Groupon: anti-NRA?
Odd: Despite the evident demand, Groupon refuses to promote guns or ally with an NRA-endorsed company.
Looks to me more like their anti-gun in an effort to avoid ruffling feathers. Of course, by not selling guns, they’re going to ruffle more feathers. They’ll figure it out.
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:02 am
That’s a good thing. Groupon is predicated upon the ludicrous concept that devaluing your product, attracting hordes of coupon shoppers, and losing a lot of money is a good way to promote your business. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:03 am
I swear i’ve heard of Groupon doing Carry Permit classes here in Nashville
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:06 am
Wizard, thought so too. But that was livingsocial i found, after I looked.
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:28 am
Ahh
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:37 am
Ah, they are about to discover. Anti-gunners are loud, but gun lovers and those who just like them are loaded. They’ve got cash, they’ve got credit and they aren’t afraid to use it. Just not, you know, with those who are anti-gun.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:17 am
It is Living Social that is doing the Gun courses etc. Even in the DC area.
December 2nd, 2011 at 2:55 pm
I will side with groupon… I support their right to choose whom they associate with…
Much like I support the right of all legally able people to own/carry or to not own nor carry.
When you start saying this and that about whom people can do business with you start sounding like the brady bunch on whom and whom cannot own weapons… Simply because the pro gun side is being successful does not mean they need to become the oppressor….
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
So it’s oppression when gunnies exercise the same freedom of association?
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:10 pm
“they’re”
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
“They’ll figure it out.” – Um, no?
We need to tell them loud and clear – and politely if at all possible – what the consequences of their refusals are.
December 2nd, 2011 at 9:18 pm
No its oppression when gunnies do it solely because they have the power to do it…
Just because you have the power to do something does not mean you should.
Conspiring to force someone to do something you want through threat of financial harm reminds me of Goldman Sachs…..
How about we let the other gunnies make their own decision rather than making a cause out of everything.
Stick to changing the laws for hearts and minds will soon follow…
December 2nd, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Never thought I would play the liberal on this site.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:29 pm
@ john
I agree that they have a right to do what they wish with their businesses, just as i believe everyone has a right to be as bigoted and discriminatory and just downright wrong as they want to be. but i also think we have a right *and a duty* to point out when they are being illegitimately discriminatory towards a group of people.
what groupon is doing is a lot like what ebay does, and i find that morally indefensible (though perfectly legally defensible). we are not asking that they do something illegal (like advertise coupons for prostitutes) or morally reprehensible (like promote coupons for the next klan rally) nor are we asking them to deviate from their stated business purpose. we are not asking a flower company to promote something that is not even remotely related to their business, we are asking a coupon promoting site to stop discriminating against a legitimate subset of our culture and allow coupons from the gunnie world on their site.
furthermore we can put out a *legitimate* call for other to refuse to do business with them because they are bigots. That *does not* make us like the anti-freedom crowd, because what they are calling for is boycotts of companies that *do not support their bigotry.* the fact that they are calling for boycotts is not the problem, its the reason they are calling then that is. boycotts are a useful tool for showing companies that they may not be on the right side of the moral fence, and persuading them to change their mind. (we are also not calling for any form of retaliation against the company, as the anti-freedom crowd so often does, all we are doing is refusing to use their services.)
in short, groupon decided to act in a discriminatory manner that is directly at odds with their stated business purpose and since that discrimination has no moral justification they can be rightfully called bigots because of it. that is correct and appropriate justification of a boycott call in my opinion.
December 3rd, 2011 at 11:25 am
“Groupon is predicated upon the ludicrous concept that devaluing your product, attracting hordes of coupon shoppers, and losing a lot of money is a good way to promote your business. DOES NOT COMPUTE.”
There you have it! I wouldn’t invest in Groupon if they were the last stock on the planet. Their business model, if it can be called that, sounds like a financial disaster waiting to happen.
December 3rd, 2011 at 5:39 pm
actually i think it is a great, if very subtle, business model. I used to work for an electronics retailer that would advertise certain limited stock items at below wholesale prices in order to drive traffic to their stores. customers would come in, grab the item and continue shopping. taking a 5% loss on one item often (but not necessarily always) resulted in a customer who spent far more on might-as-well-get-it-while-i’m-here purchases. the other gotcha was that those items were often of limited stock, so if you came in looking for sale item x late in the day there often were not any left, and customer support would direct you to full price equivalent item y. taking a small loss on a handful of items drove enough traffic to the store to boost sales (and profit) a noticeable amount from a normal day.
if your a web based retailer its even easier to compel customers to buy more stuff at full price. all you have to do is remind customers that if the spend $x than shipping is free. come for the $10 “devalued” item, wind up spending $40 more to get to the free shipping and that item suddenly doesn’t look like such a bad idea to the seller, especially considering the hugely competitive marketplace that is web based shopping.
its not about selling more of that one sale item, it’s about getting people to look at your store and buy other things. sales are not profit maker in and of themselves, they are an investment in advertising.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:21 am
It still sounds like financial blackmail to dissuade another’s views. I am glad companies like colt, winchester, taurus and remington did not do the same thing between 1968-1994…. If they followed the money crowd and let those in the power dictate their ideals they would have been shut down…