[governance] Another Immovable Legal Object Meeting AnIrresistable Internet Force (this time it ain't Taipei...

[Ivar A. M. Hartmann]

"Consumers paid for that face value. That was what they agreed to, that was
what the business promised and that's what consumers should get,". I don't
believe Mike Berezowsky has a basic understanding of economy. A permanent
discount was not what the business promised, was it??

Arguably, in Brazil, consumer protection legislation would forbid Groupon
from not returning your money after the offer expired. But it wouldn't force
them to pay for the *face value* of a product or service (previously
contracted with a discount) at any given time in the future.
Best, Ivar

On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 09:15, Roland Perry <roland at internetpolicyagency.com
> wrote:

> In message <117DA8A5-145E-4F76-AEEC-**9BBF5B3236C3 at uzh.ch<117DA8A5-145E-4F76-AEEC-9BBF5B3236C3 at uzh.ch>>,
> at 12:31:58 on Sun, 14 Aug 2011, William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch>
> writes
>
> Inspired by this discussion, I just bought a half priced dinner coupon at a
>> small local restaurant on Groupon.  We have four months to redeem it.  Per
>> usual, the length of the sale was set by the restaurant.  Of course, the
>> government of Geneva could pass a law saying such coupons cannot expire.
>>  That would leave business like this resto with basically two choices:  in
>> effect, permanently cut their prices by half (for all who see the ad
>> online), or else never offer online sales via intermediaries like Groupon.
>>
>
> There's a third option: Offer a coupon online (or as has been the practice
> in the UK for decades, in a newspaper, magazine or leaflet) which entitles
> you to a 50% discount when presented in that restaurant within four months
> (or similar). Such offers can be finessed by saying that they apply to food
> only (not drinks), or that the second person is free if the first person
> pays full price[1].
>
> The specific objection to the Groupon offer, as I understand it, is the
> need to pay in advance, even if you never turn up and claim.
>
> I admit I don't know how comprehensive the Canadian displeasure at such
> things is - would it extend to buying a coupon for 100 minutes of mobile
> phone calls, which expire at the end of the month even if you've never used
> them (that's a very normal thing in the UK). On the other hand, I wouldn't
> expect there to be any difference between buying those 100 minutes in shop,
> or online.
>
> [1] I understand that such "buy one, get one free" offers are illegal in
> Germany.
>
>
> --
> Roland Perry
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