Who doesn't like a deal? And if your buddies can help tip the deal, that's even more fun!
But what happens when everyone goes daily deal and every purchase you make is a heavily discounted group buying promotion? What happens when you've trained every consumer to wait for the discount or buy in groups? We're a long way from this scenario but with all the daily deal and group buying sites popping up, we're hurtling to this destination at a rapid pace.
Then remarkable becomes small, custom, UnGroupon, selective, invitation only, face-to-face, scale-avoiding, never-on-sale, and whisper quiet.
Allan, I don't think we are that far away from being oversaturated with group buying. There are already enough services offering this kind of promotions to dine at restaurants exclusively with heavily reduced bills. Though, luckily group buying is beneficial only to a small number of service businesses, so it cannot create unreasonable expectations everywhere.
Posted by: Denis Baranov | 01/23/2011 at 06:37 PM
Group buying is a fad that will die out as soon as people realize that services like this result in them buying a whole bunch of crap they don't need.
It is extremely difficult to resist good deals, I know... that is why this idea seems so great - especially to the investors in these companies.
Mark my words though, eventually people will wake up to how wasteful a lot of their purchases as a direct result of these deals are, and they will stop.
At this point, MAYBE these services will evolve into a "request-a-deal" kind of model where people specifically request deals on things and the sites go out and try to find other people to buy into them... but I doubt this will happen.
Posted by: Dan | 01/24/2011 at 02:27 PM
Allan,
When everyone goes to discounted group buying promotions, then the rewards for being remarkable will be even more. People who want a commodity will buy a commodity. People who want a unique item will pay for a unique item. The spread of "free" or "stolen" music on the internet has only lead to a rise in ticket costs, because true fans are willing to pay high prices for the privilege of seeing their favorite band live. Prints and digital versions of famous art works have made art available anywhere, but it has not dropped the value an original.
Sothebys recently sold Robert F. Kennedy's copy of the authorized printing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was "A true copy, with autograph signatures of the President and the Secretary of State." The document sold for 3,778,500 USD. A digital copy that looks old can be bought for $20 or $30 at a museum, and maybe for $5 at a group discount site. Perhaps when everything else is a digital copy, there is a premium for something that is rare.
Posted by: Joseph Joel Sherman | 01/25/2011 at 01:47 PM