Crazy Idea

JJJ on 02/01/2014 - 17:26

Hi all, How are you ? Happy new Year. I been using our site since 2011 and became a member in 2012. With the number of posts i have done you can see that i am still an L plater. So please guide me to the right area/person if this idea is already in place.

I was thinking of a place in our site where the users can post about a specific product and the price range they require it for. If more people are interested/commit to buy the product at that price, can we negotiate a group buy deal with a retailer.

For eg:I been looking for Nokia Lumia 1020 for a while now but skipped the $568 deal at dick smith back in November assuming the price will drop after the release of Lumia 1520 or around boxing day. Neither of that happened so now is waiting for 1020 to come around $568 mark again..

So i was thinking if i can find 10 people who are happy to buy this phone at this price ,a retailer may bring it down to the price we offered. Something like ebay where people commit to buy..

The format i was thinking of is

Nokia Lumia 1020 unlocked
Colour -Black
Price Range $ 500 - $570 including postage
Buying preference - Local retailer like JB,HN,DS,GG etc
Expression of interest - Within 3 weeks

4th week we negotiate with a retailer and if successful retailer to provide us with a link to buy.

Cons i thought of

What if a person who committed didn’t make the purchase?
What if people flood the site with unrealistic proposals?
Who will do the negotiation?

Excuse me if I am silly bringing up something which is already in place. If not you may have another million additions ,pros /cons to suggest.

All the best “to me” for not getting neg for this idea.lol

Site Discussion

Comments

  • neil on 02/01/2014 - 18:32
    +1

    I remember this guy on Whirlpool doing this almost 10 year ago. That evolved into Bulkbuyer.com.au which then disappeared. It's a lot of legwork and time for not too much savings.

    And another business that tried the same but is now in administration.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2014 - 10:02

    There was/is a site doing this with electricity. Forget now who/where. But a simple look at Dodo's prices outdid the group 'discount' of the first site. Why they didn't negotiate a deal with DODO is beyond me. THEN they would've had a bargain to crow about.

    Also, I think there is a similar site going in Australia for other goods. Or maybe it was one of the ones mentioned by neil. After tracking the site for a while I realised I could buy all their 'bargains' cheaper by simply typing the product name and a "$" sign into a search engine, and checking the price on many sites.

  • quop on 03/01/2014 - 12:14

    One Big Switch (https://www.onebigswitch.com.au/) is one such site doing this for electricity. I've previously heard that group buys do/did get organised from time to time on/via the OCAU (Overclockers Australia) forum, though that was a few years ago and I'm not a member so can't give details.

    There are a lot of potential issues that need to be addressed, along the lines of those you've already listed. The big question is how to make such an endeavour worthwhile to all parties involved: the seller, the buyers, and the middle man/organiser.

  • jimmytheone on 09/01/2014 - 09:26

    I am keen on this, sign me up!

  • jimmytheone on 09/01/2014 - 09:28

    Best way to do it is, gather a bunch of people that are interested, set a time and location (hopefully in the same city) and all turn up at the same time, make the purchase at the retail shop, make their own payments. That'll take care of all your cons.

  • kaboom mel on 20/01/2014 - 13:16

    did you manage to find a good deal? I am looking to buy one and hunting around.

    Thanks

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