Group Buying FAQ
What is Group Buying?
Group buying is also called collective or cooperative buying whereby several people jointly pour in their orders to avail of the wholesale price on a particular product or service. The products and services offered on group buying sites are called group deals and are priced considerably lower than the regular price. The rate of discount taken off from the original price is called group discount and usually ranges from 20% to 75%. Few sites such as Dealspot Philippines offer at least 50% group discount and may go up to 100% (free) for promotional deals.
Several criteria must be met in order to avail the group buying discount. Buyers can place an order for the deal if:
- The group deal is "on". The deal is said to be ON when the minimum required buyers set for that particular deal is met. This is commonly called tipping point. Once the number of buyers for a group deal is greater than or equal to the group deal's tipping point, all existing and subsequent bidders who paid for the deal will be issued a discount coupon or voucher. This voucher can then be presented to the merchant for redemption.
- The group deal is active. A group buying deal is active if the current date is within the date range of the deal's validity (i.e. The current date must be greater than or equal to the deal's starting date and not more than its end date.) A group deal that will start at a future date or those that are already past its end date is said to be Inactive.
- The group deal is within order limit. Like any other businesses, group buying sites ensure that the amount of orders merchants take in must be within what their resources could allow. Most group buying sites and merchants agree upon a certain order limit for a particular deal. Order limit is somewhat in reversed context with tipping point.
What is a group buying merchant?
The merchant is the business offering the group buying deal through our site. They are often referred to as group buying partners or simply "partners". Merchants set the pricing, discount rates, purchase limits, terms, bookings and reservations and are responsible for rendering the products and/or services to group buyers upon dedemption of coupons and vouchers.
How do group buyers avail of the deal?
Registered group buyers at Dealspot.PH may avail of group deals by clicking the deal's Buy button. They will then be taken to the order form where they can set the number of vouchers they wish to buy, the branch where they wish to redeem their purchase and the payment method they prefer. Buyers may name the coupon other than their own. This method is commonly referred to as a gift. The recipient to whom the voucher was named to is the legal owner of the voucher and is the only individual entitled to redeem the purchase. After the ordering process the buyer will be notified of the sale via email that may also contain additional instructions on how to proceed with the group purchase especially when opting to pay with over the counter or delayed payment methods (e.g. bank, wire transfer, money order, etc.) All orders are subject for review and approval of the Sales Department before coupons/vouchers are issued to the recipients of the same.
What if the group deal didn't tip?
In event that the deal ended and failed to reach the required number of buyers all ligitimate payments for that deal will be returned to each of its respective payor using the same payment method the payor used in purchasing the group deal. This process is called a refund. The payor is usually the registered buyer placing the order (usually, but not always the case.) So if a buyer placed a successful payment using Paypal the same amount will be refunded to that Paypal account.
I won't be able to use my voucher, can I ask for a refund?
Refunds are welcome at Dealspot.PH provided the reason for the said refund is acceptable and verifiable.
I already paid but why is my purchase still marked verifying?
All payments are subject for review and approval of the Sales Department. After the verification process the order is marked as Paid and is qued by the system for coupon generation. After generating the coupons they will be sent to their respective recipients and the order will then be marked as Completed. Coupon generation and sending is done automatically by the system so it should only take few seconds to complete. The payment verification process, however, is not.
I've been trying to call you for hours but nobody's answering the phones. Why is that?
Like most humans Dealspot.PH staffs sleep during night time. It's best to call from 9AM to 6PM during the weekdays and from 9AM to 12NN on Saturdays. Don't call on Sundays either. Our staffs are compulsive deal buyers like you that they are always out of town working on their tan or just dining and chilling during their rest days.
I have a business. How do I become a group buying partner?
If you have a business and you want to advertise or post group deals to our site then head over to this page: http://www.dealspot.ph/group-buying-philippines-pages-view-dealspot_philippines_for_businesses-3.html
I have concerns other than listed here. Who should I ask?
You can reach us through our Online Contact Form or call us from the numbers listed on this page: http://dealspot.ph/group-buying-philippines-contactus.html
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