How do sites like Groupon, Rue La La, Woot and Haute Look get such good deals?

I will speculate to answer this question, based upon years of shopping and reading the fine print included in various offers. You are correct, I think, in guessing that the volume of items sold is one reason the cost is low. If a merchant knows that they'll sell a whole bunch of something without having to do any advertising because the item is going through a service that attracts eyes to the intermediate vendor, then they can offer a huge reduction in price, because the volume of sales will compensate for the lower profit per sale.

There may also be another self-serving aspect going on for each merchant beyond the one-day sales through places like Groupon (there is one of those in my area, so I joined to take a quick look at their offer). If you look at ad circulars in the newspaper or mail every week, some stores will have one or two popular items at ridiculously low prices, in order to attract shoppers into the store. These are called "loss leaders," and the presumption is that the regular prices on everything else that a shopper buys while they're in the store will more than cover the loss the store takes on those couple of charismatic items.

For example, in grocery store ads, Items frequently included in this kind of offer might be soda pop, snack foods, bread, milk, etc. If a store or merchant can get you to look at their location, brand, service, or merchandise based upon that ultra-low price offered once, they are attracting eyes to themselves in a more fine-tuned way than by simply mailing a million fliers through targeted mailings or other forms of advertising. Another reason I think places like Groupon can offer such a low price is that they aren't building in any expense for themselves. They won't offer replacements and they don't fix things.

They get a percentage of the sales from each merchant whose items are featured, but they assume no liability for any of the items or services they offer each day. This is part of the summary in the Groupon site: >>>>•Groupon takes no responsibility for the services or products for which Groupon vouchers (hereinafter “vouchers�) may be redeemed – Groupon makes no warranty to the Groupon End Users for the quality, safety, usability, or other aspect of the product or service for which the Groupon is redeemed. Some services for which Groupon can be redeemed are activities that involve potential bodily harm (such as skydiving, etc), and for those activities, Groupon takes no responsibility for the service or activity being offered, and the End User takes responsibility for his or her own actions in utilizing the services for with the Groupon can be redeemed.

If the time in which you can purchase the item or service is so short that you don't have time to do a little reasonable research, then you probably need to pass on that offer until the next time. And remember the truism: if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. Buyer beware, do your homework, because it's only a bargain if you can actually get the service or product you paid for.

You asked about going directly to the source to get the "same awesome deal. " I suspect if you miss the deal offered one day on one of these sites, you'll have to mention the deal you saw if you approach the vendor. They might give you a discount close to that offer, just to get your business.

But this is just a guess. :) Good luck and happy shopping! There is a Mahalo page for Groupon for more specific information about that site and a link to a news story about it: mahalo.com/groupon.

I will speculate to answer this question, based upon years of shopping and reading the fine print included in various offers. You are correct, I think, in guessing that the volume of items sold is one reason the cost is low. If a merchant knows that they'll sell a whole bunch of something without having to do any advertising because the item is going through a service that attracts eyes to the intermediate vendor, then they can offer a huge reduction in price, because the volume of sales will compensate for the lower profit per sale.

There may also be another self-serving aspect going on for each merchant beyond the one-day sales through places like Groupon (there is one of those in my area, so I joined to take a quick look at their offer). If you look at ad circulars in the newspaper or mail every week, some stores will have one or two popular items at ridiculously low prices, in order to attract shoppers into the store. These are called "loss leaders," and the presumption is that the regular prices on everything else that a shopper buys while they're in the store will more than cover the loss the store takes on those couple of charismatic items.

For example, in grocery store ads, Items frequently included in this kind of offer might be soda pop, snack foods, bread, milk, etc. If a store or merchant can get you to look at their location, brand, service, or merchandise based upon that ultra-low price offered once, they are attracting eyes to themselves in a more fine-tuned way than by simply mailing a million fliers through targeted mailings or other forms of advertising. Another reason I think places like Groupon can offer such a low price is that they aren't building in any expense for themselves. They won't offer replacements and they don't fix things.

They get a percentage of the sales from each merchant whose items are featured, but they assume no liability for any of the items or services they offer each day. This is part of the summary in the Groupon site: >>>>•Groupon takes no responsibility for the services or products for which Groupon vouchers (hereinafter “vouchers”) may be redeemed – Groupon makes no warranty to the Groupon End Users for the quality, safety, usability, or other aspect of the product or service for which the Groupon is redeemed. Some services for which Groupon can be redeemed are activities that involve potential bodily harm (such as skydiving, etc), and for those activities, Groupon takes no responsibility for the service or activity being offered, and the End User takes responsibility for his or her own actions in utilizing the services for with the Groupon can be redeemed.

If the time in which you can purchase the item or service is so short that you don't have time to do a little reasonable research, then you probably need to pass on that offer until the next time. And remember the truism: if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. Buyer beware, do your homework, because it's only a bargain if you can actually get the service or product you paid for.

You asked about going directly to the source to get the "same awesome deal. " I suspect if you miss the deal offered one day on one of these sites, you'll have to mention the deal you saw if you approach the vendor. They might give you a discount close to that offer, just to get your business.

But this is just a guess. :) Good luck and happy shopping! There is a Mahalo page for Groupon for more specific information about that site and a link to a news story about it: mahalo.com/groupon.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.