Is Joining a Group Buy Worth It? [Poll]

I’m thinking about pursuing a group buy for tripeptide. After spending a lot of time searching and even (regrettably) trying to propose one on FB, I’m unsure if it’s worth it. I don’t need that much, and with prices in the $0.80/gram range, it works out to less than $5 a week for me right now. The real benefit seems to be in the shared cost of testing or if you’ve got a big stack of peptides, which I don't (yet).

I’m a lurker by nature (like I bet a lot of the nearly 3,000 members here are—great work, zippy), so getting the recognition to join a group buy feels daunting. I’ve tracked down the two big ones, but I’m not in yet. I’d love to hear the community's mentality regarding group buys. Hopefully, this thread can help prevent some newbies from making the same mistakes I did (like trying to set up a GB on FB ).

If you buy from GB, please share your thoughts.

Group buys are a trade off. You trade some money for enhanced safety that things are tested thoroughly.

At their best, group buys are just a bunch of people who've pooled their $ to get a better deal, then hanging out and shooting the shit while waiting on international gray market shipping, then waiting on testing. The best ones are places to learn things (like, why is there taurine in some bac water, what is counter ion, etc) and build community. But there are definitely a lot of buys now that are just vendors putting things on sale, and prices have dropped so that good deals can be had without the whole communal experience. I guess if my goal is making connections and learning, a good group buy is it. If I just need some kits, I'll get those direct.

I’d like to join a big group buy of Reta

Honestly, no.

The early evolution of "group buys" in the peptide space were great in that they leveraged the ability to take advantage of large MOQ pricing with the supplier handling payments and shipping plus the hope that any guarantees would be honored (especially given the per mg pricing this time last year).

Now, I'm of the opinion that group buys are 99% domestic vendors by a different name, and that all but one or two of them are not trustworthy. With the dramatic drop in prices (especially for GLP-1's) and essentially daily promos from the Chinese there's really no difference in pricing between buying from China or a GB.

About the only advantage that a reputable GB offers are the guarantees if you're buying a significant amount of an expensive product, and of course the testing. Anyone just buying one or two kits of anything really isn't going to see much advantage from a GB, and if it's from any of the sketchy groups there's actually a greater risk of being ripped off compared to dealing with one of the known Chinese suppliers. With the availability of crowdfunded testing it's pretty common to get in on a test of the products you purchased for anywhere in the $5-$25 range so IMHO there's very little reason to bother with a GB.

I haven't been around long but I have a tendency to do a really deep dive into anything I get into, and from all the investigative work I've done, I personally don't see a huge advantage to GBs as they are now (maybe a few years ago it was a different story like Zippity is alluding to). I have found a few GB discord/pepchat now, and they all look like vendors pretending to be GBs to me. Maybe there's some customer input on what the next item will be, and some guaranteed testing, but they are operating like storefronts. I've bought from a Chinese vendor GB and it's been kind of a snafu with the testing bit. Nobody wants to donate vials, and I'll be honest: if there are three tests being paid for, and only two other purchasers wanting to donate for testing, I'm not coughing up a vial from a single kit. Especially when there's no sort of credit for the vial. The random chance of getting batch testing while not having your vial win the testing lottery is part of the appeal. I bought from an established, big vendor and don't think I'll die pinning their product untested. The dosing might just be off, but worst outcome there is a week hungrier than I want to be, or sulfur burps. Anyways, I don't think they are bad in any way, I just don't think they are essential.

Yea, buying from a vendor during a sale isn’t a group buy and you may or may not be getting a good deal. The process isn’t for everyone either, there’s a fuckton of new/er folks losing their shit in a vendor buy rn bc it’s been over 2 weeks from order.

Now, there are some peptides and some other things (intl beauty products, equip, etc) that would be out of reach w/o the groups I’m in and as mentioned above, I appreciate the edu I’m getting, too.

Do people ever JUST do group testing after buying individually directly from a supplier ( like during a big promo sale ) and how do those group testings get organized ?

I saw QSC host their own group buy a couple weeks ago. It was very enticing. I would do that, but I wouldn't join some random discord to get one hosted, if it's done by the supplier then I'm fine with it. Think it was like $280 for 20mg of reta, which is really good pricing right now. 12 and a half months of 8mg reta weekly for under $600 is a no brainer for me. But I'm a penny pincher who loves to find "deals".

I needed an option for "none of the above."

• Easy peasy, 100% the only way to go.

Absolutely not for most GBs. I am in only one group buy group and it took vetting to get in although they have since loosened this up a bit. By the time I got in I had already placed orders with one domestic and 2 CN vendors and I had spend a lot of time on this forum and theirs. I have since placed 5 orders with them because they are extremely well organized and run it like a business, which it is. If you haven't read Zippity's manifesto about group buys in the Announcements please go do so now. I have lurked in some other group buy forums and most are so chaotic by comparison and there have been lots people just losing their money to GB "organizers" who take the money and run. We are all just strangers on the internet and an American GB organizer is not necessarily more trustworthy than a Chinese vendor.

• Worth the effort to get in, the savings are solid.

They can be but not always. My first order of tirz with the GB was cheaper than my Amo purchase and included testing and reship guarantees. But they are not able to compete with current market on tirz. That's okay, I don't expect rock bottom prices from them on everything.

GBs are attractive to many due to the illusion of safety in numbers and someone else is doing the grunt work. They also become like a community for some and people forget that these are not your friends. You are essentially adding a middle-man which introduces another level of risk so you better scrutinize them even closer.

Finally, I ate my words and placed my first order with QSC because, at those prices, I can afford to send in a vial for testing. I'm also on the testing server so will be no problem getting that crowd-sourced. I will continue with my group buy group as long they keep operating the way they do but I will also continue to vet CN vendors.

No one has mentioned the biggest perk of group buys yet: some will send you a sticker or two along with your order!

nurseratchit said:

Finally, I ate my words and placed my first order with QSC because, at those prices, I can afford to send in a vial for testing. I'm also on the testing server so will be no problem getting that crowd-sourced. I will continue with my group buy group as long they keep operating the way they do but I will also continue to vet CN vendors.

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I think most of us give in to buying from QSC. The prices are just too good, and they are a known (if imperfect) quantity

I don't think its worth it. It takes like a month at least and the prices seem to be dropping fast. I still join group buys if there's a really good deal though

Vicki said:

I don't think its worth it. It takes like a month at least and the prices seem to be dropping fast. I still join group buys if there's a really good deal though

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Well, I don't need it any time soon so time is not an issue. I definitely do not recommend newbies buy from QSC. If your talking about vendor led "group buys" these are technically just promos. Zippity has a great post about this. Prices may indeed continue to drop but this is 45% less than what I paid last month. I may succumb to FOMO next month when they're selling it for a penny!

nurseratchit said:

I definitely do not recommend newbies buy from QSC.

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Say more. I’ve got a WhatsApp going right now with them (and SRY). Perhaps define newbie, mostly so I know if I am one.

ZippityDooDah said:

Honestly, no.

The early evolution of "group buys" in the peptide space were great in that they leveraged the ability to take advantage of large MOQ pricing with the supplier handling payments and shipping plus the hope that any guarantees would be honored (especially given the per mg pricing this time last year).

Now, I'm of the opinion that group buys are 99% domestic vendors by a different name, and that all but one or two of them are not trustworthy. With the dramatic drop in prices (especially for GLP-1's) and essentially daily promos from the Chinese there's really no difference in pricing between buying from China or a GB.

About the only advantage that a reputable GB offers are the guarantees if you're buying a significant amount of an expensive product, and of course the testing. Anyone just buying one or two kits of anything really isn't going to see much advantage from a GB, and if it's from any of the sketchy groups there's actually a greater risk of being ripped off compared to dealing with one of the known Chinese suppliers. With the availability of crowdfunded testing it's pretty common to get in on a test of the products you purchased for anywhere in the $5-$25 range so IMHO there's very little reason to bother with a GB.

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YES! The GB worship has me shaking my head……YES! There are good options now, without the flipping time and irritation it consumes. Rant over.

geoguy78 said:

I think most of us give in to buying from QSC. The prices are just too good, and they are a known (if imperfect) quantity

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I have not bought from QSC. I think they only use crypto?

There’s almost no advantage to group buys when the vendors themselves are already orchestrating something similar during their promos. Prices are already dirt cheap. I think they mostly serve to keep engagement in group buy groups so they buy other things or to skim the price delta when buying bulk. Also some of the group buy groups are almost cult like in their loyalty and reverence to the group leaders, kind of weird imo.

MarisWinter said:

YES! The GB worship has me shaking my head……YES! There are good options now, without the flipping time and irritation it consumes. Rant over.

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Following some of the Telegramming on these is like being either in a cult or in the really cool high school clique. I do wonder how everyone has every second of the day available to them to be chatting with each other nonstop.

MingHenry said:

I have not bought from QSC. I think they only use crypto?

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They use crypto and bank transfers, but I’d personally only use crypto. I’ve had good experience with them