I know everyone likes some reward, for organising groupbuys, BUT, if you are doing it, at least do it right. Don’t expose the seller publicly, especially with all well known flashlight brands(like nitecore, xtar, acebeam, fenix…), take your time and send some pm around. If you aren’t up to the challenge, let someone else do it. Just my 5c 
Any plan for another group buy :bigsmile:
we need a private forum for approved members only…
Thusfar we did not know that Manker was actively enforcing a MAP, that was unforeseen
Well, it’s not that you can guarantee, that someone hiding under a nickname, isn’t a manufacturer or his friend.
Never expect that. We just need to be more careful. Do the PM job for all brands except xxxfires.
(What if some "faker" asks for a PMed price?)
i sometime refuse to give information to a “suspect” member…
funny username
2 posts
joined 2 weeks ago
location china
bad chinglish
may be not okay - but better let one live with “BLF” only than risk a deal for all of us….
From my past GB experience, there is no guarantee in spotting such suspicious user(s). I have concluded that:
- Low post count - You still can be an genuine new buyer with Low post count. This person could have heard the GB news from other channels and led them to BLF. Not everyone are as hardcore flashlight follower as you!
- I suspect those individual(s) who tip off to manufacturers already have account(s) existed in the early years of BLF.
- China IP address or China origin - Someone can just pay a little money to buy an account to hide them. Most of us are smart enough to knows that. Do not forget that most reports are from "overseas" sellers which can come from any part of the world.
- Bad English - It just simply because English is not their native language.
Best way to evade an "arrest", is to get vendor to stock up before hand and ensure majority of sale transactions completed within 5 days.
I’m innocent 0:)
What did I miss? 
Define “funny username” 
I'd prefer it a 3C tint pls ;)
Definetly odd! Was expecting someone to say ‘mongoose’
It may not always be users tipping off manufacturers. Other sellers have been known to weigh in.
In past discussions it has been pointed out that certain retailers were reporting back on MAP issues because they either couldn't afford to or were not permitted to sell the products at the same price.
The upshot was that these dealers eventually refused to stock items from companies who did not enforce the MAP because it made the products impossible to sell at a worthwhile margin. Thus, eventually the manufacturers would lose sales.
This logic of course, flies in the face of the whole "big box store" philosophy that allows high volume sellers to shift products at low prices in other industries. We all know that it will be cheaper to buy butter at a supermarket than the corner milk bar and plan our shopping accordingly.
It's a whole lower level IMO when they squash group buys though... Surely a group buy is a bit more like the supermarket analogy - if they are getting a high volume of sales then we (BLF community) should be compensated for doing their marketing and promotion for them. I know there are quite a few sales that happen here ONLY because the lights have been brought to attention due to a group buy.
I just hope that these guys (Manker, Nitecore, Niwalker and others) realise that some of us have long memories and will make a point of looking for other brands when we next decide to go shopping - or to recommend a light to a friend.
The manufacturers will always back whoever makes the most sales. We are not the most sales, so the group of sellers that take this stuff to retail priced markets, will be backed over us. Simply, whoever buys the most, has the most say and we do not, compared to retail resellers, as a whole. If I was a retailer, I would have some employee watching this forum and others. Makes sense and very simple to do. I might even keep a forum member in my "back pocket", so I always had a heads up, or I might be a long term forum member and a retailer. It's the internet guys, you never really know. We never know.
This is one reason why I favor Group Buys with a uniquely designed light.
It is a heck of a lot more work, but you don’t have to overcome MAP issues and you end up with a light that should cost much, much more.
Ditto.
Learnt a lesson.
Ditto2
I’m for all discounts, but to avoid MAP issues there has to be something different to take the direct price comparison out of the picture. A holster, top-quality cell(s), or a gift box included as a package deal might get you past the “MAP Police”. We might lose the absolute lowest price for the light, but it would still be a bargain.
Phil