类型: GB
作者:
HoffmanMyster
发布时间: 2015-11-20 18:13:54
更新时间:
2015-11-20 18:13:54
原链接:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77272.0
What is a Group Buy?
A group buy is a
process through which we, as a community, can use our
collective buying power to purchase goods at a reduced price
or at all. Some Group Buys take advantage of price breaks to
offer products to the community at a more desirable price,
often at the cost of the GB organizer’s time/efforts. Others
simply give us the ability to make something happen that
otherwise would have too much cost/risk associated with it
for a vendor to buy into it and bring it to market
themselves.
Should I join this Group Buy?
Assuming the product in question appeals to you, the
answer is “it depends”.
Group Buys are risky endeavors!
The fact of the matter is that there is a lot of risk
inherent to every single Group Buy, even the most reliable.
You are
giving your money to a stranger on the other side of the
world and hoping that they will give you the product in
exchange. And it takes months, sometimes a year+ for group buys to
complete. Be prepared to wait. If you’re in a group buy to
save a little bit of money, maybe you’d rather not take on
the risk and just pay a higher price.
Who do I trust?
However, many group buys, as mentioned above, are for
items that are not otherwise available so you face a
decision - should I trust this organizer? The moderation
team has recently started to screen Group Buys in hopes of
cutting back on ill-prepared members running group buys and
falling short. I’d say the GB landscape is better in that
sense than it was a couple years ago, but it’s still far
from perfect. Determining someone’s aptitude at running a
complex operation such as a group buy is incredibly hard to
judge unless you have past experience to go by - but at that
point, they’re not new to the process. I urge you to use
your own best judgement in every case. As always,
Caveat Emptor, but don’t be afraid to ask questions about
logistics/pricing/shipping/time commitment. You are fronting
your hard-earned money, after all, and I think we all
deserve to know these details if the buy in question is the
organizer’s first. Don’t be a jerk about it and threadcrap,
but clarifying questions are okay - you’re probably not the
only one wondering.
What if a Group Buy goes south?
As mentioned previously,
Caveat Emptor. However, the mod team is far from apathetic; we are also
members here, after all, and participate in group buys just
as everyone else does. As I said above, there is some degree
of pre-screening before a group buy thread is approved, but
once money changes hands there is very little the mod team
can do. Remember that we are all just humans sitting in
front of computer screens, and no matter how much we try we
cannot force someone in another country/state to get in
their car and drive to the post office. It’s an unfortunate
truth, but one that seems to be overlooked from time to
time. Again, this is not to say that we don’t care about the
outcome of group buys (we do), but rather to reiterate the
reality of the situation.
I want to contact a GB organizer. What’s the best
way?
BunnyLake made a very thorough post about this subject
a few months ago. I highly recommend reading it if you are
new to Group Buys.
I’d like for this thread to be a
centralized location for FAQs about Group Buys, any other
helpful tips/guidelines for people new to the process, and
any other relevant discussions about GBs. I will be adding
content as I see fit, and welcome anyone else to contribute
as they desire.
