Sharing & Group Buys Canada Explained & Rules - PLEASE READ FIRST

[Boo Radley]

Welcome to the new Group Buys Canada Section


What is Sharing & Group Buys?

The idea behind Sharing and Group Buys is to make it easier for members to collaborate in order to save money. This can be classified into 2 major categories:


Sharing

Let's say there are a few members who own a PlayStation 3 (or any other console or movies or anything). They each have different games that might be of interest to other members. If each member shared say 2 games and there were 10 members in the group then all of a sudden 20 games are available to all the members for free!! They can swap the games and share them and at the end of the sharing period each person gets their original games back.

Same can apply to Blu-ray or DVD movies, books, Xbox games, etc. We can save huge amounts of money be exchanging items.

This whole process would need to be managed by a "Group Organizer". The Group Organizer would initiate the threads, recruit members, organize the sharing periods, etc. At the end of the day it is up to the Group members to give the Group Organizer a donation via paypal or any other method if they want. However a group organizer cannot ask for money in return for organizing a group unless it is planned in advance and agreed upon by all members of the share.


Group Buys

Group Buys are once again aimed at saving members money.

Let's say 5 members are interested in buying something from a US website that charges hefty shipping fees. The Group Organizer can buy it on behalf of all members so that the shipping fees are paid once instead of 5 times hence making the cost of the item much more attractive. Remember US merchants usually have excellent deals (usually much better than Canadian equivalents) and it's only shipping that ruins the deal.

Another example would involve buying in bulk. If say 5 people are interested in buying something like say Window frames for their house or an appliance or anything pretty much including services the Group Organizer can negotiate with the merchant on behalf of the members. It is much much easier to get a good serious discount if more people are buying.

Again the group organizer must not be benefiting financially from this. They need to show the receipt as a proof that they brought an item for the price they claim. You are welcome to give the Group Organizer a donation as a thank you for their help if you want. It is also up to the Group Members and Group Organizers to coordinate the whole process including the payments, etc.

The trade rating system can be used to rate Group organizers and members and you are in fact encouraged to do so so that over time we know who we can trust.


Rules

Please read the rules before starting a new group buy thread.

1. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO POST LINKS TO EXTERNAL GROUP BUY WEBSITES.
2. Using a referral link of any kind in this section is absolutely not allowed. No exceptions. You should not be making any special commissions out of organizing a Group Buy unless all group members agree to this.
3. Group Buy Dealers are NOT allowed to post on here. Only regular members are allowed to. If you see dealers posting deals please let us know!
4. Group buys must have specific slots and items. They need to be clear and specific.
5. Please start a new thread for every actual buy. So say a new group of people are buying a new item then a new thread needs to be started.
6. The Group Buy organizer needs to attach a scanned copy of their receipt as a proof that the item cost the amount they claim it cost.
7. The Group Buy organizer must try getting the lowest possible bid on the item where necessary and negotiate where possible.
8. You are encouraged to use the trading system to rate group buy organizers and members.

I'll keep this section for a few weeks and we'll see how successful it becomes. If it takes off I'll keep it, otherwise I'll remove it.

[howwon]

Excellent new thread.

I am the Admin for another forum and our Group Buys are successful and helps out members from around the Globe.

[Litesandsirens911]

can someone please explain to me what exactly this Group Buy thing is? I don't get it...sorry, I am not dense, just need clarification, lol

[sweetmomma]

can someone please explain to me what exactly this Group Buy thing is? I don't get it...sorry, I am not dense, just need clarification, lol

Don't worry, you're not alone..I am confused too!

[Boo Radley]

Updated first post to explain what Sharing and Group Buys means

[kayoko]

I like that this is more SC focused cause I trust SC and feel a bit weary about off-site group buys. Looking forward to see what's the big fuss with this group buy trend!

[Midnightly]

i've heard of people doing this with things like movie tickets to get a better "group rate" on other sites

[Boo Radley]

i've heard of people doing this with things like movie tickets to get a better "group rate"

Yep another great idea

You can use it for pretty much anything you prefer

[iloveluca]

Good idea!

[Ricki911]

Good idea!.

[Insane]

I used to belong to an Ottawa aquatics forum (OVAS) and they used to do this all the time. But profit was made by the buyer. They'd buy bulk (particularly Salt Water corals and fish) and then people on the forum would buy it off of them or they'd place orders. Cuts down on the shipping and the risk. Cause if your item came in dead, then it was the buyer's problem.

[Boo Radley]

I used to belong to an Ottawa aquatics forum (OVAS) and they used to do this all the time. But profit was made by the buyer. They'd buy bulk (particularly Salt Water corals and fish) and then people on the forum would buy it off of them or they'd place orders. Cuts down on the shipping and the risk. Cause if your item came in dead, then it was the buyer's problem.

If the organizer and group members are happy with that then that's cool

[Jezebel]

seems interesting....
with the game system games I have several systems(6 diff systems) for something like this I would consider completly trading away a game and once I tire of it could always put that game up for trade ....

with the sharing of games unless I really knew the other peep not sure as ppl move , life happens (myself included), stuff gets broke accidentaly of course and I may not get my game back for whatever reason...they are not cheap..so if I shared several of my games and they got broke /lost whatever at the end of the day I would have to give the game I have back but lose out on my games...

[Boo Radley]

seems interesting....
with the game system games I have several systems(6 diff systems) for something like this I would consider completly trading away a game and once I tire of it could always put that game up for trade ....

with the sharing of games unless I really knew the other peep not sure as ppl move , life happens (myself included), stuff gets broke accidentaly of course and I may not get my game back for whatever reason...they are not cheap..so if I shared several of my games and they got broke /lost whatever at the end of the day I would have to give the game I have back but lose out on my games...

The Group Organizer can have special rules. For example... if you break a game you don't get your game back and instead the person whose game you broke gets it.
It's really up to each group and organizer to manage the thing and you can have any rules you like. Also with time people would have ratings and you'd have a better idea of who to trust.

[lekate]

Looks cool!