Michael Johnson and Ann seem to have discovered one of the benefits of
group purchasing. On an organized basis, this can and does work as a
buyers club. I used to live in a housing co-op (80 townhouse units).
The members of the co-op could join the buyers club. There was a weekly
distribution in the co-op's multipurpose room. The buyers club was not
incorporated, but its constitution called for officers: president, VP,
secretary, and Treasurer. The officers were the group that did the tasks of
1. Contacting cash and carry wholesalers and identifying what
articles they would be able to buy in bulk.
2. Printing and distributing to members a weekly bulletin of what
is available, at what prices. This bulletin did double duty as an order
form. Members had to give the Treasurer cash with their orders. Pricing
was cost +1% (to generate a small gross margin to reimburse printing
costs, mileage, and other out of pocket expenses).
3. The same day every week, 2 or 3 of the officers would drive a
truck around to pick up orders. They only could items that were
pre-sold, and paid for by members. When there was inadequate demand for
a case, say just one member wanted apple juice, that item on that member's
order would not be filled, and the member would get their money back at
the distribution (distro).
4. The distro was Thursday night. Late in the afternoon the
truck would be unloaded, and the cases stored in a locked room. Around
7 the Secretary would arrive with brown paper bags with each member's
name on a bag, and together with the volunteers of the week, break the
bulk into individual orders. A weigh scale was necessary for produce,
and a knife and wax paper for cheese. A 8 the members gathered, picked
up their bags, got any refunds they were entitled to, and had a little
social interaction.
5. One of the obligations of membership was to be on the roster
to do volunteer work: basically the jobs of picking individual orders,
cleaning up, etc.
This and other buyers clubs generally depended a lot on the
social, feeling of the members. It did not eliminate, it only reduced
the need to "go to the store" for the member's individual requirements.
There were savings, but the savings were offset by reduced convenience:
you had to order things and pay for them without seeing; limited choice
(no meat, no fresh milk); you had to be there for the distro.
BTW the paper bag method of breaking bulk could be replaced with
the use of canvas shopping bags, or some other reusable tote. The
buyers' club wasn't environmentally very far along.
Also, I understand that in Vancouver, B. C., during the 60s and
70s there were enough buyers clubs to make an alternative wholesale
possible, and this was organized under the name of Fed-Up Wholesale.
David Leland
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