groupon (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)
It is no secret that Groupon are, in essence, a bunch of mercenary tosspots who’ll advertise anything in the hope of making a quick buck. As a rule, their blurb is just on the right side of the law. However, if you click on the links to the sites run by the whackjobs selling the weird and not-so-wonderful (remember the snake-oil face-cream?), the legal niceties are not always respected. Which does make me wonder if Groupon might not be considered, in some jurisdictions, as making the illegal claims themselves.
Of course, when it comes to such delights as touting illegal ear candling sessions in Canada and publishing this:
Like the branches of government, bodies, minds, and souls often find themselves in contentious disagreement over how much wine is too much wine in a voting booth. Reconcile opposed tribunals with this Groupon.
Choose from Three Options:
$40 for a 75-minute holistic health package (a $90 total value)
- 45-minute detoxifying ear candling with after-care drops (a $50 value)
- 30-minute Healing Touch treatment (a $40 value)
$25 for either an ear-candling or Healing Touch treatment (up to a $50 value)
$75 for a one-day Healing Touch Level 1 course on Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with meditation and self-healing instructions (a $150 value)
… not only do you score a round 50 on the WTFometer, but you are running the risk of having your collar felt by the Plod if any Canadian reading this should be inclined to complain to Health Canada. At time of writing 10 victims had been ensnared, although there is of course no way of knowing if they chose ear candling or the Healing Touch nuttery.
Just for completeness and lulz, the rest of the blurb reads:
Healing Connections
Owner and therapist Cindy Palajac helms Healing Connections with an understanding of holistic and natural healing honed by more than two decades of practice. After grappling with a personal loss and persistent digestive problems, Cindy found relief in Healing Touch, which is designed to improve physical, mental, and spiritual health by streamlining the body’s energy with meditation and focused contact. Healing Connections’ alleviating hands also help to calm the mind, energize the body, and coordinate aura colours with evening outfits using reflexology massage, ionic foot spas, ear candling, and shamanic journeying.
More quackery than a farmyard in Gascony in the run-up to Christmas.
Related articles
- Leaked emails call Groupon’s European CEO a “slavedriver”, echoing complaints in U.S. (venturebeat.com)
- Groupon, so who exactly profits here? (coverboom.com)
- Groupon In Trouble For Selling Snake Oil, Literally [Groupon] (gawker.com)
- Groupon rapped for selling snake oil (boingboing.net)
- Groupon banned from selling SNAKE OIL (go.theregister.com)
- Groupon’s pants ‘Weight Loss HOTPANTS’ ad banned (go.theregister.com)
