2008年11月，团购网站Groupon在美国成立——其命名由“团体”（group）和“优惠券”（coupon）合并而来——网上团购风马上席卷全美，而今更在全世界遍地开花。团购是继“偷菜”和微博之后又一个成为国人现实生活一部分的网络新生事物，在繁荣发展之余也产生了不少消费纠纷。
Host: An e-mail came out offering a $50 gift card to the Gap注1 for just $25. The response was immediate. Half a million people clicked “buy.” That e-mail was legitimate[合法的], but it didn't come from the Gap. It came from a company called Groupon. It's one of several companies offering consumers some amazing deals and changing the way businesses market themselves.
主持人：在一封电子邮件里，价值50美元的盖璞礼券卡仅售25美元。一石激起千层浪，近50万人点击了“购买”键。这封邮件绝对合法，但发件人并不是盖璞公司，而是一个名为Groupon的公司。它是全美几家为顾客提供优惠交易的公司之一，大大改变了各行各业的营销推广方式。
The Gap deal was Groupon's first big national promotion. And the response overwhelmed[彻底击败] the company's servers. Rob Solomon is Groupon's president.
盖璞优惠项目是Groupon首个全美大型促销活动，其回馈（点击量）使公司的服务器一度陷入瘫痪。罗布·所罗门是Groupon的总裁。
Solomon: We thought it would do well. We had no idea it would do as well as it did. And now we're getting calls from every national retailer[零售商] out there about how they can get in on the fun with Groupon…
所罗门：我们知道这个活动的效果一定很好，但从没想过会那么好。现在全国各地的零售商都给我们打电话，他们也想与Groupon合作，好分一杯羹……
Up until now, Groupon has built its business with a local focus. It partners up with small businesses in the dozens of cities it serves, then offers hard-to-resist savings to the people on its massive e-mail lists. Solomon says the customers buy directly from Groupon.
Groupon目前的经营模式依然以本地为核心。它与服务范围内的几十座城市中的小商家合作，为其庞大的电邮客户群提供让人难以抗拒的优惠。所罗门表示，顾客都是直接在Groupon进行团购。
Solomon: Traditionally, the cupcake bakery[面包店] or the Pilates注2 studio or the Brazilian steakhouse[牛排店] wasn't able to sell on the Internet, and they maybe promoted themselves a little bit on the Internet, but nothing really moved the needle[找到方向] until this thing came along.
所罗门：在传统意义上，纸杯蛋糕店、普拉提工作室或巴西牛排屋都难以通过网络进行销售。它们或许会在网上打打广告，但直到团购出现，它们才找到无穷商机。
Groupon may be the leader in discount[折扣] group buying on the Internet, but it does have competitors.
Groupon或许是网上打折团购业的领头羊，但它也有不少对手。
LivingSocial recently sent an e-mail to its customers in Washington, D.C. offering $50 worth of fancy cupcakes for $25.
LivingSocial网站最近给华盛顿特区的顾客发送优惠邮件——用25美元就能买到价值50美元的美味纸杯蛋糕。
More than 2,000 people responded—double what the managers at the Red Velvet[天鹅绒] Cupcakery had been expecting. Tracy Wilson says it's been a wild ride for the pastry[糕点] chefs.
超过2000人点击购买——这个数字比“红色天鹅绒”小蛋糕店的经理们所预计的数字多了一倍。特蕾西·威尔森说，对于糕点师来说，这绝对是一次疯狂的经历。