Ask HN: Should Groupon Sell?

2 points·AtTheLast··5 comments

or should they try to build something special on their own? I'm curious what HN thinks?

I think that selling at a $6B valuation makes complete sense.

It seems to me that if 40-50% off coupons were the magic key to retail success, they'd have been discovered by retailers already.

Groupon's coupons have already been getting worse... more of the "Get $50 worth of x for $25" which is not all that compelling if the overall purchase will be $100+.

Groupon has done a brilliant job of marketing, but I don't think it's sustainable as is. Groupon clearly has a superb sales team and genius marketing, but if I were an investor I'd want to cash out now, even at a $1B valuation.

I think it makes a lot of sense as an investor to cash out with such a high valuation. Especially if this is a bubble that ends up bursting the in next few years.

However part of me wonders if this isn't a bubble, what will Groupon look like and be worth in 5 years.

True. It is possible. I'd make the following points against it:

- Facebook knows where you live too.

- Yelp is also copying groupon..

- There would seem to be little chance that the deals could remain all that great for long, especially if they don't lead to repeat business and loyal customers.

For that amount of money, I'd go ahead and sell. I'd then look for new projects to move into.

Sell, before their personal bubble bursts.

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