I've been mostly on the sidelines for Groupon, and realize most companies that sign up don't realize that it will most likely end up being a negative for their income.

However, I do know a few places that have made very good use of groupons. One example is our local eat-in movie theater. Tickets usually go for $9. Groupon ticket is $5. Customer saves $4, but movie theater makes up for it by selling overpriced (crappy) food and alcohol.

There is apparently enough retailers that simply don't know any better.

Groupon is a 6.5 Billion dollar company, and it's doing pretty well financially. The stock is growing.

https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&...

"Stock is growing" & revenue numbers are different than actual profit of a company.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/groupons-growth-problem-sal...