sign me up for the "Drinks"..."Girls"..."Debauchery" offers...

In all seriousness... great idea guys, just needs a few tweaks as it moves on...

Cheers

Charlie

Thanks guys.

Charlie - any tweeks you already anticipate?

Oded

I like it. Is pretty easy to use :)

One suggestion though. Can we have somewhere the number of people that still need to buy the deal so its on? And also for the tester restaurant deal that is on today, its not clear if its for lunch or dinner, and if its valid for one or more people. Info like that will be usefull.

Thanks Maria.

On real deals, we will make sure the terms & conditions are clear so there's no confusion.

Re the number of people that still need to buy the deal - the green 'Deal is On' text is meant to show that this deal has already reached the minimum number of people required. 

I assume your comment means this is not clear enough?

Oded

Thanks Oded

No its pretty clear. What im saying is that for example 30 people need to buy the deal so that it will be on. Can we see that number somewhere?

Hope you guys make a success of it, you already have the advantage of a loyal audience over sites such as groupon.ch, deindeal.ch and dailydeal.ch, also since they seem to mostly cater to the Zurich crowd.

From the way these sites have recently grown around the world, their potential is HUGE!

Hi Oded,

If you have not looked at this website, you might want to review it. Similar concept.

www.groupon.com

You need to select a city and sign up to get on the "deal list".

You site looks good.

Verbier

@Maria - until the deal tips, we show how many people have bought the deal and how many more are needed for the deal to tip.

Once the deal tips, we show how many have bought it and the 'Deal is On' text.

Oded

Thanks Oded :) Thats exactly what i meant. I have nothing more to suggest then. Im looking forward to some real deals soon!

Hi Oded,

"Tweeks" tend to materialise as design and idea takes shape, and are a "constant" in my experience in order to keep a site "fresh" and user friendly.

Im not technically able enough to suggest anything beyond the pure user friendlyness... so for me, as someone who may not be able to log in to the site every day...my travel schedule is picking up... I would like to have a personalised "alert" that tells me when a offer hits the site that fits my interest catagory... then maybe a mobile option where I can click "buy" ...when im on the move and unable to sit at my pc... also perhaps a account with funds available as well as the CC option... so if im on the road and my CC isnt immediatley handy then I can use soem already pledged funds to get in on the deal (if this makes sense).

Clearly not all will want to pledge say 200 bucks, and most will want to pay via cc at the time of the bid...so maybe the two options would be needed.

The rest is up to you....

cheers

Charlie

And another thing.. having signed up to deindeal.ch and seeing some of the specials they offer, there is one feature I recommend you adopt and one that I would like to criticise:

- What they do well is offer simultaneous specials in their notifications, e.g discounts for two restaurants, socks(!!) delivery service, etc. with the countdown clock running over 3-4 days before the offer ends rather than the 24 hours that groupon offers.  It makes more sense for a new site to bundle their specials in this way.

- The t&c's on the restaurant vouchers specify a maximum of 1 voucher per table.. this means that if you go as a couple then your total discount comes to around 25% instead of the advertised 50% and that if you go in a group having recommended the deal to your friends you might end up quibbling over who gets to use their voucher (of course you could split the discount but then end up with a voucher to be used on another visit).. in the end it makes someone at the table look cheap.  Bottom line, I would suggest to have a minimum of 2 vouchers per table on restaurant specials, it'll be your job to convince the restaurants that your users are then far more likely to take up the deal.

Thanks Shai - very useful feedback.

Re bundling several offers together - Do you mean having several different offers running at the same time or 1 offer that bundles in several different businesses?

Re allowing more than 1 voucher per table - I agree that's great for the customer and we're doing our best to convince the businesses that we feature to allow it.

Oded

The first one Oded, different offers running at the same time, so effectively instead of a 'daily special' the offers are updated every few days, it's also less spam for the users since they don't need to check up on new offers daily.  Which business model is most appropriate will vary by location - in London, for instance, I'm sure they have no problems with uptakes of daily specials.

However, the '1 offer that bundles in several different businesses' which you mentioned is also interesting, you can get quite creative with that, but my guess is the users would prefer to keep it simple.

Got it Shay, thanks.

And thanks to all the people that helped us test the site and sent us feedback.

We got a ton of very positive and useful feedback which we'll implement before launching the actual deals.

Thanks again, and if you have more feedback, post it here or send it to us.

Nir and Oded

I forgot to add a big thanks to the business owners in Geneva.

We've been pitching the 'BuyClub.ch' idea to local restaurants, spas, cinemas and others for a few weeks now and their responses have been outstanding!

We're lining up a great list of deals and we hope this will be a real game changer for customers and local businesses.

I think it's a great idea.

Are you planning to have deals in other cities or will it be just Geneva?

Laura:

The idea is working like crazy everywhere in the world. I wish we could claim to have invented it...(-: It works well because it's a win for consumers who get to discover new places at a reduced price/risk, and it's a win for businesses who get a ton of new clients. A dream model...(-:

We plan to begin in Geneva (and very shortly Lausanne), because that's our home turf: we have nearly 40,000 members in Swiss Romande, and businesses know us. So getting great deals here, and making a lot of people aware of them overnight, is relatively easy. Zurich will come a bit later, and we already know the launch model there will have to be different.

As a side note: we already pitched the idea to a good number of Geneva businesses, and the response has been far stronger than I expected. We initially thought we'd be able to offer 1-2 deals each week, now it's more likey to be 3-4 each week. And with nice strong brands and venues, which are very likely to make our members happy.

That's it, now you got the long version of the answer...(-:

Nir

The concept will fly because it flies everywhere else in the world (I come from the US, the land of Groupon). And your execution is nice and simple. 

@Nir: I think this is a great move for g-locals, for us members, and for Geneva businesses. You will just need to ensure you have a selection of nice deals.

So when is the first deal coming?

Mark:

Thanks. We launch on Oct 18 (or latest: Oct 25).

We're out there already now signing on businesses who want to run promotions with us.

To ensure you're emailed about the 1st, just add yourself to the BuyClub mailing list.

Nir

How about an incentive to get friends to sign up to deals?

Let's   say I see  a deal and I persuade the required  number of people to sign up.  Could I get an even better deal  for myself?

Hi Translator.

You mean you won't tell your friends about a good deal unless there's something in it for you... :-)

Just kidding.  We know incentives are important and we'll soon add a function where you get bonuses if people you invite purchase a deal.

Thanks

Oded

And if  we get a business to sign up with you?

Translator:

Depends which business. We only sign on with businesses that have 2 things going:

- we think our members would love to try them

- we know that after trying them, there's a good chance our members would like to return.

If a business has the above 2, we're on. If a business doesn't, we don't promote it on BuyClub.

If you do have a good business in mind, and you end up making the connection between us, you get a date with Oded. How's that for motivation?

Nir

What a brother!! Thanks for that incentive. 

Well, you know, all of us have our  favorite businesses around town.  For example, I really like  Urban Bio,  Boréal coffee and Wolfisberg  (although they could have faster service).  Would love to see them on the list of participating businesses if they'd agree.

Translator:

Gracias. 

I know Urban-Bio and I know Wolfisberg, and we'll contact them. 

Don't know this Bereal Cafe and can't find it on Google: where is this place?

Nir

http://www.borealcoffee.ch/      Just across from the  main post office, along the 16 tram line into town...  Great  coffee, excellent service, very  nice  atmosphere...

Thanks

Been thinking about the tone of this response for a little while now. 

While with Facebook and other social networking sites, we've an idea of who's getting what, I was wondering, in the interests of transparency, whether you would tell us what you, the site owners, are getting out of this Buyers' club site.

Are your motives altogether altruistic or purely pecuniary?  Some of both? Do you see this development as transforming the current nature of the site?

While we all appreciate a good deal, some of us like to be clear about what sort of businesses we support -- as well as those we don't.

Looking forward to your answer, all kidding aside...

Sincerely,

Translator

Hi Nir, Oded,

Interesting concept. I can see the similarities with Groupon, so this might be of use for you guys as well: 40% of Groupon Merchants say: never again. There's an interesting discussion on this subject here. Perhaps this is the time to make sure you don't fall into the same pitfalls? Geneva is a small place, and in this case it might work against you.

Hope it does work out for you guys! In any case, it seems you're off to a good start.

@ Translator - 

All kidding aside, BuyClub is a for profit venture.  We keep a small percentage of all transactions and pass the rest on to the businesses featured on BC.
In the interest of transparency, the same info is available on the site's 'How It Works' page (http://buyclub.mipo.co.il/how-it-works/) 

@ thedutchguy - 

Interesting article, thanks.  Very irritating to see that these Groupon guys stole our idea... 

We're a small team so we can afford to take a smaller commission than the big players, and to work with the business owners and our customers to ensure that they are happy with the results.

Geneva is indeed a small place, and we aim to make BuyClub a win win for everyone involved.

Oded

Well no matter whoever keeps the profit, as long as i get to pay less for something im happy :)

But who's going to run Glocals when you guys own and run Facebook?  Here today, gone tomorrow.....

Looks like this kicks off on Monday - I'm looking for a good bargain!

S99: bargains are one benefit of BuyClub, but another huge one is that you'll be able to discover a ton of new places, at a reduced "risk". We'll only feature on BuyClub businesses that we tried, and that we think our members will love. And with the discount, it will be easy to try these places out. So prepare to discover more of Geneva...

Thanks for the response. 

@Maria:  I can appreciate you and those like-minded might not care as long as they get a good deal, I do and most of my friends do as well. As do many businesses.  It a practice called corporate social responsibilty and transparency is a fundamental cornerstone of this concept.

@Nir and Oded:  Thanks for the information.  Of all the deals so far, I think the train deal was the best offer and the one that seemed to have the most positive feedback.

While there are many businesses in Geneva that have absolutely crap customer service and relations, I think it's a sound idea to patronize businesses that offer great products and great service. 

Hi Oded, Nir:

Great concept!!. Sorry, I woke up late to this one and couldn't test out the functionalities as Nir's restaurant deal is over. :(

On first look, I love it, but here's all that comes between me and signing up with all my friends right away...some may be specifics that you may already have solutions for and since I didn't test out the functionality, it may just be total ignorance, on my part.

1) Lack of Mobile Friendliness:  The site is not mobile friendly.  Personally, I would track deals and therefore, use it more if I could access it during my smoke breaks, tram stop-wait, bus stop-walk etc. (damn, they are all smoke breaks, anyways).  Hint hint: Mobile Glocals site would be nice too!

2) Agree with Charlie, other than the mailing list, it'd be great if one could to filter deals to receive email by interest category.

3) It would be great to have absolute clarity before quickly signing up and making an online payment.  The FAQ helps, but nothing like a nice animated-flowchart which explains the deal-lifecycle at a glance.  It'd be a pity to see folks who do not understand the concept complaining publicly about specific logistical & understanding issues.

4) Buyclub.ch liability:  To which extent does buyclub.ch follow through between the merchants and consumers?  The T&Cs explain everything (except, I am still unsure of what would happen if a merchant ran out of business).  I believe, Nir's crisp summary on the Glocals T&Cs can be replicated here too; short and helps stupid folks like me!

5) Payment details: Encryption standards? Do you use verified external partner bank (s)/payment gateway(s)?  Can I pay in euros?  Can my friend use his Polynesian Diners Club Card or AMEX?  Which company will debit my account?

6) Other payment options:  Paypal?  Wire transfers?  Cash delivered to your office?  ;)

7) Bounced payment - Can/Must I still be part of the deal?  Can/Must I opt out?  How would this affect the other buyers and the target deal? 

8) Support:  Is there a turn-around time promised on issue resolution?  

9) Deal compare - How does the buyclub.ch deal compare to the 'next best deal' by the merchant/of the product?  Or are published comparisons made only against standard retail price?  Going by the train deal, I trust you guys for sure, but you see...I got friends to get signed up and incentives to make. ;)

Keep up the great work, I wish you guys all the best!

Cheers,

Arun

Hi Arun and thanks for the detailed feedback.

Which mobile phone were you using, and what problems did you encounter?

Thanks

Oded

Hello Oded,

I used an iPhone. The issue is - sites render the same on the smaller screens as they do on computer screens.  That is, they do not allow easy navigation using handheld devices, sans zooming in and out to read the text, type in a text box, etc. on different parts of the page.

Here's a link of a site that shows why and how to turn a site quickly into a mobile-friendly site.

Cheers,

Arun

So is this on or not yet? I want to find out what the first deal will be!!

Hi folks

@Arun - we put up another test deal, so you can go through the whole process (though you don't need to input your credit card details) and see what you think.
The test url is: http://buyclub.mipo.co.il/geneva/ 

@Maria - we delayed the launch by 1 week, to next Monday (Nov 1)

@JustDoIt - each deal will have a 'Comments' section, where people can ask questions or give their impressions about the deal and/or the provider.

Thanks alot

Oded

Hi Oded,

Thanks! I bought a few coupons to test it out.  

My findings: (please don't go by the number of pluses v/s. minuses, as the minuses are just nitty-gritties) :)

Plus:

1) Ease of use:  It's super easy to buy a deal.  The countdown timer is nice too!

2) Love the Facebook integration.  Facebook Connect, the option to either share as a status update (default) or private message would really help in flagging and getting our resp. networks' attention.

Minus:

3) Zero Glocals integration.  I'm poulet again! :D

4) The confirmation/cancellation notification emails do not contain the specific deal or purchase details...to help users better track purchases, it would also help to capture:

a) A purchase tracking # (to better differentiate one coupon/set of coupons from the other).  It would also help folks when they're looking for support. It could just be a date+serial number ID that follows it thro' the lifecycle of the purchase from the bidding stage

b) Credit Card used (masking most of the card number)

c) Card type

d) Date of purchase

e) Deal Summary, Total & Actual Target (at the time of purchase)

4) Mailing deals to friends opens in the default mail program, which may not necessarily be setup for a personal mailbox.  The email also doesn't really give much info about the 'specific deal/coupon' by itself but only contains a basic line about the site, which may quickly qualify a lot of 'members' into spammers by their 'not-so-good' friends.

5) I was able to buy 1+3+2+3+3+3 coupons in 6 purchases (and tipped the deal).  Not sure if there will be caps from buyclub's end.  I'm sure it'd be explained on the resp. coupon's T&C but it'd be dommage to be able to buy more coupons in successful attempts than one can legally use (on repeated, or 'undercover' visits incl.).

6) Coupon Transfer:  If one is unhappy about a vendor the first time over, can these coupons be sold, gifted or given away to other parties? 

7) "Deal Not On, yet - 8 more people needed" message is clear, but not accurate...as 8 more coupons are left for deal to tip; by the current functionality, one person could buy them all.

8) Got an authorization error on a Mastercard purchase.  Though, I believe it's the current test nature which led to it.

9) My Account is under My Coupons.  It'd be a lot easier if it was separated or, the other way around.

Overall, the functionalities are pretty simple, come November, I for sure will be watching out for deals.

Thanks,

Arun

Thanks Arun.

Very useful feedback that we will implement very soon.

Oded

Hey all, 

BuyClub is now live! The 1st deal is running: half off at Misuji Shusi Geneva. In just a few hours, 44 of 50 available coupons were bought. 

See it here>

We'll officially launch BuyClub, and inform all glocals members about it, in the coming week. For now, we're only letting a few people know about it.

Enjoy!

Nir

Damn missed it!! Looking forward to tomorrows deal!

One tiny thing though. Under the counter it says sould out at 01.00 on 1/1/1970. Somehow i dont think thats right :P

Awesome idea! 

Ok so to be absolutely sure i got this right. I buy the deal and get the coupon. Then i go to UBobba with someone else, we buy any food and drink we want up to 100chfs and instead of a nice blue piece of paper we give them the coupon right?

And what if we eat something worth more than 100chfs. How does it work then?

Maria, 

We both know that you weigh 40 kg on a good day, so there's no way you'll eat for more than CHF 100, even if Simon is there! OK, I jest. 

Yes, you got it right. You pay CHF 50, and you get a coupon by email. You go to UBobba (with or without Simon), and the bill arrives you give the coupon and it's worth CHF 100. If the bill is more than CHF 100, you have to add cash. 

Good deal, no?

Nir

So basically if the bill is 120 (ive seen the menu - no way its going to stay that low!) i put on the table the coupon and 20 francs right? Thats perfect!!

Ok where is that credit card now..

No Maria, you got it all wrong. If the bill is CHF 120 then you put the coupon on the table, and simon puts another CHF 20!!!

Oh Nir... No wonder why all women fall at your feet!

They fall at my feet cos I give them free BuyClub coupons...

Damn i shouldnt have bought it then...

Come on people buy it! Im getting hungry here

Ok plus i think its an amazing deal. I always wanted to go there and now i will AND i will pay less!

Maria:

People will start thinking I pay you to say those things...(-; Now go to your FB account and tell all your friends you bought the coupon, and invite them to buy it too...I will then double what I paid you for your last post. 

Been there done that ages ago!!

payment options: no PayPal, no PostFinance. Me sad.

So the last 3 deals we had on BuyClub all sold out, thanks for your trust!

We just launched today's offer: half off at Wine and Beef, the brand new Geneva concept-restaurant from the Arthur's Group.

Enjoy!

The Karen Millen Offer is now live on www.BuyClub.ch  -

Pay CHF 40 for a coupon worth CHF 80 at Karen Millen Geneva. 

Enjoy...