baronn 111 #1 May 17, 2015 Just curious if/how many DZ's have gotten fedup with the whole Groupon/Living Social scene. Is anyone still using these and how has it turned out? Good/Bad? Never again or will continue using? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calvin19 0 #2 May 17, 2015 I'm curious too. A friend of mine owns a balloon company and uses living social to sell a lot of his rides. I know it has a really bad name (deservingly so) in the skydiving world, so I would like to hear more. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sammielu 3 #3 May 17, 2015 My dz uses it for a small discount ($35 off of $225) on weekdays only. Its discount amount that is financially comfortable for the business, doesn't change employee pay, and drives additional business to slower days. I've seen many types of businesses try groupon and dislike it (discourages customers to return and pay full price), but dzs are rarer than restaurants. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWest 0 #4 May 17, 2015 If your DZ has the capability to reach a decent amount of people offer the price that you would for the groupon + their cut. I've never used an actual groupon. I mention I saw that a groupon was happening and ask if I can receive the same price. They normally go for it because they make more money and get business. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyjumpenfool 2 #5 May 20, 2015 Groupons cost the business a bunch of money. My question would be... Wouldn't it be better money spent on straight up Advertising say on TV or Radio?Birdshit & Fools Productions "Son, only two things fall from the sky." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tred 0 #6 May 20, 2015 I have a whuffo friend who just bought some tandems from groupon and has asked me to join them when they go, I checked out the DZ and its not far from me but I am not very familiar with them. Skydive orlanpa? I believe they are associated with Jump Florida skydiving. Anyone here know of either? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick 67 #7 May 20, 2015 tandem dz on a grass strip that opened around the corner from Z-Hills to take their tandem businessYou can't be drunk all day if you don't start early! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jumpdude 0 #8 May 20, 2015 Groupon, Living Social, Adrenaline 365, and the others are ALL MIDDLE MEN! Just like the one we all know as 1 800 Skyride now known as Spot Reservation! The ONLY difference is that for the most part, those don't use the (Skyride) deceptive lies and fake websites to sell tickets for DZ's that don't exist or don't accept the tickets! Being they are middle men, they take a cut of the money that should go straight to the DZ, and on top of that, they require the DZ to sell to them at a discounted rate, often, deeply discounted, which further reduces the money that goes to the DZ! Again, I can't stress it enough to the DZO's, tell ALL the middle men to go fuck themselves, put that money that the middle men would be stealing in your own pockets, and do your own marketing! and you will see that I am 100% spot on! And most likely, most DZ's have at least one upjumper who is web savvy, that would LOVE to do your websites and SEO and trade for jumps!! Put that scenario together, and you truly have a win-win! Most DZ's that I've been involved with are usually eager to trade for jumps! The ONLY reason the middle men remain successful is that DZO's continue to accept their tickets! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nolhtairt 0 #9 May 21, 2015 Damn straight. DZO's need to get off the lazy ass train and do the right thing. Fuck Groupon and fuck all of Skyride's alter-egos. Stop making those motherfuckers rich. Do it yourself. Or ask your regular jumpers for any leads on who can do it for you. And... make it happen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yoink 321 #10 May 21, 2015 Jumpdude Again, I can't stress it enough to the DZO's, tell ALL the middle men to go fuck themselves, put that money that the middle men would be stealing in your own pockets, and do your own marketing! and you will see that I am 100% spot on! And most likely, most DZ's have at least one upjumper who is web savvy, that would LOVE to do your websites and SEO and trade for jumps!! Put that scenario together, and you truly have a win-win! Out of interest, what's your marketing background? Because, you know, you kinda make it sound like it's a piece of piss, takes barely any time, and is sure to be successful rather than it being an entire career in its own right. Groupon exists because you're paying for the exposure that their multi-billion dollar brand brings. They can reach many times more customers than most DIY marketing attempts. Is it worthwhile? That depends on the DZ, but the blanket statement that all middlemen can 'go fuck themselves' sounds pig ignorant to me, along with lumping it in with genuine shitheads like Skyride. There's a WORLD of difference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nolhtairt 0 #11 May 21, 2015 yoink*** Again, I can't stress it enough to the DZO's, tell ALL the middle men to go fuck themselves, put that money that the middle men would be stealing in your own pockets, and do your own marketing! and you will see that I am 100% spot on! And most likely, most DZ's have at least one upjumper who is web savvy, that would LOVE to do your websites and SEO and trade for jumps!! Put that scenario together, and you truly have a win-win! Out of interest, what's your marketing background? Because, you know, you kinda make it sound like it's a piece of piss, takes barely any time, and is sure to be successful rather than it being an entire career in its own right. Groupon exists because you're paying for the exposure that their multi-billion dollar brand brings. They can reach many times more customers than most DIY marketing attempts. Is it worthwhile? That depends on the DZ, but the blanket statement that all middlemen can 'go fuck themselves' sounds pig ignorant to me, along with lumping it in with genuine shitheads like Skyride. There's a WORLD of difference. He has helped a few DZO's learn how to optimize the search parameters and make their web presence much more visible to the public. It's not that hard. They have to want to do it though. In the end, they'll end up making more of a profit. Jumpdude is a little harsh, yes. But that comes from having to battle skyride in his own state. Plus all the hard work he put into this site: http://1800skyrideripoff.com/ It probably needs some updating though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,912 #12 May 21, 2015 Groupon is a tool. It does reach a large audience and can deliver many low profit margin tandems. Some DZs have a need of this kind of business, mostly to keep the staff working and happy during slow periods. It tends to deliver the bottom of the barrel "bargain hunters" who don't buy the extras at a very high rate. They also tend toward the kind of people who you look at and think, "maybe skydiving is not for everyone". My belief is that most DZs would be better off doing less tandems, but at a higher margin. Promoting lower prices at off peak periods can be done using FB and other forms of social media. Especially if you can get your existing jumpers to share the word locally. You won't sell as much as Groupon can, but your margin will increase.Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nolhtairt 0 #13 May 21, 2015 The thing about skydiving is, it's a regional sport. It doesn't take much to broadcast your business over the region its located in. If you're saavy with social media and internet presence, that is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jumpdude 0 #14 May 21, 2015 nolhtairt****** Again, I can't stress it enough to the DZO's, tell ALL the middle men to go fuck themselves, put that money that the middle men would be stealing in your own pockets, and do your own marketing! and you will see that I am 100% spot on! And most likely, most DZ's have at least one upjumper who is web savvy, that would LOVE to do your websites and SEO and trade for jumps!! Put that scenario together, and you truly have a win-win! Out of interest, what's your marketing background? Because, you know, you kinda make it sound like it's a piece of piss, takes barely any time, and is sure to be successful rather than it being an entire career in its own right. Groupon exists because you're paying for the exposure that their multi-billion dollar brand brings. They can reach many times more customers than most DIY marketing attempts. Is it worthwhile? That depends on the DZ, but the blanket statement that all middlemen can 'go fuck themselves' sounds pig ignorant to me, along with lumping it in with genuine shitheads like Skyride. There's a WORLD of difference. He has helped a few DZO's learn how to optimize the search parameters and make their web presence much more visible to the public. It's not that hard. They have to want to do it though. In the end, they'll end up making more of a profit. Jumpdude is a little harsh, yes. But that comes from having to battle skyride in his own state. Plus all the hard work he put into this site: http://1800skyrideripoff.com/ It probably needs some updating though. I never said it was simple, I said that most DZ's are likely to have at least one jumper who's web savvy that would like to do their marketing and websites. So to answer your question, I don't have to have a "Marketing background" (or degree) to suggest that! I have not worked for any marketing companies, I have helped 7 companies here locally to get ahead of their competition, and gotten a few DZ's ahead of sLyride, as well as my own Anti-sLyride sites, so if you think someone has to have a marketing background to be able to help their DZ, I'd bet you know how to spend a lot of money on marketing, rather than to either do it yourself or trade for jumps! A lot of DZ's are on a low budget, and it's easier for them to do something like trade for jumps than to put thousands of dollars out of pocket, so that's more of who my suggestions are targeted towards. As nolhtairt said, Skydiving in a regional sport, it only needs to be marketed in your region! Why does a DZ in Atlanta need to market jumps in, let's say Kansas? In the Atlanta region, there's like 4 or 5 DZ's, THAT'S their competition! NOT Skydive Chicago, or even Tullahoma for that matter!!Refuse to Lose!!! Failure is NOT an option! 1800skyrideripoff.com Nashvilleskydiving.org Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stayhigh 2 #15 May 21, 2015 Groupon makes Tis happy. Not so much for the DZO's... 100+ tandem days with chance of all of them getting handycam?? Bring it. Skyride was bad business. The customer shows up to the door and the pricing at the dropzone shows something significantly less than the Skyride. I've seen many tandem customers arguing with Skyride about the pricing and them having to deal with cancellation prior to jumping. No customer is gonna be happy knowing that they just paid 10-15 dollar more for the Skyride's service, and being the TI that has to take that customer on a jump is even worse. Fuck Skyride.Bernie Sanders for President 2016 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites