I have been using buying groups for several years as part of my points earning strategy. They can especially come in handy when I’m trying to meet the minimum spend requirement for a new card.

Buying groups have some nuance to them, but this simple guide will teach you everything you need to know about buying groups and how to successfully use them.

What Are Buying Groups

Buying groups are companies that purchase various goods from people like you and me and pay them a predetermined rate for those items. These types of transactions require a fair amount of trust because you are basically purchasing these goods with the understanding that you will be paid once the item is delivered to the buying group’s warehouse.

I’ve done business with several of them, and my favorite is The Buying Group. They have been the one group that has consistently paid within a reasonable amount of time. I’ve also had very few issues with deliveries but when I do, they get resolved quickly.

How Do Buying Groups Work

All of the buying groups I’ve worked with have a very similar process. As an example, I will outline the process specifically for The Buying Group.

Sign Up – First, you need to sign up for an account with the respective group. You can sign up for The Buying Group here. At the end of the signup process you’ll be given an ID number, which you’ll need later.

Deals – Once you have an account, you can purchase items the buying group is requesting. On the left side of the dashboard there’s a tab that says “Deals”. Here is a list of all the deals they are currently buying along with the price they’re paying for each item.

Please note that some buying groups will frequently offer prices that are BELOW COST, so you might actually lose money on the purchase. (They do this for various reasons that we won’t go into.) But one big reason that I work with The Buying Group is that they offer a good amount of deals that payout full retail price and sometimes they even pay you a small commission, too. Please ensure you read each deal carefully before making a purchase.

Commitment – If you see an item you’d like to buy, you will need to enter a “commitment”. Simply click on the “Commit” button and enter the number of items you purchased. You can update this number at any time. This allows the buying groups to limit and track how many items are purchased.

Sometimes they’ll cap the number of items they’ll buy, so if the deal is “full”, don’t purchase that item. In all cases, if you send them an item that you don’t have a commitment for, they can refuse to accept the item.

Delivery – Each buying group will have specific addresses you need to have the items sent to. They will always have at least one address in a state that is sales tax exempt. Almost all deals will not pay you for sales tax or shipping costs, so be careful where you ship the item to and what shipping method you use.

Tracking – Once the items ship, the retailer will send you a tracking number. You will need to enter this tracking number into the buying group’s portal so they know which shipment is yours. You will enter this on the “Tracking Management” tab within the dashboard.

In addition, you will need to add your buying group ID number to your shipping address when making your purchase. This is an additional way for them to know which items belong to you. For example, if my buying group ID is 1234, I will enter my name as John Doe 1234 when filling out the shipping address for my purchase.

Receiving – Once the item arrives at the buying group’s warehouse, they will “check in” the item. Once this is done, you will be emailed a receipt showing what they received and how much you were paid. The amount paid for that item will then be added to your account.

Timing – Once an item is delivered to the warehouse, it can take a couple days for it to show in your dashboard as “received”. The timing will vary by group and the time of the year. Peak times like Black Friday can take longer. Another reason I like Buying Group is that they are generally very quick to check things in. My first few orders were checked in the day it arrived. On average though, it typically takes 2-3 days.

Payment – Once you have a balance in your account, you can request an e-check for your balance or an ACH payment. Buying Group typically sends your payment in about a week, but again can vary based on the time of year and the number of deals they’re buying. Once the check is generated, you can print the check from your account and then deposit it into your bank account.

Stay Organized

If you want to give buying groups a try, my biggest piece of advice is to STAY ORGANIZED. It is critical to keep track of everything you buy and the details of each purchase. The last thing you want to do is send an item to a buying group, forget to track it and then not get paid for the item.

I keep all of this information in a spreadsheet. It’s an easy way to keep track of everything and make sure you get paid appropriately. And if something goes wrong, you’ll have everything at your fingertips to get it resolved.

Along the lines of staying organized, I would recommend starting slow. Pick a small, inexpensive item to start with. Then go through and learn the entire process. That way, if you make a mistake with a $19 Fire Stick, you won’t lose any sleep while you’re resolving the issue.

What If Something Goes Wrong

I know this all sounds nice and easy. But what if something goes wrong? To date, I have purchased hundreds of items and spent over $100k with buying groups. While infrequent, problems do arise and it can take some time and effort to get things resolved.

If something doesn’t go perfectly, don’t freak out. Keep in mind, all buying groups have a support ticket system where you’ll handle most of these issues.

Here are some of the main issues I’ve run into and how to solve them –

Paid The Wrong Amount – Prices for deals can change from one day to the next. Sometimes when an item is checked in, the wrong amount is paid out. When this happens, I create a ticket with information about the order and it has always been corrected.

Item Not Received – Each group is usually very good about keeping you informed as to their progress of checking in items. But what happens if they say they’ve checked in everything received by a certain day and yours was delivered in that time frame?

I’ve had this happen a couple of times. In all cases, I’ve opened a ticket and sent them the order details, including the item’s serial number if applicable. They will investigate the items and in all cases but one, they have found it and then credited my account.

The one time it wasn’t found, I was able to contact the retailer and they issued me a refund. YMMV with the retailer if this happens to you, but this was my experience.

Damaged Item – Only once has an item I ordered been delivered damaged. When this happened, the buying group contacted me and I processed a return with the retailer. I then emailed them the return shipping label and documents and they sent the item back on my behalf.

Other Buying Groups

I’ve tried out most of the buying groups that are out there and they all follow a very similar process to the one I’ve outlined above. Each buying group has their own pros and cons. Based on my experience, I would recommend the following groups.

• Closeout NJ
• PFS Buyers Club (This one focuses on infrequent coin deals from the US Mint)
• Buy For Me Retail

Once you get the hang of one buying group and want access to more deals, I would definitely give these others a look.

Maximizing Your Buying Group Spend

In addition to the credit card spend and small commissions, there are other ways to maximize your benefit from buying group purchases. My favorite way is to use shopping portals and cash back portals when making any purchases.

New Card Bonus – Buying groups are a great way to hit the minimum spend requirement on a new card. While I wouldn’t depend on them to meet the requirement, they can definitely make it easier.

TopCashBack – TopCashBack is a fantastic portal to use when buying Amazon devices. These are items buying groups need frequently. When you go thru TopCashBack, they give you 2% cash back on all Amazon devices purchases.

Rakuten – I also like using the Rakuten shopping portal when making purchases from stores other than Amazon. I prefer Rakuten because you can earn AMEX Membership Rewards points instead of cash back.

Final Thoughts

I think buying groups can be a great way to earn extra credit card points. If you are willing to put in the effort and stay organized, they can be a great piece of your points earning strategy. If you decide to give them a shot, I would definitely recommend starting with Buying Group.

As with everything, if you have any questions, just leave me a comment below and I’ll be happy to help.

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