Bulk Buying Society

spiritus

I'm not sure if something like this already exists and if it doesn't then perhaps I'm being too fanciful.

A group of local consumers can approach their local supermarket and sign a contract where they agree to buy certain products throughout the whole year and then pay upfront for these products in exchange for the supermarket offering a discount.

The supermarket would benefit by "locking in" the customer's loyalty for twelve months and the consumer would benefit from lower prices.

jenniewb

I've never heard of anything like this and to be honest I'd be doubtful it exists. In this day and age prices only go up, the supermarket would be losing money not just initially but more so as the year went on. Theres also no way to prevent the customer shopping elsewhere or finding a better deal. If this were possible I'd not see the odd time in Tescos the corner shop guy bulk buying a certian few fizzy brands for his shop!

I think the only thing similar to this would be to join a bulk buying store where you buy a card and pay for the joining fee or pay as part of a business and claim back the VAT at a later date as part of your tax-self assesment. Stores like these would be Costco or Makro.

spiritus

I know the idea is a little "out there" but in answer to your question as to what's to stop customers from shopping elsewhere............... by paying up front for products they use on a regular basis.

One household could agree to buy in a twelve month period

15 boxes of Coco Pops
25 bottles of Coca Cola
etc etc

They would then pay in advance for the twelve months with a reduction on the normal retail price.

The supermarket would benefit because the customer has locked into the purchase for the twelve months instead of possibly being distracted by shopping at a rival supermarket.

ehlo

The idea is sound but I think it'd probably make sense to incorporate a company (can be fairly cheap) as this will then allow you access to various wholesalers and so probably get a better deal (e.g. Makro, Booker etc).

Alternatively Costco allows certain 'professional' jobs to qualify for membership

reformedEffortmaker

i remember writing about this concept in my first degree. The concept didnt work, it's up for debate as to whether this was due to the dot com bubble bursting or consumer apathy, but I also remember a lot of customers complaining that the discounts just didnt make it worth it.

Remember sites such as weallgetthingscheaperifwebuyinagroup.com and letsbuyit.com?, if I remember if took up to 100 people all wanting to buy a washing machine of same the same make, of similar spin cycle etc etc just to get £30 off, and then of course the company would then have to go and source them, so you could be waiting ages for delivery.


Saying all that, it's still a good idea, and totally in keeping with the MSE ethos so never say never, Groupon and Living Social etc are using the same concept and it seems to be working for them.....well, (if we ignore the laser hair removal ads). I think Innocent (the drinks company), did a facebook campaign recently where the more people who clicked on a link, the higher the value of the coupon was that you could download.

*she runs to see if she can find the link*

reformedEffortmaker

here it is:-

http://tweetandeat.innocentdrinks.co.uk/onabreak

OP - is this the kind of thing you meant?

spiritus

reformedEffortmaker wrote: »

here it is:-

http://tweetandeat.innocentdrinks.co.uk/onabreak

OP - is this the kind of thing you meant?

Not really, that's more of a social media promotion.

I was thinking more of some kind of buyer's group.

Another example would be buying petrol.

If a large enough group of people committed to buying their petrol from Morrisons (as an example) for the next 12 months there has to be some benefit to Morrisons from having this group of customer committing to buying their fuel from their forecourts and not that of their rivals. It wouldn't just be a verbal agreement as the "consumer group" would have to pay for the fuel in advance thereby incentivising (not sure if that's a real word) the consumer to get their fuel from Morrisons.

I appreciate it's a minefield of complexities but fuel companies do something similar with price fixes. It must be in their interest not to raise fuel prices to a consumer in exchange for their loyalty for the next twelve months.

reformedEffortmaker

ok, what happens if I lock myself into a deal with morrisons to buy fuel at £1.29 a litre for the next 12 months and oil prices drop?, or Esso start a special deal offering £1.21 a litre plus a car wash, or I get rid of my car, or too many people subscribe and morrisons cant keep up with supply?.

Not saying it's a bad idea, but you are asking people to completely change the way they shop.

It's the same principle as fixed rate mortgages, buying security that your monthly payments wont go up, but then paying more than market rate for that benefit.....may work with bread/milk and staple products, not sure the same would work with 'luxury items' which people could do without when short of cash?

crazyguy

You have more chance of walking through here and living,



Than setting up this plan as quite simply it is far to complicated to organise and you will find both business and individuals will not want the hassle of this for the sake of a £20.00 saving per year.

taxsaver

Quite apart from the many pitfalls outlined above, most people could not possibly afford to pay up front for a years groceries or petrol.

It really is a non-starter imho.