I have noticed in the past that several rennlisters initiate and particpate in various group buys. I was just browsing a group buy thread for porsche keys the other day and there were 14 pages. I started to imagine how cumbersome administering that group buy would be and how difficult it would be to organize it.

The tasks involved for the initiating rennlister would include keeping track of the contact info of those interested and the number of people signed up, making sure that everyone is still onboard, and then coordinating the group buy with a vendor. On the flip side, the vendor would have to manage the shipping addresses, payments, factoring in the discounts etc etc.

If there was a website that we could all go to for starting and joining group buys, would anybody be interested in using it? The website would essentially take care of everything in the previous paragraph.

I would be interested in hearing from both rennlisters and vendors who have participated in group buys in the past. If you guys think it would be helpful, I would be willing to throw something together.

 

I did one for the smart top for CAB owners. It was about 15-20 that were bought and it was easy enough to see just how many people were. I set up the group by with the vendor meaning I just negotiated the price and shipping and they said as soon as they had at least 10 confirmed orders that the price would be honored. I was given a "code" to use that was valid for a set number of days before expiration. All you really do is just make sure have interest fromt the required number of members and then the vendor does all the rest. It's not as hard as it sounds.

 

Dell, thank you for responding. In your case, you were able to hand the group buy off to the vendor by using a special code after you negotiated the price. What I observed was threads that ended in with "If anybody is interested, PM me with your contact info and I'll see what price we can get". Also, what if we could start a group buy for the smart top, and have the vendors bid on an offering price. That way we would be freed from the negotiation process.

For vendors, once enough of us signed up, wouldn’t it be more convenient to have a purchase order prepared for you with all the shipping info?

 

Vincent, you are right in that I got a great vendor that placed trust in me that I have 10+ orders coming his way and that I was to give anybody that PM'd with interest the special code and that it would expire at a specific time.

If I had to do more work than that I would not do it. That could be a headached. Unless somebody has space on a server to dedicate or an email address (specific to the group buy) that will compile everything then I see it as a waste of time. I actually tried to do that with my vendor as asked what the cost would be if I ordered "x" number of units at once all shipped to me and then I would distribute to my fellow rennlisters and he was unwilling to do that. It was just much more simple to have each person order as "Joe Consumer" from off the street and be given a discount if order with a discount code by a certain date and time.

 

Dell, you make an interesting point about group buys not worth starting if they require more effort to manage. I recently tried to join a group buy for the PSS9 kit, and it eventually fizzled away (not sure what happened). In regards to the PSS9 Kit, I would imagine that vendors would be reluctant to give us a code w.out a commitment from 10+ buyers. At the same time, I don't think vendors want the headache of managing the transaction either.

Maybe it would go something like this:

1) I go to "the website" and list a group buy for PSS9s
2) I tell everyone on rennlist that if they are interested in PSS9s to go sign up
3) We wait for a vendor to offer a discount price
4) Maybe we can all vote to accept or decline the vendor’s price?
5) If we are all in agreement, "the website" could forward our info to the vendor

My biggest problem with the PSS9 group buy that was officered on rennlist was that I did not know how serious everyone was.

If we disregard the resources needed to start something like this, do you think it would help us complete more group buys, and at the same time make more group buys available?

 

Maybe this is something that John D. could setup here within Rennlist for Rennlist Members only. A page similar to the For Sale section that is accessible by those members looking for a group buy. Setup ground rules for the group buy section. For example, ONLY post to the thread your interest in the group buy and a predetermined grouping of information and prohbit ANY discussions within the thread. The problem with most group buy threads is that there is ALOT of chit chat back and forth within the thread and it causes headaches for those interested as well as those organizing it. Maybe setup 2 threads then per group buy....1 for the interest and info and one to talk about the prduct?

Lastly, to start a group buy, a moderator (or JohnD.) would have to approve it and then THEY would post the 2 threads (Group Buy for "X" Joining Thread and Group Buy for "X" Discussion Thread) thus keeping threads from being posted other than the specific group buys approved. For example, the last thing we need is "any interest in "x" product group buy?" threads.

 

Specific group by sections on rennlist would be a great idea. Chit chat is definitely a problem, and I can imagine that most people would have product inquiries etc. mixed in. The 996 forum would be sufficent for gathering info about fitment, ride quality, reviews etc. I personally come here to get all the info I need before making a purchase. I guess the thread would have to be moderated so that group buy threads stay clean. Do we have any moderated forums here? I wonder if a thread based group buy system would suffice for vendors.

 

All the forums are moderated. There are specific mods assigned to specific forums. It would just be up to JohnD. (I assume) who would be the mod for that forum.

I don't see why a thread based group buy wouldn't be sufficient for vendors.

One more thing, it is imperative that the threads are posted by the mod if not there will be an influx of members posting "any interest in x product group buy?" as well as every vendor on the list that feels the need to post as will.

Simple proces. Submit request for group buy to moderator and then if approved, mod will post the 2 threads (group buy thread and group buy discussion thread).