Groupon Drops All Gun-Related Deals
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 22, 2013 10:50PM
Groupon has decided to drop all existing and planned gun-related deals from their site, including discounts for shooting ranges and concealed carry classes. Groupon did not say the change is permanent, just that the "category is under review following recent customer and merchant feedback."
Julie Mossler, a representative for Groupon, told CNN that the company "has been testing firearm-related deals including shooting ranges and concealed weapons courses for the last eight months. Based on performance and customer and merchant feedback, it's clear they're not a fit right now." Mossler said in an emailed statement:
All scheduled and current gun-related deals featured on Groupon North America, including shooting ranges, conceal-and-carry and clay shooting, have been placed on hiatus while we review internal standards that shape the deal inventory we feature. The category is under review following recent consumer and merchant feedback.
A Texas gun shop owner is calling for a boycott of Groupon after the company canceled his deal, and he's considering legal action. Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works, told AOL's Daily Finance he started the deal on Tuesday, but as the 600-person deal neared sellout on Wednesday, he upped the purchase to 1,500 buyers. He says on Friday a sales representative from Groupon called to tell him the deal was off. From Daily Finance:
"I'm asking everyone in the Second Amendment community to boycott Groupon, because the message they're sending is, 'Look, we do not want to support law-abiding citizens taking time out of their schedule to learn the safety surrounding firearms,' " says Cargill. The class covers curriculum required to obtain a concealed-carry permit in Texas, including live-fire training, nonviolent conflict resolution and safety training.
Cargill says he has retained an attorney and is evaluating his legal options against the company for stopping his deal while in progress.