“Collective Buying Power” Site Groupon.com Flush with Cash, Prepped to Expand

By Brad Tuttle | @bradrtuttle | December 2, 2009 | +

Not only has the website been profitable since June, but Groupon—which announces specially discounted daily offers on everything from massages to bike tours in certain U.S. cities—has raised $30 million and wants to expand its bulk-buying collective to 50 more cities next year.

So reports CNET. When I checked in with Groupon founder Andrew Mason over the summer, the site featured deals in about ten cities, so rolling out to 50 more metropolitan areas (including ones in Canada) is a huge expansion.

The deal with Groupon’s deals is this: Membership is free, and a certain number of members has to agree to pay for the day’s coupon or special offer, which might be a restaurant discount, cheap tickets to a pro baseball game, spa treatments, almost anything. If not enough people sign on, there’s no sale whatsoever. You’re not charged anything, but then again, you also don’t get the item in question either.

Related Topics: Andrew Mason, Groupon, Saving & Spending, Smart Spending

@TIMEMoneyland

Latest on Moneyland

Retirement May 16, 2012

The Future of Retirement? 401(k)s That Look Like Old-Fashioned Pensions

A frantic search for safe, guaranteed monthly income in retirement is leading government and big employers to make their 401(k) plans look a lot more like a traditional pension. But you will still have to self fund
From our Partners
Cheap Thrills: 8 Ways to Save Money at the Amusement ParkDaily Finance

Romney: 'I'll Take a Lot of Credit' for Auto Industry RecoveryThe Huffington Post
Too Broke to Go Bankrupt: Price of Chapter 7 Is More Than $1,500Daily Finance
Rick Santorum Endorses Mitt Romney … At 11 p.m. The Huffington Post
Odd Spending May 15, 2012

Done Deal: CBS Gives Green Light to Sitcom Based on Groupon

Daily deal giant Groupon is known for its peculiar sense of humor. There was the time the site “bought” April Fool’s Day. The introduction of marketing gimmicks like the creepy virtual discount wheel called “Clicky” can only be attributed to some offbeat sense of what’s amusing. And of course, from the beginning, subscribers have been reading Groupon’s trademark absurdist, careful-not-to-offend descriptions for deals arriving in their in-boxes. The fact that there’s a network sitcom in the works featuring Groupon is apparently no joke, however.

http://money.blogs.time.com/2009/12/15/the-year-of-living-cheaply-a-retrospective/ The Year of Living Cheaply: A Retrospective – It's Your Money – TIME.com

[...] "Collective Buying Power" site Groupon spreads its reach, offering bulk discounts on massages, bike tours, and more in a total of 11 U.S. cities, and later in the year announces plans for 50 more cities in North America. [...]