More money than sense? Or TSTL.

     Have you tried Groupon? If you haven't, it's the latest online rage. Once a day you get an email offering you something in your area at a deep discount. Usually around 50% off. As I understand it, the company and Groupon split the revenue. It's a win-win-win situation. Groupon makes money (with very little investment), the businesses, which are usually too small to have much of an advertising budget, get huge exposure to new potential customers for no out-of-pocket cost, and the public gets to the opportunity to purchase something at a bargain.

It so works. Last November, one of the daily offers in my area was for 4 hours of French cooking lessons at half price, and I had that lovely moment of recognition when you're staring at the perfect Christmas present for a close friend. I bought it. She loved it. I got dinner at her house. Everyone won. How can you not love this?

And the cooking school told her class that they sold a thousand lessons off that one ad. I'm sure a lot of folks (like my friend and me) didn't even know this place existed. Win-Win-Win all the way around.

Groupon is such a success that imitators have begun to spring up like weeds in a neglected garden. Living Social. UrbanDaddy.

UrbanDaddy is the upscale version of Groupon. It's so upscale, it has a National group for large companies to market their deals and even a Jet-Setter group for really exotic, expensive "deals." I have yet to buy from UrbanDaddy. In fact, I have yet to be tempted by UD. But they do make me shake my head sometimes in wonder. Like the deal in today's email (National Group).

They offer you the opportunity to buy the Do Hit Chair.

There's no price in the email or any of the links it included and I didn't email the company for the price as they ask you to. (Could it be they're embarrassed to put it on their site? Or is this a case where if you have to ask, you can't afford it?) The comments on youtube put it around $6k. Now I'm thinking, you want me to pay six grand so I can make an ugly, uncomfortable chair?

Or is it Art? (Yes, that's Art with a capital A. You know what I'm talking about.)

That seems to be the opinion of this Atlanta station that did a piece on it.

You know, in romance, we have a name for characters who buy stuff like this. Too Stupid To Live.