You've made it pretty clear you're flipping to buying groups. You don't think that's a little shady? You're basically preying on the ignorance of those who will sell to you not knowing about the buying groups.
A) I’m not exclusively flipping to buying groups, that’s not where it started, although that’s where it got to- I didn’t even know they were buying Home Minis originally (nobody ever sent that out as a deal)
B) Shady? Huh? How do you figure?
C) I know of at least one person who essentially has a “buying group” in which he sends out the classic deals to people and matches anyone’s commission, then flips to real groups with quantity power and gets the difference in commission paid and higher commmission he receives. Is that shady?
D) To continue that point, I actually used my amount as leverage to get more than others have access to. I would possibly have even taken items for the same amount as groups were paying due to my increased selling power- does that mean I must now offer the max i’m Willing to pay, instead of negotiating like a mensch? Btw I didn’t negotiate hard with anyone if they were being reasonable. Instead of being bitter that you didn’t think of it, you can join my thread! No secrecy, this is out in the open
E) Further on that- Buying groups post different commissions, with the ability to match. (So does every store who price matches- see Best Buy, Walmart, etc.) is there something wrong with that? Not IMO- they’re hoping to get it for price a, with the flexibility to match price b if someone realizes and requests it. That’s not shady. It’s called capitalism. And it exists on this forum as well- there was someone who outbid me on Home minis. No prob. That’s how it works, bud.
F) It’s no secret that Buying groups exist, the most popular thread in JS recently has been the buying group master thread and
@Markmann20 himself has commented in this very thread. People don’t all flip to buying groups for various reasons: not near a location, don’t have the time/patience/wherewithal to deal with or drop off at a location, don’t trust them to pay up- see USA Buying Group (as opposed to a pay-first transaction on DDF), or perhaps, don’t really understand how they work. I’m allowed to use whatever advantage I have in this regard to turn a profit, be it location, time, or other. Just like you bring home a paycheck for the things you have the talent, experience, or time for that other’s do not. Or the way sellers buy for cheap and sell for high on Amazon and in the stock market. Unethical? Shady? I think not.
Please explain how what I’m doing is wrong in any way.
/rant
P.S. Is every buying group “preying on others’ ignorance” by paying you a lower price to just flip them to someone else with a higher price? All buying groups have access to the same deals, and there’s no reason me and you can’t do the same, with the right contacts. How ubiquitous does the information need to be for it to be considered “preying”?? And if, indeed, that’s what I’m doing, am I now “preying”? Like every store “preys” on customers who don’t realize a better/cheaper option exists elsewhere?
ETA: Last thing. I just paid someone for the Google Home Minis I bought off him. He DOES know about spending groups, and is part of one, but did not have the time or patience to del with it. Earlier, I bought off 3 people from out of state who had no way of getting through to a spending group. I performed a service by connectinng them, and took a fee for my efforts. #unapologetic
@ChaimMoskowitz am I right?
