Newbie here

[grabbd]

Hi everyone,

My name is John and I am one of the creators of Grabbd.com It is a daily deal website similar to Groupon.

I created the site after a business I tried to get listed on Groupon.

My site will help you get customers for a lot less than what Groupon charges for commission.

We're a small company in Columbus Ohio and we hope to go live with the site in the next few weeks so we are looking for small businesses to get listed.

Thanks.

[Patrysha]

Welcome to SBF

[grabbd]

Thank You. Glad to be here.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum John. I know Groupon is the 800 pound gorilla in the industry, but I haven't heard of many competing sites. Makes sense to enter the market. Just a thought. Often when taking on the big layer it makes sense to start in a niche. Is that possible for you? Like being the group coupon site for a specific industry of in a specific location.

Thanks for joining the community.

[Business Attorney]

John, welcome to the forum. I'll be interested to follow your progress. Sounds interesting. In Chicago, where Groupon started and is big, there are several websites that are variations of the idea. But it seems like a concept that should have room for several competitors in most larger markets.

[KristineS]

Welcome to the forum John. Good luck with your new site.

[cbscreative]

Welcome aboard. I'll agree with vangogh to look for a way to stand out. Just trying to be another Groupon is not the best approach. Look for a weakness and do something better. That is also a good example of the kind of useful insight you will get here on the SBF.

As an example of being different, many people have wanted to take a bite out of eBay, none trying to be another eBay have succeeded, not even someone with the clout of Amazon (yes, Amazon tried to take them on too). There is a niche site called etsy that has done very well with a niche. Do a study on that for ideas.

[grabbd]

Thanks for the positive response. I think one of the ways that we will stand out for a small business is that since we are a small company we do not have a lot of overhead so we can charge a lower commission. This is way less than Groupon. Also we plan on offering more than just a daily deal and a small side deal that Groupon does. We plan on having multiple categories so people have more of a choice per day. I noticed that it seems to be a Massage or Spa package every other day.

Another thing that we will be adding in the future if it works is the ability for businesses to sell products at a huge discount on the site. That is just a thought but it may be too much. We'll fine tune it.

Anything you guys suggest is appreciated and if any of you have a business that you want to get listed we're running a special for the rest of Nov where our commission rate will be well below what is standard for other sites. Our goal is to build up businesses. Message me or visit our website to learn more.

[vangogh]

Competing on price usually isn't the best idea for a small business. I know it seems like it would be, but competing on price is more a strategy for the larger player in the market. For example say you grow to the point where Groupon sees you as competition. They could beat your commission easily while still making a big profit. You wouldn't be able to get into a price war though and you'd probably watch your customers move over to Groupon. At that point they go back to their old commission structure.

You're likely going to be better off charging more, but offering some extra value that Groupon doesn't. Find out what current Groupon customers complain or what Groupon currently doesn't offer and use that as your competitive advantage.

One reason I suggest the local angle is it lessens your advertising expense and also because people can be very loyal to their own community. I'm a web designer and can work with clients anywhere around the world, yet I still find people who contact me, because they specifically want to work with someone locally. Odds are we'll never meet and conduct all business through email and over the phone, but to them I'm still local.

[grabbd]

VG,

Thanks for the response. I am in talks with a couple of local businesses that have run some ads on Groupon and the biggest complaint they have so far with Groupon is the large chunk of commission that is being taken out of each sale. They were wary at first talking to me but when I explained about our lower commission they seemed very receptive to it. I think I am on the right track with this and I will definitely keep everyone updated with how it goes.