groupon $10 for $20, Olde Magoun's Saloon

[thespian.livejournal.com]

$10 for $20 Worth of Pub Fare and Brews at Olde Magoun’s Saloon - they're on Medford, just off Broadway...outside of the square by by about 5 minutes, but I know they're popular with some of y'all.

Which brings me to another thought...it's been *ages* since any of the businesses right in Davis offered anything like this. I know in the case of Dave's, it was because they were just *really* overwhelmed...and Redbone's hasn't done it in a while because they apparently have a really screwy way of accepting Groupons (or any of that stuff; I know they were weird about Restaurant.com vouchers, too), and I think it was too much of a bother.

But I'm curious why other area businesses haven't used them of late...the sites are certainly popular, but it all seems to be coming from Brighton and Allston and Boston proper...anyone have any insights?

Comments

groupon cost

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

This is probably because groupon type sites are very expensive for business owners and typically work best when the business is trying to drum up some extra business. For example a groupon that have a value of $20 and you buy for $10 does not mean that the restaurant actually gets $10. The business only gets about 4 to 5 dollars in this case. Technically that's a 75% discount and only works if 1) a business already has built in large margins 2) the patrons spend significantly more than the value of the voucher 3) if the business cares more about attracting patrons than actually making money

Re: groupon cost

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

#2 is why we so often see groupons for expensive restaurants or only like $20 vouchers for pubs/bars. I don't know about you, but $20 is about half of what I normally spend at a bar, and the way that consumer theory works is that the person with a $20 voucher will not only spend his or her normal $40, but at least half again the value of the voucher. So the establishment pays $15 for someone to spend $40. Simple.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

That's mostly true. Of course, you should also factor in the fact that the merchant gets paid upfront and probably 1 in 3-4 vouchers go unused. So, it might wind up being a 63% to 68% discount.

In addition, most people wind up spending more than the voucher (at 0 percent discount) or spend less than the voucher (giving the merchant free money). So the actual value of the discount is probably even less when you take that into account. But it's still a hefty discount.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

or spend less than the voucher (giving the merchant free money).

I would be really surprised if anyone (other than a few outliers) who buys a $20 voucher for $10 goes on to redeem it for less than $10 worth of stuff. That's just dumb. >:-) All the more unlikely if the merchant only clears $4-5 on the groupon, as posited in the comment above.

Going unused, of course, happens more often!

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

You have to apply to Groupon and they decide if/when they want to fit you into the rotation. It is possible that some Davis businesses are in the queue.

[cowgrrl.livejournal.com]

I still haven't used my Redbone's groupon, and am wondering now what sort of weirdness I'm likely to encounter when I finally use it.

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

I used one not long ago & had absolutely no problems. I do always tell the waitress upfront that I have a groupon before I order.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

this. perceptually, it's not a problem; ut they only allow the manager on duty to run the groupon sales, so they need to go find them. It's invisible to you, but it's a pain for the staff, who don't like it (either servers or shift managers).

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

and remember to tip based on what the meal would have cost without the coupon

[moria923.livejournal.com]

I used one about two weeks ago, and didn't encounter any weirdness.

[trtls.livejournal.com]

I've not had any problems using Redbones groupons. I think it's more trouble on their end, not the customer's end.

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

I eat here a lot so I was so excited about this deal. If you like a good reuben this place has an excellent one & the steak fries are amazing!!!

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

Second. This place, and Oriental across the street, make Magoun Square a little-known gem.

Allow myself to introduce... myself

[mfliz16.livejournal.com]

Hi all-

Allow me to introduce myself. I work for BuyWithMe, and in exactly one week, I will be a Davis Square resident (which I'm extremely excited about since I've been a frequent visitor to Camberville for the past few years).

Jumping straight to the point, I'm posting here for 2 reasons:

1. This area has been largely untapped for BWM, and I'd love to change that. I'd like to extend an open invitation to everyone here… If there's a business that you're dying to see, or one that you think would benefit from a BWM promotion, send me a message and we'll do our best to make it happen. I run the @BuyWithMeBoston Twitter page, so you can also reach me there.

2. Tomorrow's deal has me giddy beyond belief. It might be my favorite deal that we've ever run, and I can safely say that the Davis Square drought that you speak of will come to an abrupt end.

To maintain the element of surprise and anticipation, I'll leave you with that. Hope to see you all around Davis!

-Matt

P.S. Of the major deal sites, we're the only one to call Boston our home. A year ago at this time, we were fully-operating out of our separate apartments in Brighton. Help us spread the word! Not that I don't love being the underdog, but there's still far too many people in our hometown that still don't know about us.

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[moria923.livejournal.com]

BWM is still my favorite among the deal sites. It's easy to use, accessible (I'm a blind person), and gives you plenty of time to purchase a deal.

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[springhill02143.livejournal.com]

And let me add my "welcome to the neighborhood"!
Cheers.

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[ron_newman]

Please make a new post for tomorrow's deal when it officially comes out, as people may no longer be reading these comments,

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[thespian.livejournal.com]

she may not be allowed to; we've had people from groupon and coupme talk in the community about their projects, but I know they're both not allowed to shill the individual offers.

But if it's Davissy, I'm certain myself or someone else will be happy to post it as soon as we see ;-)

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[mfliz16.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Moria and SpringHill!

Ron - I don't want to cross any community boundaries I shouldn't, so I'll leave it up to the non-biased members of the community to post the deal if they like it as much as I do. :)

However, if you all would like, I have no problems posting relevant deals every now and again. But I don't want to spam the board.

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Welcome! BWM is awesome; I've been a subscriber for a year. You guys have great local deals for Somerville and Cambridge.

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

As another mod here, I echo Ron's welcome and suggestion that you post your deal as a full post. As I said to the CoupMe person below, that is also a much better way of getting community feedback than commenting here, where only a few people will see it.

It is a perfectly acceptable way to introduce yourself, as long as you don't do it all the time. :)

Re: Allow myself to introduce... myself

[ron_newman]

It looks to me like CoupMe is also Boston-based?

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

How much $ did you rake off that referral link?

[thespian.livejournal.com]

From posting this to Davis? Last two times I've posted, a groupon and a buywithme, I've 'raked in' a whopping $10 (and it wasn't on the groupon). Everyone's *bought* a freaking groupon around here; the referral credit is nice so I use the link (I'm unemployed; 4 months work in the last 18) but seriously rare, and I mostly do it because I like doing it (gosh), and I do it on sites that I don't get credit on, either, if you keep watching.

CoupMe!

[couper123.livejournal.com]

Hi DSLJers,

I was pointed to this site by one of my colleagues, who's a Davis Square resident and follows the community. As the founder of CoupMe, I'm always looking to hear what people WANT for deals, though we also pride ourselves on bringing some of the best food, drink, activities, etc. that you've NEVER heard of to your attention.

Thanks to this post, I have our sales team checking out Davis Square businesses from a list by someone who lives there and knows what Davis residents like. We have an amazing Davis Square Café deal coming up, but I urge you to check out CoupMe in the meantime because we're a little different than the other sites.

As a hyperlocal deal site, we have deals going in a bunch of different areas of New England, from North of Boston to South, Hartford, Portland, Providence, Worcester, Metrowest, etc. The deals come to you, instead of vice versa, and you have tons of options every day. Oh, and we're Boston-based as well, which is why we're focusing on New England for our deals.

Looking forward to getting feedback from some Somerville residents!

- Jared Orkin, founder, CoupMe (jared at coupme.com)

Re: CoupMe!

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for more feedback from the community, I strongly encourage you to post a new post -- most people don't go back to look at the comments on old ones.

And I'm one of the moderators, so you know it's okay. :)

Welcome to the neighborhood!

[ron_newman]

Hello, Jared. I hope you can answer this person as well as the many unanswered complaints on your Facebook wall. People in Davis Square want some assurance that they aren't being ripped off.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I think the offerings for Somerville have been pretty good. (I use both BuyWithMe and Groupon.) Recently I used coupons for Lyndell's and Dutch Bicycle's tune-up, purchased a Brunello Bistro coupon, and have unused Petsi's Pies and Neighborhood Restaurant coupons.