Owner Rachel Brown offered a 75 percent discount on the money-saving website for 12 custom cupcakes, which typically sell for $40 and were available through Groupon for $10, the Telegraph reported.
Brown was prepared to fill a couple hundred orders, but when 8,500 poured in, her small staff at the Need a Cake bakery was inundated and unable to keep up with the demand.
Brown told the Telegraph she lost over $3 on each batch and had to hire additional help to fill the orders at a cost of $19,500, cancelling out a full year’s profit on the business.
“It’s been an absolutely nightmare,” she said in an interview with the Telegraph. “Without doubt, the worst ever business decision I have made.”
Groupon, the money-saving website which offers daily deals for as much as 80 percent off the original price, has soared in popularity since it launched in 2008. Now in 43 countries, deals are available for everything from dinners to dance lessons, weekend getaways, even medical procedures, and have meant big savings for online bargain hunters.
Read more...
