[CLOSED] Airflow Snorkel Group Buy #2

Agreed. When I talked with Ramon about this one he said the first mistake was giving the OP the ability to collect any funds himself. I think even if tw made any rules in regards to group buys it would be that only a manufacturer/vendor could receive funds through their business account. Unless OP was indeed a vendor and had stated info up front then he or she would not be permitted to receive any funds pertaining to the group buy. Again, thanks for your info. Tidbits like this atleast can slowly inform others what to look out for in the future.

Coot

 

Thank you sir. We really appreciate your efforts.

 

about this piece you speak of, and this motion forward plan you foresee, the suspense is killing us all, @tcBob thank you for being the moderator here we really need it in this fiasco

 

The fact that Ramon got sucked into this shit show of a GB makes me feel like less of an imbecile.

 

I'm an astronaut and I own this bar.

 

Can't thank you enough Bob. Easier to wait, knowing you are taking care of us.
And all the fun I am having here.

 

Thank you sir!

 

Only group buy's I've done and/or will do are the kind where my money goes directly to the vendor, not to a middle man...especially one that's not affiliated with the vendor at all. That's a lot of faith being put into one person that most people probably don't know at all aside from his TW reputation.

Glad this is getting sorted out, I would support a rule where GB money can only go directly to the vendor of the product. No more middle man.

 

Man this sucks, late to the show...

Sorry to all parties who got ripped off... I hope you guys get whole again... What is it about the holidays that bring out the worst in people some times.

Being an unofficial vendor (would love to be one, but it hasn't happened yet) and someone who has had group buys and participated in group buys, I would hate to see them go away!!!

From a vendor/manufacturer point of view it does help to get funds right away when people pay. This way I can order supplies and the things I need to build the products. If funds were held in an escrow that would make things a little more difficult. But I could work around this and get caught up once orders are filled if necessary, just not sure if others could do this so it may cut back on the amount of group buys that happen.

As a customer I really do want to be protected as much as possible. I liked the escrow idea @tcBob . That would offer the most protection for the members. I also would be happy if all group buys were required to use a reputable service that is not friends and family. So if you are gunna use paypal, it should be a requirement that they are done as goods and services. My group buys go through my website which uses square and paypal to process purchases which are both done as a merchant and have protections for the customers to dispute me. It is actually easier for a customer to get their money back then for me to dispute a charge from my understanding, haven't had one disputed personally. I simply add the cost of the fee into my consideration when I sell, this could be easily done by others and isn't asking a lot.

Overall I guess this is what would make the most sense to me...
- Vendor and processed through company website - Lets save money!
- Member who is processing payment through the company selling goods - Lets save money!
- Member and processed through a service - Needs to be escrow or goods & services - Lets save money!
- Member and friends and family - No thank you...

 

Nope. Either have everything ready to go (ie limit group buy to amount you have on hand) or do small batches like @HomerTaco does.

Don't be a skygear or Timichia.

 

Different thing but with contracting sometimes a portion is paid up front for materials. But that's one on one though

 

ive noticed in some of the armor group buys theyll take a deposit but it goes right to the vendor

 

I totally get this and as I mentioned above, the members are more important than the person hosting the group buy. Whatever can be done to protect everyone and still allow group buys is what I am for. Just ideas, I have no say here haha

 

'No middle man' seems like an easy enough rule to put into place that would eliminate headaches like the one here, money goes directly to vendor.

 

haha yeah no system is perfect but it just seems like when you have a middle man, that's one more thing that could potentially go wrong. And at least when your money goes directly to the vendor (assuming the vendor is a legitimate business), it's easier to take legal action or to cancel a payment if you have to.

 

Not necessarily.

vendors that do armor, uca, etc group buys never stock it. There will always be a lead time. This is usually mentioned up front with frequent updates on progress.

Some do limit the group buy, but even then, they still build the items.

 

The biggest mistake here was using a middle man.

When i saw round one of this group buy, I was tempted to jump in, but right off the bat I knew this wasn't going thru airflow and that the OP was acting as a middle man.

So i just stalked the thread to see how it turned out and that's when i joined round two...