Half Off Fox and Obel

Groupon has half off groceries at the Fox and Obel today!

http://www.groupon.com/deals/fox-obel/

I was just going to put this up. I bought 2. I love F & O.

We bought four. Thinkin' about getting some wagyu beef.

Sold out.

I just tried out my theory. I went over to Fox & Obel and said to the manager, "I see you have a $20 for $40 goupon scam going on today. I don't want to go through all of that hassle, so if I buy a bunch of stuff today totalling at least $40, would it be possible for me to get $20 off?" Answer: "That's a strange request, and I can't say I've ever heard it before. But sure, why not?" Then I told him I was just kidding and went about my shopping.

wait, what was your theory? and why call groupon a scam?

dddane wrote:wait, what was your theory? and why call groupon a scam?

My theory is that there is no reason to buy a groupon or any of these other supposed "deals" on similar websites. If you really want a discount, all you have to do is ask for one. Skip the momeymaking middleman. Groupon and real estate agents are in the same category of useless entities in my book.

I tried to do the same thing with the $5 Kobe burger at Sweets & Savories but I felt that the impact of the request was dulled as I'd forgotten my dry ice bombs in the car

Kennyz wrote:

dddane wrote:wait, what was your theory? and why call groupon a scam?

My theory is that there is no reason to buy a groupon or any of these other supposed "deals" on similar websites. If you really want a discount, all you have to do is ask for one. Skip the momeymaking middleman. Groupon and real estate agents are in the same category of useless entities in my book.

Do you think you would have gotten the same response if the Groupon hadn't been offered for sale, and you just walked in out of the blue and asked for a 50% discount on everything you bought? Or, on F&O's end, do you think they would have gotten so much additional traffic if they'd simply put up signs in the stores offering the discount to the first 10,000 people to ask?

Point being, seems to me that Groupon doesn't offer discounts, they're an advertiser. Whatever money they take in the transactions could just as easily have gone to, say, a newspaper or some other advertising outlet. Either way, F&O decided to offer a discount and they paid somebody to get the word out. I'm not sure how doing it in this format rather than a traditional ad format turns it into a scam. Groupon is the online pennysaver. That's all.

Well Dom, I always hated the pennysaver too, and to be truthful I have a similar distaste for just about all forms of mass advertising, brokerage, and valet parking.

Kennyz wrote:My theory is that there is no reason to buy a groupon or any of these other supposed "deals" on similar websites. If you really want a discount, all you have to do is ask for one. Skip the momeymaking middleman. Groupon and real estate agents are in the same category of useless entities in my book.

Well, your way you have to talk to people. So that's a big flaw right there.

cilantro wrote:

Kennyz wrote:My theory is that there is no reason to buy a groupon or any of these other supposed "deals" on similar websites. If you really want a discount, all you have to do is ask for one. Skip the momeymaking middleman. Groupon and real estate agents are in the same category of useless entities in my book.

Well, your way you have to talk to people. So that's a big flaw right there.

a folded up note and a weapon works too