Groupon Watch: Red Flags and Inflated Pricing

By Carlise Newman

| Tuesday, Oct 18, 2011 | Updated 10:59 AM CDT

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Groupon Watch: Red Flags and Inflated Pricing

Groupon deal: $40 for Three Man-Hours of House Cleaning from E&K House Cleaning Service

The latest Groupon dissection ponders how Groupon’s underwriters -- not-so-ironically, all big banks -- could have missed red flags and priced the IPO at such a high valuation.

And lately, there’s been speculation that Groupon and other daily deal sites are inflating their value, and a former sales rep says it’s true.

Also, new tax rules on daily deals in New York. Read more:

How did the big bank underwriters miss the red flags in Groupon’s IPO docs? (New York Times)

More analysis of the declining IPO value. (CNET)

A former (anonymous) Groupon sales rep says the company “absolutely” inflates deal prices. (Business Insider)

Meanwhile, New York state tax administrators detail new taxation rules on daily deals. (Forbes)

Today’s Deal: $40 for three man-hours of house cleaning from E&K House Cleaning Service ($90 Value)

Related Topics Red flags, Big Banks, Ironic Timing

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