Gauging Interest for a Service That Allows Groups of Users to Purchase Generally Marked up or Unavaliable Products at a Discount

Whyte on 20/01/2018 - 11:22

Hey OzBargainers. Long time lurker here.

We are a team looking to bring products that you wouldn't normally be able to find, or products that are marked up a large amount to the Australian market.

We plan to do this through a kind-of group buying platform, allowing users to propose products overseas, with their own description identifying why they like the product and why others should be interested, etc. There will be a comments system, much like OzBargain's, allowing users to discuss the product. As more and more people "support" a product, we will contact manufacturers/distributors to bring that product to Australia. When we are able to, users will be given the opportunity to purchase the items at a cheaper price, as we plan to buy in bulk.

Using this plan, we would be able to get items from the US, EU, etc, for cheaper and without the markup of local retailers. Think Massdrop specifically tailored for Australians wanting to purchase items Internationally.

We would like to hear your opinions, questions and qualms regarding our idea. We want to get this done! Haven't you had enough of the Australian marketplace being too isolated?

General Discussion

Comments

  • SharedSugar on 20/01/2018 - 11:31

    Do you have examples of possible products?

    • Whyte on 20/01/2018 - 11:36

      Mostly technology. Phones, laptops, Cameras, etc.

      • SharedSugar on 20/01/2018 - 11:40

        I did once look into importing a Stihl chainsaw from the US because they are good products, but appear to be marked up in Australia.

        • Whyte on 20/01/2018 - 12:03

          Our proposed service aims to have it's products based on what the community wants. Everything is consumer-driven. If you want the chainsaw, you make a listing and others will see it. If they also want one, they will "support" you. Once say, a hundred people end up supporting, we can contact the manufacturers and see if we can get a deal for you all.

  • forrester on 20/01/2018 - 11:33
    +1

    How would any warranty/manufacturer faults be dealt with?

    • Whyte on 20/01/2018 - 11:39

      Planning to create an agreement with the manufacturers to provide a local warranty that we handle. Still being planned out, just want to see if there is a demand for this kind of service.

  • tonyjzx on 20/01/2018 - 11:36

    This sounds great in theory however I believe the amount of people here who are actually interested in "Marked up or Unavaliable Products" is a lot lower than you think.

  • thatonethere on 20/01/2018 - 12:33

    Bit like massdrop.com ?

  • payton on 20/01/2018 - 15:02
    +3

    massdrop? more like molassesdrop
    3+ months of waiting

    • wait till your product gets selected
    • wait till enough people commit and made their payment
    • wait till manufacturer gets contacted and agreed on a ship date
    • wait till it reaches massdrop, another long wait till it gets to oz

    f*** that shit

    if you can cut the wait time to one month all up, shipped to the door then maybe

  • Third_Gear on 20/01/2018 - 19:30

    Won't work with name brand distributors…takes a month just to go through the account process. IF you get an account they won't be interested in a small order of 100 units. Also the shipping from whatever country to Australia….port fees just keep going up and up. Currently a 20' container for shipping is almost twice the cost out of China compared to a year ago.

    Shipping from America….phew… Crazy expensive.

    Honestly now is a really crap time to start importing. And you will be on the hook for warranty covering returns etc.

    It took me three months just to get an account set up for Hori…

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