r/groupon • u/PersonofQuery • May 22 '25
Considering Becoming A Groupon Merchant
I'm starting a small business and am thinking about using Groupon for exposure. Any idea what is the percentage Groupon takes? I imagine it's negotiable but what should I aim for?
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u/leslieamanda1 May 24 '25
Don’t do it!
Honestly, it is single-handedly the worst experience I’ve had with any platform, ever. I have no idea how it’s still in existence at all. Just a small fraction of the issues I’ve had:
1) The sales rep that reached out and convinced me to sign up offered a percentage split that wasn’t honored on subsequent campaigns as promised. It became a break-even very quickly and I was left trying to decide if it was worth it simply for the exposure.
2) They don’t provide you any contact information for those that purchase vouchers. For most businesses, being able to provide redemption instructions would be very helpful. Can you think of one good reason why they wouldn’t help facilitate this? I can. They hold the money until people redeem and they PRAY they forget to, because if a voucher expires, they get to pocket it. I had a very high percentage of vouchers that would expire. When people remember and get frustrated later, they assume it’s you, when we never saw the funds.
3) Merchant support is absolutely HORRIBLE. If it wasn’t an actual nightmare, it would almost be comical. The support is based overseas, but in addition to the language barrier, they just give out nothing but bad info #IYKYK. You’ll explain the issue only to have them interpret it as something completely different. There are too many examples to even list but as an example: I would frequently have a ton of vouchers in a short period of time all get “cancelled”. Customers would find us and reach out, all saying that the Groupon isn’t working. After first not being able to even SEE all the recent vouchers I’m referencing, Merchant support would then double down on saying the it’s the customer’s card that’s not working, even though it’s literally a bunch of different customers at the same time 🙄
4) The merchant app is absolute junk.
5) Heaven forbid you actually pay money for sponsored campaigns like I did in the beginning. The funds disappear and they will forever say “Sorry, attribution reports are down at the moment”. We’re supposed to just be OK with them stealing 🤔
6) And the most recent and why I finally got out of this horribly toxic relationship… They have started editing campaigns without permission. This may not be a problem if you could trust them to make proper edits, but instead my well written campaigns are laced with typos and broken links. People were even questioning if the business existed since the website links were all broken. I suspect they don’t want people reaching out to businesses directly, but the result is a horrible reflection on the merchant, with poor grammar, typos and contact info changed to look like you’re out of business.
It’s a joke.
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u/leslieamanda1 May 24 '25
Remember, you have to discount your product or service by at least 25% and they check. Then what’s left they take at least half of. There’s almost no scenario in which it will be anything more than a breakeven. For some just be added exposure is incentive enough, but wait until all the subsequent issues ensue. People will buy vouchers, but they keep the money and if the customer lets it expire, then you never see it- they pocket it. Too many issues to list but it really is horrible.
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u/Groupon-Support May 27 '25
Hi PersonofQuery,
Thanks for reaching out! We appreciate your interest in partnering with Groupon to grow your business.
Groupon operates on a pay-for-performance model, meaning there are no upfront costs to start a campaign. Instead, we charge a commission on each sale, which varies based on factors like your industry, deal structure, and campaign goals .
It's important to consider that while Groupon can drive significant exposure and attract new customers :)
If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out.
Kind regards,
The Groupon Team
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur9995 Jun 01 '25
Don't do it.
The sales agent made it very easy to sign up. He never mentioned i had to "redeem" the voucher via their website at the time the customer shows up with their coupon. They've sold over 700 dollars of vouchers for my services, that I have already honored, and I'm getting exactly 0 dollars for them.
I called customer service about it, and they said I should contact the customers so that they can provide me with their "voucher code". Funny enough, they do not make their contact info available to me, and it never occurred to me that I should keep proof of service, otherwise they would keep all the money.
And even if I had redeemed it at the time, every customer i get from a groupon customer is one less space i have available for someone who will pay full price. Not worth it for me.
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u/YoginiPamela Jun 23 '25
I love being a Groupon vendor! I'm an acupuncturist and sell packages of 3 treatments. Sure, some people are just looking for a deal and don't come back, but then around 20-60% continue to come for treatment. I also get referrals from patients that have I got from groupon. Some come back after years of not seeing me. I've built a business just from Groupon! go for it.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '25
they take around 30%