Team buying

choosewisely

Don't know if this has been covered elsewhere at MSE but I just saw a link to this website http://020.teambuy.com.cn/english/

Seems like a fairly simple but good idea - using the web to find people that all want to buy the same or similar products then arranging to all turn up at the same shop at the same time and using the power of the crowd to negotiate a discount!

cowboy

Great idea....ganging up to fight the price with the retailers... Will it work in the UK? Would definitely like to join if there is one.

borosteve_2

Wasn't that what letsbuyit.com used to do? I don't know how successful it was but I haven't heard of it in ages...

caz841

Does sound similar to Lets Buy It but I thought they had gone out of business years ago. I've just been to the site and it would appear at first glance they're working on some sort of points system.

outbidder

LetsBuyIt.com were always letting people down with delivery and supply problems. Not sure they ever really recovered from the bad press and I do remember something about them going bust.

There was a similar site I saw recently but can't remember what it was called, will likely come up on Google.

misterE_3

In the next few hours and days, there is a soft launch of a web site that will be organising these team buying events in the UK (in the interests of full disclosure, I'm the admin for the web site).

The web site is currently in "beta" but if you're interested in taking a look, PM me and I'll happily send you a link

Best regards,
Eliot

System

isn't the difference between "Team Buying" and letsbuyit.com that you all actually show up at the shop - a bit like flash-mobbing?

so I could invite 100 MSE'rs to Dixons in Meadowhall and all go in there asking the they sell us a good LCD TV each for £150 less than retail.

It's almost like a polite version of swarm robbing if you've heard of that (i think that's what it's called - a dozen kids run into a shop all wearing hoodies and grab what they can. shop asistants are theoretically "overcome" by the swarm and then the hoodies all run away!)

misterE_3

That is the difference.

In China, the teams usually get discounts ranging from 10 to 30% in store, and some shop owners will give freebies too (or instead of a discount if they can't cut the price).