Comments on: Is China’s Tuangou or “Team Buying” Concept the New Social Networking Hub?

By: Bridget Wright

Bridget Wright — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:41:03 +0000

Hi Alex! I agree that much of this topic is cultural because here in the states, we go with whatever price we see, and there is very little (if any) haggling. We do have other methods of negotiating as you mentioned (coupons, auctions), but typically are not overly-aggressive in either. However, there are instances in auctions where it’s almost expected to be aggressive and get the bidder to the best suited price.

Thanks so much for your input!

By: alex keenan

alex keenan — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:35:52 +0000

Much of this is cultural.
In the USA people are used to paying the price they see on the item.

When you go overseas the item price is just the starting price. Getting to the true price is an art form. So a buyer club to get the right price fits with the culture.

To make the same concept work in the USA you have to look at how the culture will allow negotiations over price. Auctions work in the USA. So do B2B bidding. Coupons also work.

By: bob

bob — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:55:14 +0000

I see Costco as a buying cooperative where the members have delegated the product selection to the organization.

Revenzy works on the auction principal. Sellers post a item for sale. If a buyer likes an item, s/he can build a group to bid together. The more people join a group, the less group members can bid per unit and still win the auction. Anyone can also review all items and bid groups and join any “public” group without knowing anyone in the group or being asked.

So at Revenzy, we approach it from “the sell side” because when sellers list an auction, elements like available inventory and shipping terms are known. We are working on adding a “buy side” feature, probably around July, that will support the approach you described.

Bob

By: Lucy

Lucy — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:59:05 +0000

Hi Bob: how interesting, I hadn’t thought of CostCo as a group buying cooperative.

I suppose this is partly because there isn’t any personalisation of the demand side: you go to a physical site, you see what is available, you buy (or not). Somebody else has made the buying decison based on what they think the demand is; there’s no opportunity to say ‘I’d like to buy an X’ and invite other people to join your group and request tenders from sellers.

Is this how you see Revenzy working?

By: bob

bob — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:59:09 +0000

Also check http:// http://www.revenzy.com – this is the online version of Tuango.

I think there is tremendous potential in the social BUYING (not just talking-about-shopping) segment. We all know (and practice) some variation of this… For example, if you shop at Costco, you are already part of a group buying cooperative. The trick is to create a consumer-friendly version that preserves each participant’s independence. That is precisely what I think we’ve done at Revenzy but would love comments and feedback.

Bob