GroupBuying

On the surface, it appears daily deals purveyor Groupon is more popular than ever. It ended 2011 with 33 million active customers in 47 countries, and it's growing fast. But look closer, and there are signs that "Groupon fatigue" is kicking in.

Running a restaurant has never been easy, but it's getting harder to succeed these days for eateries that shun the social couponing and new media games. A decade ago, all you needed was a strong concept, a healthy strategy and a few ads in the local paper, but the Internet has changed everything.

After Groupon's IPO release on Thursday and its bumpy first day of trading Friday, it's time for ordinary investors to think hard about whether we really want to take the plunge on the coupon company. DailyFinance offers a few expert opinions about whether this daily deal is a winner.

As Groupon prepares for its IPO, here's a gentle reminder to the company's original public investors: the bargain buyers. If you don't redeem those Daily Deals -- and many of us forget to after we buy them -- they're just money down the drain for you, and pure profit for the company.

It's fitting that Groupon -- the daily deals leader that at one time was valued as high as $20 billion -- is finally gearing up to go public at a discount. Its IPO will give it a market capitalization of less than $12 billion. The flash sale specialist is also selling fewer shares to the public, a move that will make it easier to pull off this deal in this iffy climate.

Did Groupon's deal Friday for a Manhattan helicopter tour spin into bad taste? The email offer to New Yorkers comes just 10 days after a helicopter from a different company plunged into the city's East River, killing two tourists.

Tens of thousands of group deals are purchased every day from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, but between 18% and 22% aren't redeemed. All that spent-yet-unspent money is an opportunity for a secondary market, and a handful of websites are filling the gap, providing deal-holders a quick way to cash-out on offers they won't use.

Facebook dipped a big toe into the group-buying waters on Tuesday, launching a test of its Deals on Facebook service. But though it's coming late to the game, analysts and merchants say they won't be surprised if the social networking titan soon poses a viable threat to market leaders Groupon and LivingSocial.