Author Topic: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines  (Read 212964 times)

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Offline HoffmanMyster

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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.  :thumb:

Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 20 November 2015, 18:14:07 »
Reserved because why not

Offline UsualSuspectXXX

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 20 November 2015, 19:18:45 »
Very good information here. Thanks for the post.

Offline 00zeRO

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 21 November 2015, 22:10:08 »
Hoff is the man! Much thanks...  :thumb:
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Offline justnits

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 20 January 2016, 23:59:00 »
These rules are mainly for groupbuy participants.
Should there be at least some certain guidelines for Groupbuy organizers to adhere to?
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Offline rowdy

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 21 January 2016, 03:52:40 »
These rules are mainly for groupbuy participants.
Should there be at least some certain guidelines for Groupbuy organizers to adhere to?

1. Don't be a ****.
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

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Offline jerue

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 21 January 2016, 11:49:23 »
These rules are mainly for groupbuy participants.
Should there be at least some certain guidelines for Groupbuy organizers to adhere to?

1. Don't be a ****.

2. Clear communication methods for support. If you want only PM's fine - if you want only a support form, fine - if you do either make sure you set aside time on a regular basis to go through it. So much confusion across PMs and whatnot - forms are nice since you can require a subject line - too many people PM GB leaders w/no subject with "where the **** is my ****?!". GB leaders must make clear on how to address issues in the OP.

Offline justnits

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 21 January 2016, 20:53:03 »
2. Clear communication methods for support. If you want only PM's fine - if you want only a support form, fine - if you do either make sure you set aside time on a regular basis to go through it. So much confusion across PMs and whatnot - forms are nice since you can require a subject line - too many people PM GB leaders w/no subject with "where the **** is my ****?!". GB leaders must make clear on how to address issues in the OP.

to be honest, geekhack's PM system isn't suitable for mass PMs. the first page/post is important for the organizer to update info there so that people don't have to browse through every post to get what they want to know. doing this will reduce subjectless PMs and i guess will definitely reduce the headaches for both the organizer and participants  ;D

so maybe my suggestions would be;
3) keep first page/post updated with progress logs and information. being quiet doesn't help to ease off participants with lower stress tolerance.

and how about this?

4) finish 1 groupbuy first before doing another, unless you are Massdrop or PMK.

couple of reasons for this.
a) this is to minimise the damage in case if a groupbuy organizer decides to go rogue. take drugger for example, what if he is running a few groupbuy in one go?

b) this is so that the organizer can focus on the groupbuy and hence reducing the likelihood of delay or confusion or mixed up order (just imagine a tsunami of PMs), unless you are Massdrop or PMK.
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Offline mashby

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 22 January 2016, 13:09:59 »
Nicely done Hoff. Well done piece.

Offline Adgar

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Hello,I am a new comer ,If I want to star a group buy.What should I do,Or what preparations should I do?

Offline xondat

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 08:20:13 »
Hello,I am a new comer ,If I want to star a group buy.What should I do,Or what preparations should I do?
Depends what it is and what its for. If you want to PM me I can help.

Offline miya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 20 August 2016, 05:09:03 »
Very useful info, thanks :thumb:

Offline romevi

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #12 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 12:47:28 »
A little late, but thanks for this, Hoff.

Offline lorento

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 07 February 2018, 12:43:20 »
This information is very useful to new members like me, thank you  :thumb:
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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 15 October 2019, 09:21:58 »
How do I join a group buy?

All of the GB threads seem to be just updates of group buys that have come and gone.

Offline Tsuruya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #15 on: Tue, 15 October 2019, 09:44:01 »
How do I join a group buy?

All of the GB threads seem to be just updates of group buys that have come and gone.

Read the op on the threads. All relevant info should be on there and updated by runner periodically. Keyset buys usually have links to multiple proxies for corresponding world regions. Keyboard kits are usually google docs you need to fill in with your info as a buyer.

Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #16 on: Tue, 15 October 2019, 09:54:51 »
Is there a list of like keyboard drops? I can't find anything that is not sold-out or long since past. I see there is a link that shows latest drops but that does not seem to have been updated in a while.

Offline Tsuruya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #17 on: Tue, 15 October 2019, 11:58:57 »
I don't know of any consolidated list of current GBs that's been updated. You might have to do your own digging for info if you want to find kits. ICs are a good place to look for upcoming runs and also the mk discord could be a place you can go ask as well. There are some YouTube channels highlighting weekly news on GBs as well as some keyboard  designers having mailing lists for their future drops.

Another thing is you could try and buy someone's spot in a buy if you find a gb past entry deadline and you really want that particular kit.

Offline kiriiya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 09:44:08 »
Reserved because why not
What does reserved mean?


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Offline romevi

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #19 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 11:08:26 »
Reserved because why not
What does reserved mean?


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It means change your profile pic.  :-X

Offline kiriiya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #20 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 11:12:00 »
Reserved because why not
What does reserved mean?


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It means change your profile pic.  :-X
How about nah


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Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #21 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 11:25:06 »
Reserved because why not
What does reserved mean?

It means change your profile pic.  :-X
How about nah

How about yah.  I changed it for you.  :thumb: 

Reserved means the post is reserved for future updates if necessary.

Offline kiriiya

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #22 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 11:26:16 »
What!!! Why no pretty girl man...


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Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #23 on: Thu, 24 October 2019, 12:05:14 »
What!!! Why no pretty girl man...

You may want to review the Site TOS.

Offline pchoi

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #24 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 12:51:04 »
Hello! I have a question about purchasing a group-buy keyboard. I'm fairly new and just was curious, do most people buy multiple PCBs for their custom keyboard, just in the odd case that one might fail? Or do the manufacturers do well in making sure you have a fully functioning PCB? Any advice is welcomed. Thanks!

Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #25 on: Fri, 06 December 2019, 11:56:13 »
Hello! I have a question about purchasing a group-buy keyboard. I'm fairly new and just was curious, do most people buy multiple PCBs for their custom keyboard, just in the odd case that one might fail? Or do the manufacturers do well in making sure you have a fully functioning PCB? Any advice is welcomed. Thanks!

Welcome!  :) 

In most cases, the group buy organizer or manufacturer will purchase a few extras for replacements in case of dead-on-arrival boards, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that issue. 

However, it's not a terrible idea to get a spare if the case/board in question uses a very custom PCB layout or design.  You never know if you might botch the board while desoldering or modifying things down the road, so having a bit of a safety net there is helpful.  That said, it's also not cheap to have extra PCBs for multiple boards, so it will be something to think about. 

These days, it seems like more and more designers are using "standard" or swappable PCBs, so this issue is hopefully becoming less of a problem.  Doesn't hurt to ask about spares/replacements if you're considering it.  :thumb:

Offline Scriba

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #26 on: Mon, 10 February 2020, 08:51:43 »
If a groupbuy doesn't hit the MOQ, do I get the money back from the vendor?

Offline logo4poop

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If a groupbuy doesn't hit the MOQ, do I get the money back from the vendor?
With a good runner yes.
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Offline dave9x

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These rules are mainly for groupbuy participants.
Should there be at least some certain guidelines for Groupbuy organizers to adhere to?

1. Don't be a ****.

this.

Offline FAMOUSKBD

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Excuse me, why can't I post

Offline dvorcol

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Excuse me, why can't I post

If you are asking why you can't start a Group Buy thread, it's because you need to make a minimum of 25 posts first.  The full rules are here - https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115197.0

Offline MMJ1999

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Re: What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines
« Reply #31 on: Mon, 26 September 2022, 01:41:33 »
Thanks for the post. :D