Welcome to a new section of the site - Group Buys!!

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Merlin

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This is a new section of the site that is dedicated to those members who organise epic deals and group buys on behalf of the community. We have noticed more of these group buys being organised lately, so we felt that is was time to set up a separate part of the site to cater for them.

Note: Group Buys can only be organised by members with greater than 200 posts.

There are no special rules as such for this section, so we felt that some guidelines were likely to be helpful to those who are considering putting together a group buy.

OK, great! You have chosen to support the retro community by organising a group buy of hardware or software. Group Buys might sound simple to set up, but your group deal can easily get ruined by some poor planning and execution. Here are some hints, tips and guidance to help you set up your Group Buy and to make it a successful one.

Basically, if you do want to organise a Group Buy, the main things to think about are...

1. Set out the ground rules - Create a thread setting out exactly what your group buy is, with links to relevant websites. Gauge interest accurately, record interested parties, and set out the basis on which you will accept responsibility for the group buy.

2. Deadlines - Set a timescale, and stick to it. A date by which interest should be declared, a date when money will be collected by, a date when the order will be placed, and a date when you estimate it will complete.

3. Organisation & record keeping - This needs to be tip top, you are handling other people's money, so this must be spot on. Use Spreadsheets, scraps of paper, or an abacus, whatever means that you can keep on top of things.

4. Payment - How are you collecting money? Have you taken fees, packaging, postage, worldwide transfer fees. Do you need a separate PayPal account? Will it be affected by large sums of money coming through your account?

5. Communication - This is critical. There is nothing worse than sending someone money, then hearing nothing from that person. Acknowledge every payment, make a record on the forum where everyone can see, be prepared to answer questions promptly, politely and clearly. Try not to loose your cool or let things overwhelm you. If your suppliers suddenly have stock issues, or the lead times get pushed back, be sure to let members know what is happening in the thread.
 
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