We're getting 2k pre-launch signups per day, 26k total in just 13 days, so this "crap" works to build pre-launch buzz and subscribers for your startup.
You may want to take a look at the viral tools we built at http://fab.com that are generating these 2k signsup per-day. A lot of pre-launch startups can learn from them.
And, for our business model, it's very important that we control the number of people allowed in at the beginning, as it is a private-sales site.
Oh, and btw, we're not a Groupon clone. We're more of a Gilt for great design across a wide range of products. There's a big, big difference between the Groupon-style deal-of-the-day sites and the Gilt-style flash sale sites.
Heads up this is a 'pivot' - the initial site was a social network for gay men called Fabulis. They then rebranded to artsy/design discounts. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
We're getting 2k pre-launch signups per day, 26k total in just 13 days, so this "crap" works to build pre-launch buzz and subscribers for your startup.
You may want to take a look at the viral tools we built at http://fab.com that are generating these 2k signsup per-day. A lot of pre-launch startups can learn from them.
And, for our business model, it's very important that we control the number of people allowed in at the beginning, as it is a private-sales site.