[jerf]

Your post proves too much. It proves all discounts are a bad idea, a concept I do not think I really need to sit here and disprove at length.

Also, Groupon does not create a "price emphasis". To a first approximation, all economic actors are always price sensitive.

I could argue with you at length, but it would be of a length exceeding a friendly HN post. I suggest some time with a microeconomics textbook. There are free ones on google if you search for "microeconomics textbook". I'm not trying to be snarky, it's just that the alternative of basically pasting an extemporaneous one in here is not really that friendly.

It may be true that Groupon hurts businesses, but this is not any of the reasons why. The reasons why would have something more to do with having costs that exceed benefits, not that the idea is intrinsically bad.