Group haggling

February 28th, 2006

So, apparently, in China there’s a new tradition called tuangou. Collaborative Haggling. What happens is that consumers who all want to buy the same or similar products walk into a store en masse to negotiate a rebate better than that of individual purchasers. Of course, there’s a price horizon- chances are you can’t haggle for anything less expensive than, say, $200. But the idea is somewhat ingenious, especially since it’s applicable here in the United States.So, I’ve been thinking. When I buy my next car, if I, say, find 5 to 10 individuals who all want to buy that or a similar car at the same time, and we all walk onto a lot……or, alternatively, start a car dealership entirely based on the “lot order” concept.

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