The right way to think about Groupon is as a currency. Such constant bad press could create a confidence crisis in the Groupon currency. Small businesses who do the most basic due diligence (Google "Groupon") will see the negative news and refuse to run new deals. It will exacerbate Groupon's adverse selection problem, meaning only shakier and shakier businesses will run Groupons, increasing Groupon's refund liabilities. (If you were on the fence about running a Groupon, the bad press will sway you toward not running one.)