This guide gives you practical information and advice on how to set up and run a community buying group. It is primarily intended for groups of consumers operating on a not-for-profit basis.
There are many benefits to joining together with other consumers and combining your buying power to get better deals from shops and other suppliers. By buying in bulk, you can get discounts on prices, saving money. There are other benefits too. Examples of things that groups buy together are food, household goods and heating oil.
What this guide contains
- What are the advantages of buying as a group?
- Case studies
- Checklist for setting up a community buying group
- How do we get started?
- How do we plan our project?
- How should we organise our group?
- How do we run our group?
- What about money?
- How do we market and promote our group?
- How do I develop new skills?
- Community buying groups and the law
- Further information and resources
- About us
Feel free to comment on any of the pages’ content, sharing your own experiences , alternative tips and suggestions.
Alternatively, access the full version of the Guide in PDF format.
Follow new comments on this item by RSS
Does ‘buying’ encompass ownership or access? Is it solely the consumption of products or can this include buying the right to manufacture/maintain etc?
By buying together as a community, people can join together to get better deals from shops and other suppliers. Depending on what the community buys, ‘buying’ could encompass ownership or access. For example, if a community groups together to buy food and household goods, each household has ‘ownership’ of these goods that they consume at a cheaper price. However, if a community groups together to buy gym equipment to share as a community, this type of buying allows the community to ‘access’ the gym equipment. Therefore to answer your question, community buying does involve consumption of products, but introduces different forms of consumption and different ways to buy goods.
BIS sees community buying as not necessarily including the production of goods but acknowledges that some community buying groups produce goods and services.
Can charities buy together too – or is this just for groups of individuals?
Yes, charities can buy together too. All sorts of groups and organisations within the public, voluntary or business sectors can buy together to get better deals, better services, and better quality products.
Hello
My name is mrs gail Lawrerence ans i would like to ask you if I can make an application in buying an equipment in other for me to train and mentor the young mum and female lone parent in my community, to use thier talent by demosrating what they can do for them self inother for them to stand and be able to archive good thing and provide for them self rather than depending on the goverment resourses, Meanwhile I have a business in my community and is called bussiness solution, i make some local beauty product and i also sow dresses, and make some jewellries acessories, i choose this buisness beacuse i have the talent as i did not learn how to make them but i decided to paractise my talent and here i am today doing well, Plaese oi would like to motivate people like me that ahve the talent but looking for who to help them to reach thier aim and do well with talents, I am a university degree holder in business management, and I am 40 yrs of age with four children, kindly advise how i can buy a big equipment and benefit from this scheme and help others in my community
many tahnks
Gail
In reply to Gail:
The Buy Better Together Challenge is about getting communities to group together to buy goods and services together to get better deals, better service, better quality of products, or access to things they couldn’t before. If your idea is around getting your community to group together to buy the equipment collectively to be shared, you can surely enter! Good luck with your application.