Group Buys
The only successful group purchase I've ever done was with the Porsche 993 guys. One person handled the purchase, paid with 1 check and all 160 stands were sent to him to distribute to his group. The other purchases failed to come through with any volume and many were drawn out for weeks and months.
With a cost for a pair of 3000N flat top jackstands at $148/pair ($74ea), inbound freight of $11/pair (Baltimore to NJ), repackaging cost of $2/pair (boxes & tape...not time), profit of $24/pair (approx 15% of landed cost), and credit card fees of $5/pair, these are on my website at $95.00ea sale price. Retail is $154ea. Discount is close to 40%.
Now that you know my costs, its up to you guys if someone on the list wants to do all the work to give the others a better price.
For example, the importer will give free freight on 40 or more stands shipped to one location. If someone coordinates a GP of 40 or more stands, handles all the repackaging & shipping, pays me via personal check or money order (ie, no cc fees), and I reduce my profit to 10% , your cost will be reduced considerably.....$74ea WD cost + 10% ($7.40) = $81.40 per stand.....down from $95.
Who's willing to do the work? SD