South Jersey Startup BigSweetDeal Launches, Offers First Opaque Selling Model For Restaurants

Nov. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- With its launch earlier this week, BigSweetDeal becomes the newest addition to the online deal scene.  BigSweetDeal stands out by offering something completely different - opaque selling (also known as unpublished rates). Deals are also valid for one night only, and must be used the day of purchase. With this novel approach, BigSweetDeal has set out to fix many of the problems inherent in the current deal space for both restaurants and customers.

With unpublished rates, customers arrive at BigSweetDeal.com and view deeply discounted offers to quality restaurants in their area. However, the exact name and location of the restaurant is not given until after purchase. Instead, only cuisine type, approximate location, user rating and other basic information is provided. Similar to how Hotwire and Priceline works for hotels, this concept prevents a restaurant’s regular full-price paying customers from taking advantage of deals intended to fill empty tables. For BigSweetDeal’s customers, this allows for deeper discounts than found elsewhere.

Certificates purchased must be used the same day, which allows restaurants to dynamically match the discount they offer to the demand they have to fill empty tables on a daily basis. Limits on quantity sold per day are also available, and restaurants are not forced to offer deals on days in which they are already busy.

“We recognized that traditional deal sites just weren’t working for restaurants,” said Mark Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of BigSweetDeal. “Most couldn’t make any money with the current options, and those who could - it just wasn’t sustainable. Our model sets out to change all of that and offer profits and sustainability to restaurants.”

Camden and Gloucester county, New Jersey,  serves as BigSweetDeal’s first market, where the company launched with more than thirty participating restaurants. BigSweetDeal’s sales force hand selects each restaurant to ensure quality, with a strong focus on local independently owned restaurants. “We’re offering a way for restaurants to bring in customers on their own terms,” says Garrett Gillin, Co-Founder and President of Sales for BigSweetDeal. “Restaurant owners are tired of the same sales pitch and same break-even or worse results. They want something new; something that works and can actually make them money. That’s why they participate with us.”

BigSweetDeal offers discount ranging from 25% to 90% off, boasts a wide variety of cuisine types, and backs up each purchase with a Satisfaction Guarantee. Over the next few months BigSweetDeal will begin expanding into additional cities, such as Philadelphia.

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BigSweetDeal provides a wide selection of discounted certificates at 25% - 90% off quality local restaurants every day. Through the use of unpublished rates, and certificates which are valid for one night only, BigSweetDeal helps restaurants to become more profitable, while at the same time offering customers a wide variety of choices, and deeper discounts than found elsewhere.