Feedback on New Biz - Deals in Buenos Aires

[Kevin_BsAs]

Hola,

My name is Kevin Friedman. My partners and I, originally from Northern California, recently moved down to Bs As. After a year of hard work, just this week we launched a new project in Buenos Aires: www.ofertasimple.com.
Our goal is to share our discoveries... the best places to dine, to drink, and to relax. But instead of simply sharing the discoveries, we negotiate with the owner for a one-time discount anywhere from 40% - 90% to make it a can't miss deal.

For the next day, we have a 65% off special at BienEstar Spa Urbano, offering 2 and a half hours of treatment! The deal is only available on our website for another 24 hours. And then on Friday, we've got another great deal although i can't share the terms quite yet.

I would value any advice/comments/criticism anyone might have. FYI – we already
have an English version of the site in the works. As an extra thank you for
checking out the page, I would be more than happy to credit anyone's account
with $20 pesos just for checking it out...once you've signed up at OfertaSimple.com,
just shoot me an email at kevin <at> ofertasimple <dot> com... with your name and I'll deposit the $20 into your account. The credit can be used at any time for any purchase
made on the website.

Thank you again - if you dislike the site...please tell me what I can do to
improve the experience. If you love it... please share with your friends! If we become successful, it'll definitely be a result of your help.

Cheers!
-Kevin
www.ofertasimple.com

 

[Sleuth]

Ahhhh, another Groupon clone. I see you are even buying AdWords ads for "Groupon Buenos Aires." This now brings to four the total number of daily deals sites that I personally know of for Buenos Aires: http://www.groupon.com.ar, http://notelapierdas.com.ar, http://www.fullexit.com and you. I'm sure there are probably more, but not being a native Spanish speaker I'm not aware of them right now.

Now, I do not have a problem with the business model of copying a popular site. You can be very successful. I also assume you probably started developing this before Groupon actually launched here (too bad you didn't get to market first). E-commerce usage in Buenos Aires is relatively low, but growing and I'm hopeful these daily deal sites actually entice people to use their credit cards online more because that would help to change the whole culture here.

The problem I have with your post is: are you really "sharing your discoveries" or just taking a 50% cut of the deals for any business you can sign up? Marketing it as something else is deceptive.

That being said, the site is clean and easy to navigate. You seem to have a decent Facebook fan base already, and I'm sure that will continue to grow. I would recommend listing the name of the city you're in somewhere on the page itself - I do not see that listed anywhere.

The main thing is the quality of the deals. If you get good deals, you'll get good traffic and business. Since the site is relatively new, there is not much to judge the site on. The three offers you have are very similar to other offers that I have seen on the other sites.

Still, I signed up. Who doesn't love a good deal?

 

[nikad]

There is also www.cuponica.com

 

[syngirl]

Immediately I notice your logo... it's the blue bird on the left that catches your attention... it's perhaps a little too similar to the twitty bird.

I'd change the position / modify the colors of the blue bird in your logo. (I notice you use the orange bird as your fav.ico -- which makes me think that maybe you too realise the similarity and purposely didn't use the blue bird as the icon)

Twitter branding is pretty weak... and there's a million ripoffs of their twitty bird floating around (it's actually the company behind the more recognizable fluffy 3d cute one that's more protective of it's use, than Twitter is of it's crapola flat blue bird), but it's just that as a designer it's the first thing i noticed, oh look, another Twitty bird ripoff.

 

[Sleuth]

There is also www.cuponica.com

Thanks! Another one to sign up for...

 

[fred mertz]

Can't wait to read the comments of your clients! We're not in California any more.

 

[Zackdotcom]

Dude, accounting and porn are the only 2 businesses that work everywhere!!! good luck

 

[Napoleon]

Hola,

Our goal is to share our discoveries... the best places to dine, to drink, and to relax.

Are you talking "FULL RELAX"?

If so, I think that Steve might be someone you want to pump for information.

 

[Sleuth]

Kevin, we never heard back from you...

Glad to see you "value any advice/comments/criticism anyone might have."

Maybe you were really just looking to promote the site?
LOL.