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F.A.QBuyer Questions It takes a few minutes for us to process each new user request, so it may take a few minutes for you to receive the confirmation email. If after a few minutes, you still have not received it in your inbox, check your SPAM folder (yeah, we know—it’s a bit scary in there, but try it anyway). If after scouring all the dark, dusty corners of your SPAM folder, you still have not received it, please contact us
Oh, that’s simple. You actually don’t have to be a registered member to browse through all the products at GroupGain. However, if you want to officially join the fun, you have to register. To become registered, all you have to do is click on the “Create a New Account” link at the top of this page and fill out a simple, easy to read form. Registering at GroupGain is quick and should take you less time than brushing your teeth (assuming you do brush your teeth, otherwise it will take more time...and for the record, GroupGain fully supports proper dental hygiene—just because you are shopping online doesn’t mean you should overlook the value of fresh breath!).
By searching, silly—is this your first time using the Internet?!?! Seriously, we at GroupGain have created search options for all searching personality types—the Traditional Searcher, the Browser and the Hardcore Searcher.
Traditional Searchers (the “Trads”) like to search by simply typing their desires into a traditional Internet search box. GroupGain Trads will find our search box at the top left portion of this page. The more specific Trads can be about the item of their dreams (eg—Silver-plated Hydroponic Herb Garden), the more effective the search will be. Don’t worry, if you aren’t that detailed, you can also just search for something general (eg—TV). For the infamous Browsers, we offer a way to search by entire product categories. Simply click on the “Categories” link next to the Trad search box and browse your way to eternal happiness! The Hardcore Searchers enjoy testing the limits of search functions from all corners of the globe. They like to get as specific as possible—honing in on the details of online product offerings. Well have no fear, we have a solution for out Hardcore members as well. Check out our Advanced Search by clicking on the “Advanced Search” link next to the “Category” link and appease all your Hardcore desires (and stop gritting your teeth—it’s a very unhealthy habit and you’re scaring the kids!). That is a very good question. “Bucket” is our term for a deal at GroupGain. Sellers create “buckets” for product and buyers join them, indicating they wish to buy the product at the offered price. Yes, we realize that we display a virtual shopping bag next to each deal, not a virtual bucket. However, we still refer to the deals as “buckets.” Why we call them buckets is another question.
Saw that one coming...When GroupGain was originally conceived, we used actual buckets on the site instead of shopping bags. However, we didn’t think the buckets looked as good as the shopping bags, so we switched to shopping bags. Unfortunately, we like the sound of the word “bucket” much more than “shopping bag”, so we continue to refer to the deals as “buckets.” Confused, yet? So are we. If you would like to offer your perspective on our bucket vs. shopping bag dilemma, feel free to contact us
. We’d be happy to open up our internal debates to the GroupGain community… When you have found an item you wish to buy simply go to that item’s product page and hit the ‘Join’ button (you can’t miss it—it’s the big red one!). This will take you to a page that will require you to confirm your payment and delivery information and then a final deal confirmation page. Once you have confirmed all of this, you will have officially joined the party (don’t you just love parties?!?!)! Congratulations. You can then check the status of this deal through your personal GroupGain homepage whenever you feel the urge.
That is something you don’t need to worry about—we’ll take care of that for you (allowing you to focus on the more important things in life—like selecting the right fabric softener for your polyester blends). Once you log-in to GroupGain, you will go directly to your personal homepage. Also, after you register as a user, we will perform some “computer magic” so that every time you go to www.groupgain.com from your computer, you will go directly to your personal home page...A la peanut butter sandwiches!! (in the case you don’t get this reference, first blame your parents for not letting you watch Sesame Street as a child and then immediately watch this clip
We try to ensure that any purchase you make on GroupGain is as safe as possible. Unlike certain auction sites, we do due diligence on all Sellers to ensure that they can indeed offer you the products they promise and will not back out of a deal.
Wow! It’s like you read our mind! As a matter of fact, you can. To create your own bucket and start aggregating other buyers, simply click the ‘Buyer Power’ icon at the top of each page and follow the instructions.
Buyer Power is how we roll here at GroupGain. This is our unique method for giving our buyers the opportunity to create their own deals. This is something you won’t find anywhere else on the web! As a buyer, if you don’t find the product you want, you can create your own bucket and invite your friends and family to join. However, it’s not just limited to those you can bring in thought! Like any other bucket at GroupGain, anyone can join your BuyerPower bucket.
Once a group gathers around your bucket, we invite sellers to compete over your business, bidding against each other to give you the lowest price possible. And you have the power to reject any and all bids until you find one that makes you happy. As a buyer, you have the power! [*Remember, the more people in your bucket, the better prices you will get from the sellers. So, what are you waiting for? Get moving—time is money!]. Ummm, no. Quite the contrary, actually. On an auction site, prices go up when there is more demand for a product (more demand = more bids; more bids = higher prices). Here at GroupGain, we use the demand for a product as a tool for lowering prices (we know—why didn’t anyone think of this before?!?!). Sellers are willing to offer lower prices if they know they will get a bunch of buyers ready to buy at the same time. In fact, with certain special buckets, the price will even decrease when more people join it! Check out “What does each icon mean?” for more information on our dynamic deals.
On GroupGain, there is actually a higher chance of you getting the products you want than on auction sites where other people can push you out of the running at the last moment and then you’d have to wait yet another week or more to even get the chance to buy the product. On GroupGain, the more people who want a product, the more chance you’ll have of getting it – not less! Also, since the price is either fixed or dependant on the number of Buyers, there is no chance of the price suddenly jumping because the seller decided they wanted more money from you. You will get the product you want at the lowest price. Because sellers save money when they sell in bulk and can thus pass the savings on to you, the buyer! It is much more efficient to sell a bunch of items at once as opposed to selling them one at a time. Sellers can save inventory and production costs by selling in larger quantities. The sellers at GroupGain also believe that by offering the best prices, loyal, passionate GroupGain buyers will work to spread the word about their deal. This saves them marketing money as well!
This is absolutely our goal. While we do not force specific pricing on our sellers, we do ensure that they offer goods at lower than the MSRP price. Next to each listing price, you will see the MSRP price crossed out. This means that the GroupGain price is lower than the retail price. We also don’t allow our sellers to offer their products anywhere else on the web for a lower price than what they are offering on GroupGain. We want our buyers to get the best deals possible.
Many times, those lower prices are actually fraudulent deals that try to suck you in and then don’t follow through. We make sure that all deals on GroupGain are valid and therefore you can be sure that you are getting the product you want at a price you’ll love!
We ask for your payment information for both security and convenience reasons. First of all, we need to have this information to insure that our sellers know they are dealing with real buyers (part of our no-deadbeat policy). Secondly, we also store this information securely on our system to make your life easier as you join deals at GroupGain. Whenever you want to join a deal or buy a Get-it-Now item, you won’t have to go searching the couch cushions for your credit card (and risk losing a limb to that dark abyss!). Simply tell us if you want to pay with your credit card or with PayPal, and we will fill out the forms for you!
This is the number of people that user has recruited to join the bucket. At times, GroupGain and/or its sellers will offer prizes to top recruiters. During all other times, buyers will be competing in the recruitment game for the sheer pleasure of being the best (oh yeah, and the knowledge that they personally ensured a bucket’s success)!
Because you’re a good friend and like to make your friends happy (hopefully)! Since GroupGain works off the concept of group buying, it is in your best interest to bring as many people as you can to a bucket. The more people that you can recruit to join a bucket, the better the chance everyone will save. Plus, as mentioned before, there are times that top recruiters will be rewarded by GroupGain or specific sellers.
Ahhh…this is the great part. You can either invite individual contacts to a deal by entering his or her email address in the “Tell a Friend” box OR you can import your contacts from Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, etc using our contact importer tool [IMAGE OF CONTACT IMPORTER]. Once you import all your contacts, you can simply check a box next to their names to tell them about the great deal you just found. Talk about a good way to keep in touch with old friends or your crazy Aunt Edna that you’ve been avoiding since your high school graduation…
Either way, you will receive an email notifying you of the outcome (keep your fingers crossed!). If you lack patience and don’t want to wait for that email, you can simply log into your GroupGain account and check the status of your deals at any time from your personal home page.
It turns to dust…poof! Seriously, if a bucket doesn’t collect the number of buyers within the timeline, the seller is given four options.
(1) Seller can sell the product to all the current buyers in the bucket for the offered price. Obviously, failure is not on option we prefer, so we encourage everyone in the GroupGain community to work as hard as possible to make each deal a successful one.  – This means that the item’s bucket has a fixed price. No matter how many people join the bucket, the price will stay the same.  – This means that the item’s bucket has an ever-increasing price dependant on the number of people who join the bucket. The seller sets a certain amount by which the price will increase every time a certain amount of people joins the bucket. Ex: Starting price: $100. For every 5 people that join: +$5. If 50 people join, the next five people will have to pay $150 for the product.  – This means that the item’s bucket has an ever-decreasing price dependant on the number of people who join a bucket. The seller sets a certain amount by which the price will decrease every time a certain amount of people joins the bucket. Ex: Starting price: $100. For every 5 people that join: -$5. If 50 people join, the next five people will have to pay $50 for the product.  – This means that the price will go down by a certain amount at the end of the deal, depending on the number of buyers. This is the only bucket that is always successful, no matter how many people join it. As with the Minus Bucket, the price can only go down, but unlike that bucket, the entire group benefits from the lowest price possible depending on the number of people who join the bucket. In this case, it is really in your best interest to get all your friends into the deal! Ex. Range: $100-$200. 50 people desired. Price decreases by $2 per every additional Buyer.  – This is a bucket that was started by another buyer and sellers are currently competing over. See “What is Buyer Power” for more information. If you joined a BuyerPower Bucket after the first bid has been made, you are accepting that price simply by joining. If you joined before a bid was made and still did not receive an email, check the dark corners of you SPAM folder. If the email was not caught in the nasty web that is your SPAM folder, please contact us
Then it’s just not going to work out. No hard feelings—maybe you’re just not compatible as you originally thought. Just wipe away the tears and move on—there are plenty of fish in the sea, you were too good for her anyway…what? Oh, sorry. Different kind of rejection. If you reject a BuyerPower offer, you are still a part of the group as an interested Buyer and can commit at any time. You just will not be committed to buy the item at that offered price.
If you don’t explicitly select to accept or reject an offer, we automatically reject it for you and put you in the “Interested Buyers” list after 48 hours. If after that you wish to accept the deal, simply click “Join” on the product page.
The Seller in a Buyer Power bucket can change as more bids come in. You will, however, always be able to see the current Seller’s rating. Sellers with a feedback rating of 96% are not allowed to bid on a Buyer Power bucket to ensure the highest quality to the buyer.
Oh gosh…no. That would be a lot of work! You can try to recruit as many or as few people as you want. After all, it’s a free country. However, the more people you do recruit, the better the chance that the bucket will close successfully. So, we think you should try and recruit as many people as possible—for your own good. With that said, you are under no obligation to recruit other buyers.
From a very strange dream. Could have been some bad shellfish, but it also could have been the frustrations we felt with our e-commerce experiences. Online auctions just weren’t exciting anymore. We didn’t like the idea of competing against other buyers for a product whose price was only getting higher. We didn’t like not knowing who was bidding against us. Could have been someone planted by the seller—a bid “shiller” bidding just to increase the final price. We just didn’t know. We also didn’t like losing a deal we really wanted because we decided to go to the bathroom for two minutes before the deal closed. And we hated feeling alone in the shopping experience. We wanted to have fun shopping online. We wanted to collaborate with friends, family and other people who would be interested in the same deals in which we were. We wanted to be able to share comments and opinions about specific products with other passionate buyers. Of course, we also wanted low prices. So we sat down and drew out a plan for a new online shopping experience…and we called it GroupGain. Then we went to work. We worked for over two years to design the site and develop the complicated rule engines that would drive our dream. And then, on that fateful day, we launched the site to the public…and the rest is history. We now welcome everyone here to the GroupGain marketplace and are excited to see all the new faces joining everyday. We hope you have as much fun shopping at GroupGain as we have working on it! Happy shopping…
Seller Questions To become a seller at GroupGain, simply click on the red ‘Sell’ button at the top of the page. If you have not sold at GroupGain before, you will need to fill out some information about your business and click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the page. GroupGain will review your information for approval. We review each seller in order to ensure the utmost trust, quality and dependability of the GroupGain marketplace. GroupGain is officially a no-deadbeat zone!
Nothing. Nada. Nil. Zilch. Seriously, we charge you absolutely nothing to simply set up a deal on GroupGain. There are no fees for picture or crazy fonts or anything at all! Money only passes hands once a deal has been completed successfully (see below for commission rates).
There is currently a flat rate of 6% for all sellers. In a few months, however, we will be introducing a tiered commission structure. Don’t worry, we will notify you of any changes!
Wait, you have the chance to move a bunch of your inventory and save space in your warehouse, and you want to get paid too? Well, if you insist… You can choose to receive your funds either through PayPal or money transfers. You will receive payment as soon as the deal closes.
Isn’t the online community the most trusted in the world? Why would you ever think that you might not receive money owed to you? Well, since you asked, GroupGain does all the payment processing for you, so you don’t have to worry about this. We guarantee payment for you.
Well, that’s your job, isn’t it? It isn’t? Oh. Well, I guess we could do some marketing for you… A lot actually. GroupGain will set up paid search for your products, not to mention all the free marketing you will get when your Buyers tell their friends about your bucket using our email program. You can help ensure that both these methods will be successful by giving your Buyers a great deal. The better the deal, the more people will want your product, and the happier everyone will be! Who could ask for more?
This is the number of people that user has recruited to join the bucket. At times, GroupGain and/or its sellers will offer prizes to top recruiters. During all other times, buyers will be competing in the recruitment game for the sheer pleasure of being the best (oh yeah, and the knowledge that they personally ensured a bucket’s success)! If you want to get people to recruit more people, perhaps offer a prize for the group’s top recruiter!
Don’t worry! All buckets need to be authorized by us. We will notify you as soon as this happens and then you can search for it to your heart’s delight!
Either way, you will receive an email notifying you of the outcome (keep your fingers crossed!). If you lack patience and don’t want to wait for that email, you can simply log into your GroupGain account and check the status of your deals at any time from your personal home page.
Oh gosh…no. That would be a lot of work! You can try to recruit as many or as few people as you want. After all, it’s a free country. However, the more people you do recruit, the better the chance that the bucket will close successfully. So, we think you should try and recruit as many people as possible—for your own good. With that said, you are under no obligation to recruit other buyers.
If your feedback rating is less than 96%, you cannot bid on a Buyer Power bucket. If this is the case, here’s some great incentive to boost your customer service! If your rating is above 96% and you still cannot bid, please contact us
We do have a 60-day limit for aggregation time for all of the buckets because of how payment is handled. The only exception to this is Buyer Power buckets, which have no limit.
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