This one is really pretty simple, we don’t need Mirriam-Webster or other sources,

Group Buys are orders placed by a group of folks – either working with a retailer or working around them by going direct to the manufacturer/distributor or other source.

“It used to be” that there was some affinity among the groups. Group member might have been part of a business or social organization, a local craft guild. But generally speaking they KNEW each other and often as not, functioned in many ways cooperatively.

Now, all it takes it Internet access and 5 minutes to set up a group on one of the many online services that support “groups” and poof you are instantly able to organize group buys.

Some of these groups are well run and organized and businesslike in how they operate. Others are not.

Quite simply, they exist so must be considered as a potential competitor for those who really are in business.

Before you can “discuss” the pros & cons of either from any perspective, we need to establish some definitions.

According to the article at Encyclopaedia Brittanica On-Line domain and to quote from that articles’ comments on

>>> Consumer cooperatives, or co-ops, are retail outlets that are owned and operated by consumers for their mutual benefit. The first consumer cooperative store was established in Rochdale, Eng., in 1844, and most co-ops are modeled after the same, original principles. They are based on open consumer membership, equal voting among members, limited customer services, and shared profits among members in the form of rebates generally related to the amounts of their purchases. <<<

From those early days have evolved US “versions” like the Harvest Moon group in Boyleston Massachusetts or the legendary Ithaca System of Service Hours & Dollars are open to any individual or family that is interested in buying products in cooperation with other members.

Clearly the standard established in our country, These United States, is that true Co-Ops require the element which gives it its greatest legitimacy is that ALL members MUST contribute MORE than just Dollars.

So how does that differ from the groups, such as The Yahoo Group “yarncoop” recenterly renamed “yarnbuyers” or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YarnCo-op/ Quite simply, in each these case neither rises to the definition of Co-Op since only a tiny number of folks contribute anything but dollars – although all who participate “benefit”

So allow me to walk out on this limb (hoping there is no one behind me planning to use one of my favorite “home dec” tools,
the Milwaukee Sawzall And call a spade a spade. So far, about 99 out of 100 in the close to 700 hundred “Co-Ops” I have “visited” listed in Yahoo are really Group Buy groups.

Nothing to be ashamed of, just does not sound nearly as altruistic as true Co-Ops.

So let’s decide to call these 2000 groups and their probably many thousands of members what they really are – Group Buyers.

Recently wandering the web researching the concept of data mining, this business blog, from Tacony Corporation turned up.

Mine Your Own Business

Tacony’s lines of business serve the Sewing Machine & Vacumn dealers.

However, most of what their dealers offer are tools to facilitate leisure and particularly Sewing & Quilting related Needlearts. So how, when money is tight does an independent retailer, offering a relatively high end product entice the consumer in.

Many of the ideas put forth CAN easily be adapted by other NeedleArts Business,

Because you do know it’s all just string?

Wheat

P.S. Bead are just lumps added to string.

Over the last few years, I have frequently written and been quoted as saying, that Independent NeedleArts & Sewing Retailers can no longer just rely on the “cyclical nature of retail”

Today’s competition is different than it was in the 80’s and 90’s. Whether you are Brick & Mortar, Mail Order/Internet, a “retail show gypsy” – things have changed and while we should not discount all we have learned over the years, we also need to be thinking about what is different today.

For quite some time now, I have been researching Group Buying activities on the internet.

And recently decided to participate in one on a group that seemed to be among the most reliably run. It has been an interesting experience.

As part of that, a retailer wrote to me and asked ” are Co-Op our new competitors ”

My answer, for now, is “Maybe, but it depends”

The first thing we need to do is establish some sort of “definitions” and context.

Like art, it is not my job to “judge” whether a form of competition is valid or not. I may disagree with some of their methods, but being pretty much politically Liberatarian (not to be confused with Liberal) in my views, if that is how they choose to operate, then that is there choice. Long as thier activities do not infringe on the rights of others to choose, “fine”

From the perspective of “It Is All Just Business” my opinion is that it exists and so need to be understood and that understanding used to leverage your ability to compete.

And it is from that perspective that I will share more thoughts.

Wow – was the original title “Tech Editors Come Second” badly written or what

A good Tech Editor is a treasure to be cherished and compensated to the best of your ability and kept forever supplied in Dark Chocolates and other treasures.

Or, as one Grande Dame of the leisure activity of NeedleArts suggested, is someone to be treated with every courtesy and care but kept locked in a closet so they cannot escape.

The Best of Tech Editors is two things, Invaluable & All too rare.

Okay so now we have a pattern written. What’s Next?

If the Designer also wrote the pattern, here is where they must set aside their ego enough to be willing to truly communicate and to be especially mindful of the need to listen. The best tech editors are going to question your methods and instructions from time-to-time. The Designer has to allow the Tech Editor to do their job to the best of their ability.

A good tech editor may be the most important business associate any designer can have. Much of the following is focused on Knit & Crochet, it applies to Sewing & Quilting and well, just about any Needle Art that uses String.

The first job of a Tech Editor is to determine if, the instructions as written, can actually produce the item described/pictured.

For Knit or Crochet, the ability to produce a gauge swatch consistently is essential, because that is the first step in tech editing. Can the recommended needle or hook produce the gauge required.
There is more to sending a tech editor just a page of written instructions, but that is not the issue here.
nor, is the fact that some articles do not really “require” meeting gauge, say an afghan or blanket, if you want your pattern to be considered accurate and well done, it ALWAYS has to be possible to produce an accurate gauge swatch within one hook/needle size.

A good tech editor can do sizing, taking into consideration that just increasing or decreasing is not always the answer – and certainly not in garment sizing. A good tech editor is going to catch that if you tell someone to cut a 6 inch square, and use quarter inch seams, that the resulting square will be 5 1/2 inches not 5 as it says in your “instructions”.

A good tech editor is extremely accomplished in the craft, so can, when needed “suggest an alternative” method to reach the same goal. But they also need to know when to back off and let the designer use thier own “signature method”.

A good tech editor does not have to execute the entire project, although they may make some portions to check the numbers, but generally, they do not.

One thing I can tell you, when a designer or publisher finds a Good Tech Editor, there is, to quote one of the Grand Dames of Needle Arts Publishing once explained, upon finding an outstanding Tech Ediotor, there is an almost irresistible urge to kidnap them, lock them in a closet and not let anyone else at them – cause they are worth their weight in diamonds (gold is too cheap these days) and more difficult to find than any other single service provider in the market.

What do you look for when searching for a Tech Editor?

Inquiring minds want to know

P.S. To read more posts in this series, select the category

It Is All Just Business
from the side bar or Search for Designer Resources