So, I just did a few buys for USA buying group before I saw this. Did those of you with problems get resolution? (and now I have my fingers crossed on about 1 k I did for them)....

They're definitely the slowest when scanning and payment, but despite all this, they always honored payments. Just...slooooow.

thanks for the detailed info.. appreciated.
Never gave thought to gas till now as get 4% cashback from Costco on their Citi CC, but interesting to know.
Not sure why but I seem to recall that GC purchases were not giving points in Safeway (I think).

I don't know about Safeway, but at Kroger you don't get fuel points for purchasing vgc. You do get them for Amazon gc.

I think you get them for fixed amounts but not variables. I never bought them d/t high fees.

I tested it out for my own sanity. 1 purchase basically too 30 days to get the payment from them. Aside from sometimes having products other buying groups don't have, you really need to be patient with them as they are incredibly slow compared to the others.

I applied with Points Maker, but have not heard a reply if they approve my app. They slow too?

I am trying to wrap my head around the concept or buying groups (along with the considerable risks already described above).

From what I have read, I use my own funds, no matter what they be, to purchase an item for a buying group and have it shipped to their address.

They will reimburse me for the purchase. My first question is "Do I get any payment for sending them an item above and beyond what I paid for it? Do they include the shipping and insurance costs?" If they don't, then this means that I am doing this strictly to monetize my GCs (purchased with a CC).

If the answer is no, why do I feel comfortable giving a basically unknown company a interest free and unsecured loan?

If the product is lost/stolen/mishandled is there any mechanism to reimburse me (other than insurance) for the loss. And, presuming that the item costs $250, how many new GCs or CC points will I need to received in order to recover from the loss of the primary product.

Buying groups are only as good as the company behind them. If they go out of business for whatever reason, and you have credits against them, there is no way that you will be able to recover that money. If an item is "lost" in shipping, there is no way to recover the money unless the shipping company concedes that they are liable, or you have shipping insurance (which I suspect a buying group will not pay for).

I think I would rather play with Bitcoin :D

Yes, that's a risk. And yes, buying groups sometimes pay more than the retail value.
If you don't like the risk, then just don't use buying groups.

They may take a few days to respond to your application but they're just as responsive with buys and payment as BFMR and MYS.

BFMR is the fastest to pay of all of them at least for me, lately I get paid the same day of delivery with BFMR.

I stopped using MYS when they stopped the LA drop off with checks on the spot 2 years ago. Many reports of late paying since I first heard of them.

So I don't think anyone who doesn't work for MYS would agree with you.

It is an interest free loan to an unknown company.. I just completed 2 successful transactions with Pointsmaker but it was more to see how this stuff usually works.
I think this will be of interest or makes sense when either of the below is valid (atleast for me) :
- Folks have to meet MSR for a SUB.
- They are paying more than the product price (for e.g - currently some of these groups paying $25 - $100 more for some playstation models)
- Folks have a very nice CC which has good cash back or reward point rates.
- There is a good cash back promo thru the cashback sites which make you get 5-10 %.

Above are just my thoughts on what I have understood. I am sure others have many more ways to earn bigger rewards for this activity, but I have not found those yet.

For quick paying groups, such as BFMR which usually pays on the day of delivery, this can be a way to get a free 1-2 month cash advance.

If one possesses a greater appetite for risk, one can store the funds as cash/stablecoin in a crypto "savings account" (eg: Celsius Network, BlockFi, AnchorUSD, etc.) at rates of 8-10+% APY.
Withdraw to pay statement balance on time, transfer new buying group payments into crypto savings, rinse and repeat to essentially generate interest on the card's credit limit.

There are also card offers. For example, I had an offer on my Platinum card for $100 back on Dell purchases of $500 or more.
When you can use those, it can be quite lucrative.

Thanks to all for the explanations. Eye opening to say the least. And I appreciate everyone's take on the discussion.

The one caveat that I see is the loss of product/failure to reimburse. There is no safety net in buying groups. If they fail to pay, then you are out the entire amount of the purchase.

The loss of a $500 computer will require many rebates, or runs through a bitcoin account (talk about adding to risk :o) to recoup the single loss of an order.

I think that what I am saying is that while there is some attractive upside to doing buying groups, there is a huge downside as well.