rcarman
Member
Is it just me or have our group buys become VERY scarce? We used to be having one every other week now it seems they are months apart. They seemed to disappear about the same time as our format change.
Where have all the group buys gone?
- Thread starter rcarman
- Start date
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
its_virgil
Member
They are here:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=21
There have been 8 during the month of May. A couple looks as if they are still active. As a member, you may organize one. The group buy rules are posted at the beginning of the group buy forum.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
http://www.penturners.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=21
There have been 8 during the month of May. A couple looks as if they are still active. As a member, you may organize one. The group buy rules are posted at the beginning of the group buy forum.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Daniel
Member
Bob, being very active in the group buys. I woudl agree that the number of buys have fallen of recently.
there has always been a normal cycle but I also see a couple of other things that might effect them
first is the economy. I think that the issue people will not buy is not nearly as much of an effect as people are busy taking care of business and not running buys. I had one person mention to me the other day that they are pretty busy proving there worth to their boss. that says it pretty well.
there has always been a normal cycle but I also see a couple of other things that might effect them
first is the economy. I think that the issue people will not buy is not nearly as much of an effect as people are busy taking care of business and not running buys. I had one person mention to me the other day that they are pretty busy proving there worth to their boss. that says it pretty well.
rcarman
Member
I guess should have been more specific, I meant the pen group buys. Don, not to be arguementative but if you look, the ones listed, the eight you mentioned are mostly from earlier in the year not May. I am not opposed to running one, although I never have. I have just noticed that even Kent's group buy was very short as was Goodturns. i know the economy has a part, I think we are closing the plant where I work as well. I will know this week.
Monty
Group Buy Coordinator
Bob,
I believe the pen buys from CSUSA have been short and limited because they can get very overwhelming if left open for any length of time. If you or anyone else would like to rum one, PM me and I'll be glad to help you get started.
its_virgil
Member
My bad. I just looked at the last post date and was only trying to point you to the correct forum just in case you were unaware of it. :redface:
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Russianwolf
Member
yeah, with the CSUSA group buys 100 kits at an average price of $30 adds up real quick. And most people like to get the more expensive kits so they can be in the $40 range after the discount. $4000 is a lot for someone to be willing to keep up with.
Even the WPP group buys I've done have hit the $2k mark and those kits are much cheaper.
It does take time and energy to do one but they aren't too overwhelming if you are organized. If you aren't organized, don't bother running one, you'll just drive yourself batty.
Even the WPP group buys I've done have hit the $2k mark and those kits are much cheaper.
It does take time and energy to do one but they aren't too overwhelming if you are organized. If you aren't organized, don't bother running one, you'll just drive yourself batty.
OKLAHOMAN
Member
I've run a few private G/B's when I buy 100 or more for myself and even then with only 6-7 other's, it's a PITA as I'm very dis-organized so I admire these large G/B's and the members who run them.
GoodTurns
Member
the "quickie" I ran with 15 buyers still ran out to about $4000 in purchases and took about 10-12 hours of my time...figuring my discount saved, that works out to about $7 an hour for my free time.... I can't imagine the time it takes for the "monster" buys!
Daniel
Member
Jon, I know on my buys "the Monsters" time to money is not even relevant. I seldom if ever actually use any of the stuff I do group buys for. I did replace my pen mill set and got heads for all my pilots. I already had a huge number of pen stands before I started doing buys for them. and I will use leather pen cases as I need them. I have made and mostly given away a hand full of 50 cal pens. but other than really random when I need it stuff. a discount on an order does not even apply.
as for time.
on just the leather pen cases.
just generallly thinking hey that would be nice and keeping my eyes open. 2 years.
actually locating a supplier gathering basic information presenting this info to the group, getting samples and showing them, and doing all the prep work that will allow all of you even make a decision about wanting them. 3 months with an average of about 2 hours per day 7 days a week.
actually conducting the buy, getting the order placed. a month in this case with 4 to 6 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week. basically it becomes a second job. or at best a part time job.
receiving the order and repacking and mailing. a week at least 4 hours of non stop work per day.
cleaning up the loose ends. A month with time required varying from minutes to a couple of hours depending on the various problems.
total 6 to 7 months once the buy is actually going. and several hundred hours.
as for time.
on just the leather pen cases.
just generallly thinking hey that would be nice and keeping my eyes open. 2 years.
actually locating a supplier gathering basic information presenting this info to the group, getting samples and showing them, and doing all the prep work that will allow all of you even make a decision about wanting them. 3 months with an average of about 2 hours per day 7 days a week.
actually conducting the buy, getting the order placed. a month in this case with 4 to 6 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week. basically it becomes a second job. or at best a part time job.
receiving the order and repacking and mailing. a week at least 4 hours of non stop work per day.
cleaning up the loose ends. A month with time required varying from minutes to a couple of hours depending on the various problems.
total 6 to 7 months once the buy is actually going. and several hundred hours.
Just curious... how is the format change related to group buys?
Daniel
Member
Jeez Jeff now you opened a can of worms. I will try to be gentle. lol
My first glaring comment would be communication has become much harder.
1. titles of threads cannot be edited. I used this often to get peoples attention when they needed to re read my post for updated info. basically information about any changes are nearly impossible to get to everyone.
2. the only way anyone knows a buy is going on is if they intentionally go to the group buy forum. I constantly have people e-mailing me a month or more after a buy was posted with comments such as I just saw you did a buy for XXX. basically visibility really needs to improve if possible. I realize that every post in a group buy getting listed on the home page is annoying. but maybe a side bar that shows the current active group buys could be done. just a random how could this be helped thought.
3. new requirements are a very good idea. not only pre qualifies those that do buys but gives a bit of assurance to new members that this is not a fly by night shady operation.
4. Moderation seemed to me to have a bit of a rocky start (to be expected) but seems to have settled in. my only problem with what is going on there is that as far as I can tell. old threads are actually being deleted. in some cases this is a bit like deleting my business records and has at times caused problems for me. in most cases I keep duplicate records as much as I can. At times I have needed to go back to the original thread and search for something only to find it is gone. my computer is my back up to info on this site, often this site is back up to my computer. I have had far more computers die.
that is pretty much it and the lion in the thicket is the limited ability to communicate to the entire buy through the original thread. of course this is in light of the fact that a forum will never be a great medium to conduct such business anyway. basically a post in group buys is nothing but an Ad. and nobody can expect every Ad they run to be seen by every customer they have.
Even in my thinking the best answer to it all is be prepared before you start the buy and then you do not need to make changes.
now excuse me I need to go let everyone know the cost of leather cases unexpectedly doubled and they need to send an additional payment.
just kidding.
My first glaring comment would be communication has become much harder.
1. titles of threads cannot be edited. I used this often to get peoples attention when they needed to re read my post for updated info. basically information about any changes are nearly impossible to get to everyone.
2. the only way anyone knows a buy is going on is if they intentionally go to the group buy forum. I constantly have people e-mailing me a month or more after a buy was posted with comments such as I just saw you did a buy for XXX. basically visibility really needs to improve if possible. I realize that every post in a group buy getting listed on the home page is annoying. but maybe a side bar that shows the current active group buys could be done. just a random how could this be helped thought.
3. new requirements are a very good idea. not only pre qualifies those that do buys but gives a bit of assurance to new members that this is not a fly by night shady operation.
4. Moderation seemed to me to have a bit of a rocky start (to be expected) but seems to have settled in. my only problem with what is going on there is that as far as I can tell. old threads are actually being deleted. in some cases this is a bit like deleting my business records and has at times caused problems for me. in most cases I keep duplicate records as much as I can. At times I have needed to go back to the original thread and search for something only to find it is gone. my computer is my back up to info on this site, often this site is back up to my computer. I have had far more computers die.
that is pretty much it and the lion in the thicket is the limited ability to communicate to the entire buy through the original thread. of course this is in light of the fact that a forum will never be a great medium to conduct such business anyway. basically a post in group buys is nothing but an Ad. and nobody can expect every Ad they run to be seen by every customer they have.
Even in my thinking the best answer to it all is be prepared before you start the buy and then you do not need to make changes.
now excuse me I need to go let everyone know the cost of leather cases unexpectedly doubled and they need to send an additional payment.
just kidding.
Daniel
Member
Oh one more difference I have noticed. for me it is actually a plus. for most it is neither here nor there. but people have started using PM's as the primary method of communicating rather than e-mail. I like this as it keeps group buy messages separate from the nightmare of spam my e-mail has become.
Thread title editing has now been set to 3 months.
There are a number of forums which don't get fed to the postings on the front page. The front page is supposed to be a useful snapshot of interesting stuff -- posts, links, photos -- and a lot of "me too" posts (as in Classifieds, Group Buys, etc.) Doesn't fit that idea.
I am always happy to post a link or newsy bit in the Announcements & Information box on the front page. A quick PM to me gets that done.
I am not aware of moderation in the form of thread deletion happening anywhere except in the Classifieds. Can you explain that comment a bit?
Daniel
Member
Jeff, my comment about the moderation may be more of a combination of Group buys and Individual classifieds. I know Classifieds had a real juggle with the rules going there for a bit. otherwise just adjusting to the new rules pretty much in any form. I had my set way of doing things and had been doing it that way. then suddenly started having threads locked etc for this or that violation. I still have no idea what the final rule about photos ended up being.
Thanks for changing the title editing. that by far is the biggest help.
Thanks for changing the title editing. that by far is the biggest help.