Everything you need to know about joint purchases

What is joint purchases

Prices for wholesale buyers are lower than for retail. But you generally don't need 20 matching pants or multicooker. But 19 people who need it can live nearby. If you get together, you can place one order and receive your goods at a wholesale price. This is the principle of joint purchases or, as they are often called on the Internet, a joint venture.

At the dawn of their appearance, they were organized exactly as described above. Someone stumbled upon an interesting product at an attractive wholesale price and looked for like-minded people on the Internet. Now the organization of joint purchases is a business for which its founder takes on average 10-20% of the cost of the goods. But usually, even this is more profitable for the buyer than buying a product at a retail price. Another bonus is the distribution of shipping costs.

In addition, joint purchases make it possible to buy something that is not in the city and even in the country, and at the same time not leave home.

Joint purchases are very common among moms. For some, this is a way to earn extra money on maternity leave, for others - not to go shopping with small children.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for 2 years

What can be bought through the joint venture

At the origins were mothers on maternity leave, so initially it was more about children's goods, bedding, clothes. Now you can buy almost anything through joint purchases: seedlings, fur coats, jet skis, red caviar, and so on.

How co-purchases work

They are organized roughly along the following lines:

The organizer announces the purchase for the goods open. In it, he indicates the conditions: the cost, how much it is necessary to collect orders, the conditions of return, and so on.
Buyers declare their participation in the purchase. Until the total amount reaches the required amount, orders can be canceled or changed.
As soon as the required number of applications has been collected, the organizer announces a stop - after that, the order cannot be canceled or changed.
The organizer negotiates with the supplier, who issues an invoice. After that, buyers pay their share of the amount.
Purchases are delivered to the desired city. The organizer sorts them and distributes or sends them by mail.

As for the sites, there is no unity here. There are old forum sites, and sites operating in the format of an online store have appeared. Purchases are also organized through social networks and instant messengers.

I am only a member of regional joint ventures. Everything happens in our chats in WhatsApp. But there are special sites where it is not easy to get to. One of those who are already registered there must purchase a code word for you, and then it will be possible to buy.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for 2 years

The co-op platform brings organizers and their clients together. Often, site owners also set some general rules: for example, they limit the percentage of commission paid to the organizer. But you always need to read the terms of a specific purchase in order to understand what you are subscribing to.

What to look for in the purchase description

Price

Compare with retail. Not all organizers work honestly and do not add hidden interest to the cost. It is also sometimes cheaper to buy at retail with discounts. So compare and count.

Delivery terms

They should suit you.

Probability of re-grading

Usually, the organizer indicates how often a particular supplier gets confused when collecting an order - the wrong color or size comes. If it is rare, then the risk of getting something different from what you ordered is lower.

Responsibility for re-grading

Basically, it falls on the buyer. Received an item of a different color or size - resell it yourself. But sometimes the organizer takes it upon himself, and you will be compensated for the costs in whole or in part.

Responsibility for marriage

Usually it lies with the organizer, but it is better to clarify.

Shipment in packages, boxes, size ranges

To redeem goods, the organizer needs to do more than just collect the required number of people. For example, if you can order only a size range, then there should be buyers for each size. Those who succeeded before the start of the purchase are in an advantageous position, they have the most choice. On the other hand, you can endlessly wait when there is a willing person for the last thing in the line.

Minimum order amount

It means how much you need to collect together in order to redeem the order. The larger the amount and the less active the purchase, the longer you will have to wait for the goods.

Additional expenses

This includes the organizer's percentage, shipping charges, shipping costs to ship the item from the seller to you. Do not forget to add them to the price in order to understand how much the item will really cost you.

How to choose a venue and organizer

There is no centralized site, so you have to search the Internet or ask friends. The second option is more reliable, since you can get recommendations not only on the platform, but also on the organizers, and this is even more important.

I buy from the same city site. They threw it for the whole time once. The organizer just collected the money and disappeared. And the owners of the site had nothing to do with it, there was a cleverly drawn up contract.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for over 8 years

So if you are dealing with a site, do not forget to read the terms and conditions: what is the responsibility of the buyer and the intermediary. Read reviews about the organizer, look for satisfied and upset customers.

I only buy from organizers I know personally or through someone else. They will not cheat, as rumors spread quickly in our country.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for 2 years

The organizer of joint purchases must be registered Joint purchases - not savings, but a business as a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur. And in this case, the disagreements can be resolved through the courts.

But most of the organizers work bypassing the tax office and even ask that when transferring money to a card, do not indicate anything in the purpose of the payment, so as not to fall into the field of view of the Federal Tax Service. Therefore, it is difficult to challenge the receipt of a low-quality product. The consumer rights law applies only to the relationship between an individual entrepreneur or legal entity and a buyer.

It is imperative to check the organizer before making a purchase.

You can prove that your abuser was actually engaged in business and bring him into the field of consumer protection law through the courts. But few people do this, since usually material losses are not very large.

What you need to be prepared for when buying through a joint venture

Long wait

You do not know when the minimum order amount will be collected, when the supplier will send the goods, when the item arrives. All this takes a long time.

It is necessary to forecast purchases for several months in advance. For example, there is a good purchase of school sweaters, you need to order them now.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for over 8 years

The need for constant tracking

Buy and forget will not work. You need to monitor when the required amount is collected, have time to pay, be ready to come and pick up the goods that have come. All this requires constant attention.

Disappointment in the product

Co-op purchases are not much different from other types of online shopping. You can miss the size, get a thing for the collection of "expectation and reality." The ability to choose what you need usually comes with experience (or thanks to the advice of a Lifehacker).

Now I buy only trusted brands. I used to order more, but then I realized that cheap things are never good.

Katerina has been participating in the joint venture for over 8 years

Things to Remember

Joint purchases help to save money.
There is a risk of not getting exactly what you ordered. Or not at all.
Therefore, you need to carefully choose the organizer and read the terms of purchase.
Before placing an order, it is worth calculating the total cost of the goods together with the organizer's commission and transport costs.
You can sue the illegal organizers, but you probably won't want to.

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