Daily Dibs Blog

Daily Deals, Promo Codes, Sales and More

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How Does ScoutMob Work?

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There are lots and lots of local daily deal sites out there, and for the most part they look and act just like Groupon.  There is certainly no shame in copying a model that has propelled Groupon to the status of fastest growing web startup of all time, but ScoutMob has taken a slightly different path.  Here is how their model works.

ScoutMob Deals are Free

Unlike Groupon where you might pay $10 for $20 worth of stuff, with ScoutMob you pay nothing.  You simply claim their 50% off deal and redeem it at the local business without any upfront payment.  Usually, ScoutMob will have some limit on the total amount you can save.  For instance, the deal may be for 50% off at a local restaurant, but your max savings is $25.

ScoutMob’s iPhone App

In addition to being different from Groupon and the rest, by offering their deals for free, ScoutMob also has a different twist on how they use their iPhone app.  If you get the daily ScoutMob email, you will have one day to claim the deal – pretty standard stuff.  However, if you have the ScoutMob iPhone app (now also available on Android), the deals are delivered to your phone automatically – sort of like you are automatically claiming every deal they offer.  Once the deal is on your phone, you can then redeem it at the local business.  To activate the deal on your phone you must be close, based on your phone’s GPS, to the business.  Once activated, you will have a limited amount of time for the deal to be redeemed by the business you visit.

How Does ScoutMob Make Money?

Well free deals sounds great, and free apps with great deals sounds even better, but nobody can offer only free stuff and stay in business for long, so the question remains: how does ScoutMob make their money?  Well, ScoutMob doesn’t make money charging you and me for the deals, they make their money charging the local businesses.  I’m sure not every deal they do is the same, but our reports are that they charge the businesses as follows:

  • 50 cents for each deal claimed – this is charged whether or not you redeem the deal.
  • $2-$3 for each deal redeemed on an iPhone

So, there you have it.  Now you know how ScoutMob Works.

Where is ScoutMob? List of Active Cities

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ScoutMob is now active in 13 cities:

  • Atlanta (their hometown)
  • Austin
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Denver
  • Los Angeles
  • Nashville
  • New York
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Washington DC

If the image above (taken from their website) is any indication, ScoutMob already has a plan for expansion into more cities like Houston, Phoenix, Miami and more.

We will try to keep this page updated as they expand, or you can go to our ScoutMob Cities page to track all the ScoutMob cities and deals nationwide.

We are very high on ScoutMob.  We think that of all the deal of the day players out there, they are best positioned to emerge as a major player.   I’m sure they will be adding additional cities soon.

Scoutmob’s model is different than almost every daily deal site out there because their deals are free to claim.  For more details you can read our post on how ScoutMob works.

GivShop Austin Joins the Crowd

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GivShop.com joins an already crowded group of Austin daily deal sites.  Like aDealio and Localiter, GivShop is actually based in Austin.

How is GivShop Different?

GivShop plans to differentiate themselves with a focus on giving back to non-profits.  From their website:

“Here’s the fun part. GivShop is giving 50% of our profit to local charities and we want your help in selecting which charities get the cash. Select a non-profit from the list and they receive a part of the deal.”

Wow – 50% of their profit?  If that doesn’t tell you about the unbelievable margins in the daily deal space, nothing will.

Will They Succeed?

Judging from their team, they are looking to be more than just another local player in Austin.  It is hard to tell at this point what audience advantages they bring to the table if any.  My guess is that they are counting on their non-profit approach to win over users and businesses.  I’m not sure if that alone will be enough as the cost of customer acquisition continues to increase.

Good luck GivShop – we put you at the top of our list in Austin.