seem to be taking this much more personally than just from a consumer perspective.
Is there some personal interest you have in the matter?
As said, probably best to let it go.
Their cost per sale is small compared with a small merchant who is selling food or toys or any other physical product. Sending emails to people is very cheap compared with other types of advertising; that's why you see so much of it in your in-box.
In order to be able to handle the additional volume of business, it is likely that the small business that does one of these promotions is going to have to hired additional help which is going to increase their costs, they are also going to have to purchase additional goods that they are not going to be able to sell at a profit because the Groupon pricing takes such a large cut of the price. Groupon also puts the credit cards fees onto the merchant .... so in what seems to be their usual senario, the merchant has to price the product or service at half of what they normally do, Groupon takes half of that plus pases on the credit card fees onto the merchant and so the merchant has to pay their costs out of less than half of what they would normally charge for the product or service ... I don't know about you but I want to make money at my business and this senario does not give me that option; all it does is tell the cunsumer that the product or service is not worth the normal price ... It is a great busniess model for Groupon, I'm sure they are very happy with their return on investment but as an advertising medium, it is too expensive for most small businesses; I can see where it would work for a large company; they have the resorces where they can do an advertising campaign that loses money in the short term.
I did look at the possiblity of doing one, the costs do not justify the lack of return.
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My suggestion was now where near a price fixing suggestion. To put it more succinctly you simply can not have a self sustaining business if you charge less for your product than what you spend to create it. In fact that is actually illegal in many areas (its called predatory pricing). The point of my post was to get others to consider all of their costs when setting prices. I also pointed out that if you want to lower prices and still be profitable to look at lowering expenses by becoming more efficient or cut out unnecessary overhead (for example using a home office rather than renting an office if all you do is on location work).
I can even see where a photographer may be able to profit from a groupon type offer if they structure it correctly.
Suffice to say buyer and merchant beware. Know what you're doing before embarking on a deal making or deal shopping journey!
.
Moderator of: Location, Location, Location , Mind Your Own Business & Other Cool Shots
That should be SHE
I don't know why, but everyone thinks that my user name is masculine, haha, you're not the first!! :patch
Sorry, it's really hard to tell from your avatar.
Sam
So basically no phone support, businesses must sign up on the internet.
Still it can be a great service for many types of businesses.
This one reason I don't do business with companies that don't have phone support. OK, OK except for SmugMug! That has been my only exception!
But their e-mail support has really provided me with everything I need, so no worries mate.
Sam
Reports are now showing that groupon says there is a strict enrollment process to set your groupon up with a business. However many people who have used groupon say there is not. Also there is a huge discrepancy in wether or not a cap can be placed on the number of groupons sold.
In regards to the comment about groupon being the same as using a magazine or newspaper to advertise, it really isn't. Yes, the business uses groupon to connect with their following, as you do in a magazine, however, that is where the similarities end.
:nono
.
Moderator of: Location, Location, Location , Mind Your Own Business & Other Cool Shots
I do believe each of us has made our positions known with respect to Groupon.
So if you have some direct experience with Groupon, feel free to comment. Otherwise, it's just beating a dead horse.
I've ran 2 successful Groupons that didn't tarnish the industry, and promoted my business. Ask away.
Maybe you should put your real name in your signature. Just a suggestion.
Neal Jacob
[URL="http://nealjacob.com/twitter"]Twitter[/URL]|[B][URL="http://photos.nealjacob.com"]SmugMug[/URL][/B
What were the offers, and how did they fare?
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