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Re:LivingSocial co-founder Aaron Battalion quits by eclipticplane on Friday March 29, 2013 @05:19PM (#5463097)
> "millions of consumers around the world have experienced their local cities because of our products"

I think its a fair assessment, but not the full story.

Millions of people did do things they wouldn't normally do. No way in hell I'm going to pay $200 for a family "dolpin tour" where you usually don't see dolphins, but when it's on LivingSocial (or similar sites) for $50? Sure, why not.

Now, whether it was a boon or bust for local businesses or not is a debated topic. I'm pretty sure that dolphin tour place actually lost money on my trip, or came close to break-even at most, and we were one time customers.

Re:LivingSocial co-founder Aaron Battalion quits by alxbrun on Friday March 29, 2013 @06:52PM (#5463451)
Really weird for a dolphin tour business to do a coupon deal... How on earth would somebody become a regular customer of a dolphin tour ?
Re:LivingSocial co-founder Aaron Battalion quits by jazzyb on Friday March 29, 2013 @07:13PM (#5463526)
I would imagine they're hoping the people using the coupons have a good time and then tell their friends about it, and the tour gains more money through word-of-mouth.
Re:LivingSocial co-founder Aaron Battalion quits by steveklabnik on Friday March 29, 2013 @08:02PM (#5463720)
Exactly.
Re:LivingSocial co-founder Aaron Battalion quits by rhizome on Friday March 29, 2013 @05:25PM (#5463123)
Not to mention that a normal, no-dolphins-promised boat ride may be less than $50 undiscounted anyway.