Goup Buy successes

Group buys in most cases are a lot of talk with no action. I have organized a few and they are very labor intensive to inform, collect money, and keep everyones trust up until delivery. There is almost no economical reason to do them so they remain the domain of the passionate that just want to help out.

 

We have done "group buys" in the Alfa Romeo Montreal group, and you are right, a real pain.
There is no real solution, except if the provider accepts a deposit, then it is up ....oh forget it.

It really is the domain of the passionate as you so rightly say.

It has taken forever for me to get the covers of the replica "Dino Manutenzione" book, not to mention an endless back and forth to get a job done.
I will soon have 30 copies, and we'll see how many "really" will want it.

Regards, Alberto

 

1) Bill Ebert's USA Dino rear marker reflectors
2) John Haller's rear batchboard connector

Think positive!

 

we also had a successful group buy on front turn signal lenses with Verell at Unobtanium supply.

We got a nice group discount from Coker Tire at one point.

Don't know of any others.

D

 

No, not yet. I will post a note requesting a personal email of those still interested,
to be able to quote the shipping, which last time I checked was around $15 to the USA
and more to the rest of the world. I haven't paid anyone for the covers and the copies of the manual yet. We work like that around here, credit...so still don't know how much I owe.

The book is not that much, so sleep tight. I will let everyone know next week.
I will prefer personal checks and/or paypal if you really want, but there will be a surcharge for the commission they charge. I am not very fond of them.

Regards, Alberto

 

I have photocopies of the blue parts manual (factory A4 size, not the one in the owner's pouch) where I have resolved the difficulty in reading it.

My original, factory parts list places the exploded parts image on one page and the itemized parts list on the back of that page. I hated this for looking up parts to buy as I was continually looking at the image then flipping over to the back side to examine the parts list. I wanted to look at both simulatneously.

I have reorganized this and set it on 8.5"x11" in a binder so that when you open the notebook up the image is on the top page and the parts list is on the bottom page, meaning you don't have to flip pages to see both the image and the itemized parts list. $25 shipped to USA destinations.

 

Group buys vary from forum to forum.

- Some have a dedicated group buy area but from experience they have almost no traffic compared to the specialist area of the forum.

- Most are organized within an area of the forum and if they are done by an individual they will generally not conflict with the commercial posting rules on the forum (which are there to protect paying sponsors)

The main problems with group buys are the following:

1. Everyone thinks that everyone out there is a crook so generating trust is hard

2. Most people are big talkers until it is time to pony up MONEY then they are nowhere to be found.

3. Finding people to participate takes time and many people loose interest, sell or wreck their cars, get divorced, take up yoga, whatever. The fall out rate is huge and trying to keep someones deposit even when they flat out drop out is a recepie for a public blasting that screws up #1 for you.

4. The people organizing it don't get paid and are just enthusiasts so many times professionalism and timely action are not on the 'full-time' level

5. GB's are sometimes organized without the company's consent and it goes against some of their marketing or dealer protection strategies so they shut it down and dont supply the organizer with stock.

From my experience the only deals that tend to work on forums is if a better known poster (so they are not seen as a one time spammer) works out a deal with a reputable supplier to offer an immediate discount for a pre-determined period of time. That way you skirt around the commercial guidelines of the forum while offering an immediate deal with no waiting or minimum group commitment.