When Groupon Says Our Tour Costs $100,000: A Tale of E-Bikes, Algorithms, and Small Business Headaches

At Cycle-logical Tours, we pride ourselves on offering scenic, story-filled guided e-bike rides across Oak Island—not luxury yachts, not private jets, and definitely not six-figure experiences. So imagine our surprise when a curious customer reached out and asked:

“Hey… why does your tour cost $100,000 on Groupon?”

Excuse us, WHAT now?

After double-checking that we hadn’t suddenly entered the high-stakes world of billionaire bike rides, we clicked the link—and sure enough, there it was. Our sweet little e-bike tour listed for the jaw-dropping price of one hundred thousand dollars. Not pesos. Not Monopoly money. American dollars.

Naturally, our first reaction was to laugh so hard we nearly fell off our own e-bikes. Then came the fun part: trying to fix it.

The Wild World of Third-Party Booking Platforms

Here’s how this all went down:

Groupon pulled our tour listing from Viator (a large, international tour marketplace).
Somewhere in the handoff, something went horribly wrong—because Viator does not list our tours for $100K.
We reached out to Groupon to get the listing corrected.
Groupon said, essentially: “We can’t fix it—it’s coming from Viator.”
We reached out to Viator. Crickets. 🦗

And so, the listing remains… a $100,000 tour complete with two wheels, pedal assist, and possibly a nervous breakdown for the small business behind it.

The Bigger Problem: How These Platforms Impact Small Businesses

As funny as this is (and trust us—we’ve gotten mileage out of this joke), there’s a serious side to the story. These big-name platforms—Viator, Groupon, TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide, etc.—are great for exposure, but they often come at a cost:

High commission fees (sometimes up to 40%) eat into our revenue.
Delayed payouts can tie up our income for weeks.
Customer confusion from inaccurate listings creates more work on our end.
No direct connection with you, the guest, which means we can’t answer your questions, offer upgrades, or tailor your experience the way we love to.

Worst of all? When something goes wrong—like a $100,000 glitch—we have almost no control to fix it.

Use Third-Party Sites to Discover, Not to Book

We totally get it: platforms like Viator and Groupon are convenient. They show you cool things to do, often all in one place. We want you to find us there. But once you’ve found us?

🚨 Do not pass go. Do not collect $100K. Just come straight to us. 🚨

When you book directly at http://www.cyclelogicaltours.com, a few magical things happen:

You get the correct price (just $45–$85, not your life savings).
You can see real-time availability and tour descriptions straight from the source.
You support a real, local, woman-owned business—without giving a giant cut to some faceless booking empire.
You get personal service from the guide who’s actually going to ride with you (hi 👋 that’s me, Jewelean).

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Ride?)

No, our tours do not cost $100,000.
Yes, that’s what Groupon is showing, and no, we still don’t know why.
Third-party sites are helpful for browsing, but best to book directly with the business.
We appreciate every single person who supports us the Cycle-logical way.

If you’ve got a few dollars and a sense of adventure—not a hundred grand—you’re in the right place.

Thanks for riding with us (and laughing with us too). We promise not to charge you six figures for it. Unless you want to pay that. In which case… we can throw in a souvenir sticker and a high five.

Ready to ride the real price?
Book your Oak Island e-bike tour today at http://www.cyclelogicaltours.com