I think deal sites absolutely cater to "bottom feeders" who may be just looking for deals. I think it is the wrong way to attract a loyal following. A major point of this article made was with the 99£ oven cleaning for 19£. Who would pay 19 and then repeat and pay 99?! That's nuts, and the only way to get most of those customers to not feel ripped off is do another groupon or offer some similar huge discount.
And that is true, but referral making is largely akin to a pyramid scheme. I also think that if the referrer is talking about their 19 pound groupon, the refer-ee would likely balk at the price as well.