So I guess we've eliminated the group buy forum? (1 Viewer)

[Brett Miles]

What's up?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Based on very limited success, it just didn't work out!

Crawdaddy

 

[Parker Clack]

As Jason and I stated in the Group Buys area we shut this down due to a lack of interest or partipation.

Parker

 

[Ron Eastman]

Forgive me for providing feedback on this but I can see a few reasons why it failed. Here is what I change to have a successful group buy area:
Post the price - Group buys depend on volume to make the discount feasible for the retailer. The retailer needs to publicly commit to a price dependent on the number of participants. For example, product "A" will sell for $50 if we have 1 to 5 participants, $45 if 6 to 10, $42 is 11 to 15 and so on.
Allow thread participation - When others are allowed to post to the thread where the offer is being made it shows others how many are participating and helps to nudge "fence-sitters" into purchasing. On top of that, members who already own the product can offer their feedback about the product and answer questions about it.
Allow the membership to select the product - Of course, some products are just so hot (Panasonic RP-91 for example) that a retailer may not be able to get enough to meet demand. However, other products that already have good word of mouth and have been available for awhile would work well. I'm sure participation in a Pronto group buy would be incredible. Same with Marantz monoblocks (especially with the hot Outlaw 950 coming out) or the Onkyo 696.
Offer a link to check the product out - For every product offered give a link to the manufacturer (or anyone who has pictures and a description) so prospective buyers can find details about the product. Some of the things offered in the group buy area weren't products I'm familiar with and without even knowing the price I'm not going to make an effort to find out what it is.
With the combined buying power of 20,000+ enthusiasts I'm sure this can work. The seller just needs to make the effort to actually sell the product and provide the membership the information it needs to make a decision.
Ron

 

[Parker Clack]

I will let Jason know about your feedback.

Parker

 

[Ron Boster]

Parker:

My own personal experience...

Jason quoted me "x" price for the Atlantic Technology speaker package from One Call. Within a week or so, One Call sent out a flier with a better price and a discount coupon. I'm all for a business making money....but when a "special arrangement" is set for a group like ours, I should be able to assume I am getting the best price they are offering. This was an example where it was not the case.

I am not trying to lay blame on Jason or One Call, but it could be another reason why the group buy concept hasn't worked.

Lastly, I agree with what Ron stated in an earlier post. I believe those suggestions, along with consulting a current/former? member named Chris/Health Nut. He seemed to do a terrific job of creating group buy opportunites.

Happy Holidays

Ron B.

 

[Brett Miles]

As Jason and I stated in the Group Buys area we shut this down due to a lack of interest or partipation.

Lack of participation, yes, but I'm not so sure about a lack of interest. I think we're all interested in good deals, but no one is going to buy a product that they don't want/need. Perhaps the right products weren't selected. I know that was the case with me. With all due respect, it seems a little hasty to stop this after one attempt. The labor involved in making a post with a simple list can't be that great, can it? I would think the exposure for the retailer would more than off set it, at least. I also find it troubling that we may not be getting the best deal possible :frowning: .
P.S. I think those are some sound recommendations by Ron E.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Jason quoted me "x" price for the Atlantic Technology speaker package from One Call. Within a week or so, One Call sent out a flier with a better price and a discount coupon. I'm all for a business making money....but when a "special arrangement" is set for a group like ours, I should be able to assume I am getting the best price they are offering. This was an example where it was not the case.

I'm very sorry, guys.

We had not wanted GROUP PURCHASES on this forum

until ONE CALL made us a very tempting offer.

It was my understanding that ONE CALL would not

offer better prices anywhere than what they were

quoting in their GROUP PURCHASE. To hear that

they were, is disturbing. I was totally unaware of

this and it was not part of our agreement.

I also echo the voices of members that better

products should have been offered.

 

[Parker Clack]

I will give Jason a heads up about this thread.

Parker

 

[Ron Eastman]

One other thing working against the success of the group buy forum was timing. It's introduction was sandwiched between 9/11 and Christmas so money was tight for some and others were geared up to buy things for loved ones for the holidays. I bet another go, with changes, could be really successful if introduced in February or March. That would coincide well with tax-return time for many of us.

 

[Parker Clack]

Guys:

I have asked Jason to take a look at this thread and offer any comments he has towards this issue. Starting this up again in the Spring might be worth trying but that is going to depend on whether or not we can get a few things lined up as suggested.

Parker

 

[Thomas_Berg]

did noone take advantage of it?! if i had the $$ i sure would have!!!

 

[Philip Hamm]

There were some really good deals in the group buy IMO, but I'm not the kind to "upgrade" something that's working perfectly well so I'm not buying anything.

 

[Kelley_B]

I agree completely with the comments made by everyone that what they were offering just wasn't anything overly appealing on my list.

 

[Bob-N]

Hmm, I must have missed the launching of the group buy forum. Maybe there wasn't enough notice or maybe I was just blind that day of the announcement. I did see the thread in the hardware section gaugeing interest. Oh well, I'd still be interested in a group buy section with Ron's suggestions incorporated.

 

[Jason_Els]

I too ran into the situation where the price on the OneCall.com website was $50.00 LESS than the group buy price that was offered. I declined the purchase.
Which is not to say I'm adverse to group buys. I too agree that perhaps it wasn't the best time to start it given the season and current events but I'm always looking out for a good deal.

 

[James D S]

I too ran into the situation where the price on the OneCall.com website was $50.00 LESS than the group buy price that was offered.

Seems OneCall may have been taking a price that was already on sale, tacking on the "finder's fee," and issuing that as the group buy price. Just my guess, but would account for the higher price.

Ron E. has made some great and logical reccomendations.

But I'm a bit let-down to find out that OneCall thinks we at the HTF aren't astute enough to realize what is and is not a great deal.

I look forward to them trying this experiment again.

 

[Will]

With prices that astute HTF members know is available
and easily findable on the internet using pricegrabber.com
and other price comparators, a group buy to be compelling
must offer lower prices than the internet competition, imho.
My experience with onecall is they're not the low
price online dealer. Not even close. They're cheaper
than B and M stores, but to be compelling to the HTF crowd,
the group buy probably needs to be cheaper than internet
prices, else, you know, why bother? That's just my
personal opinion.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I second what Bob-N said. Somehow I missed this forum completely. I've been checking HTF pretty regularly and saw the announcement that GBs were coming, but I never saw the forum. I guess its my fault for not paying enough attention to the list of forums, but its gotten to be a bit cluttered IMHO (before the recent expansion) so I must have just glanced over it every time. Was there a special announcement of the forum at any time? I try to skim the newsletters, and I keep an eye out for the "must reads" as well as the notices under Forum Announcements, but again, I totally missed this one.

 

[Will]

Truth be told, I missed it too.