HOW IT WORKS
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BUYERS CLUBS
The CCC allows its customer members to pool their money to make bulk-discount purchases of products, with those products being shipped in singular (or minimal-quantity) packages to pickup centers for pickup, whereby customers pay a small fee to receive their goods, saving money on product cost plus shipping. Presently, for tax purposes, the only profit charged by the CCC will be 1¢ per customer per order for its "service" of relaying the customer's payment to the merchant and, maybe also, for placing an order.
CCC customers search PRODUCTS to find all items desired. They then use their CCC-member email to notify CCC of their name, CCC Member #, and of all items (via CCC Item # and title of item) they want to pre-order, the unit-quantities desired regarding such, and of the maximum price they’ll pay per unit. The CCC will then post pre-order status on the applicable products on the CCC site, accessible via "PRODUCTS," whereby customers can see how many pre-orders are needed before various quantities are eligible for ordering. (However, any individual customer(s) may order any available bulk-discount quantity on their own and have the merchant ship directly to them, just as they may also order singular items directly from any merchant--however, any resulting issues would have to be settled solely between the customer, merchant, and/or carrier if necessary. Customers may also establish "friendship clubs" among themselves and have all goods shipped directly to their founder or other member; however, they would also have to manage any issues with only those parties involved. Whatever the case, all customers could leave merchant ratings/comments upon showing the CCC proof of order.)
Regarding a particular locality, when enough pre-orders from customers accumulate to purchase the quantity of goods specified, they’ll all be instructed to send payment to *CCC, currently via PayPal (*and currently in the name of Keith Anderson until the CCC is formally established—see below). Customers willing to pay higher prices for goods will be advantaged by transition to lower-priced quantities (higher bulk-quantities) if they’re presence allows those particular purchases to immediately be made. (See “Pre-Order Example” below.) (The CCC also reserves the right to temporarily delay placing orders with merchants if it appears that more pre-orders may be coming in from additional, or existing, customers, thereby having the potential to allow as many customers as possible to benefit from that low pricing at the same particular time.)
The total price per order paid by the individual customer will be the quantity of units pre-ordered by the customer (CU) divided by the total quantity of units ordered by the group (GU), multiplied by the merchant's total group-price (MGP), plus a 1¢ CCC "payment-relay fee" as "payment" for the CCC's "service" (for tax purposes) of relaying the customer's payment to the merchant (CCCF), along with the customer's share of PayPal's (or other firm's) transaction fee (TF) added on for the CCC to place the group's order. [Example: If the total group-price charged by the merchant is $150 for 20 units of a product item, and one CCC customer in that group ordered 3 units, then his/her total price would be [(3CU/20GU) X $150MGP)] + 1¢CCCF + ($.98TF for PayPal) = $22.50 + $.01 + $.98, or $23.49 total customer price.] So, if the single-unit price for that item had been, say, $11.00, and the shipping for the one was $4.00, that alone would save the customer around $5 per unit, maybe more. (*Note: Should this formula need to be altered, all customers would be notified before sending payment.)
Customers will receive an invoice. When all payments are received, the CCC will order the items, notify the customers involved as well as give them visual proof or order, and send the pickup center notification along with the CCC Official Order-List, giving the pickup center complete order details that can be referenced against the order labels received from the merchant and also providing a space for customers to sign at pickup time. The merchant will package and label all individual-customer orders separately (as instructed by the CCC), and then send all such individual orders in a singular package (or in as few packages as possible), signature-required (and insured, if the merchant requires it for more expensive ,and/or fragile, goods), to the applicable pickup center, whereby all individual orders will be visually inspected (in their original merchant-prepared unopened packaging/packing) by pickup-center personnel--so that flawed orders won't have CCC customers wasting their time and resources traveling back and forth. Pickup-center personnel will report to the merchant *and to the CCC any incorrect/defective goods received, whereby the merchant will correct the mistake at no cost to the pickup center, and/or to the customer if necessary. If there is evidence of carrier-inflicted damage, the merchant can work in conjunction with the pickup center and carrier to manage the situation--but, whatever the outcome, the pickup center will not be held liable, and, if necessary, the merchant will have to spend his/her own funds to resolve the situation. For any items found to be out of stock or non-salable, the merchant would simply refund the CCC, who would refund the customers. (*If necessary, the CCC will file any claims with PayPal, or other payment-processing firm, to settle things with merchants.)
For all orders cleared by the pickup center, the CCC will notify the applicable customers via email ("CCC Order Ready for Pickup") and will include a pickup receipt. The customer would then print out the receipt and present it to the pickup center, whereby the pickup center will *mandatorily instruct the customer to **visually inspect his/her order for satisfaction. (*Once the customer accepts the order and pays for the pickup, any disputes/concerns/returns regarding the goods will have to be settled solely with the customer and merchant--and not the pickup center). (**To protect the resale integrity of products in case of refusals/returns, only visual inspections are allowed by customers prior to order-acceptance--whereby all pre-accepted orders/items will be visually inspected in their unopened original merchant-prepared packaging/packing until order-acceptance.)
If satisfied, he/she pays a $1-per-order pickup fee to pick up his/her order and also signs the CCC Official Order-List. Customers will have a 7-business-day deadline (beginning on the business day after arrival) to pick up their order or risk a $1 late fee per business day delayed. If after the order hasn't been picked up after 14 business days (beginning on the business day after arrival), the pickup center may claim the order as its own and may do whatever the management wishes with it.
Customers may refuse order-pickups for any reason, but must refuse an entire individual order, not just a portion of it (to make refunds easier for the merchant). They must indicate the reason (refusal claim) to the pickup center, or "Changed mind." will be the default reason. The pickup-center staffer will write down the reason on a portion of the order label for returns to the merchant, with said staffer also printing and signing his/her name on the Refusal Note, writing the refusal reason on it, and giving it to the customer as proof of refusal. The merchant must pay return-shipping if he/she wants to reclaim the goods or can work out a mutually beneficial deal with the pickup center. The merchant must grant full refunds to customers refusing orders and initiating returns. (To aid merchants in granting refunds, the CCC will also include the amount paid by customers for their individual orders on their individual order-labels.)
If the merchant feels a customer's refusal claims aren't legit, and/or experiences multiple refusals from said customer, he/she may notify the CCC to block the customer from further orders from the merchant. Multiple blockings of a customer from multiple CCC merchants will result in the customer being vulnerable to expulsion from CCC membership. Customers experiencing product dissatisfaction after accepting orders from the pickup center will be relegated to settling the situation with the merchant.
The ONLY responsibility of CCC will be to accept payments, order the correct goods/quantities, and submit the correct order labels (including individual-payment amounts) for each individual order, whereby the merchant will be responsible for correctly packaging those goods and quantities, attaching the correct order labels, and then initiating the process to get them delivered to the applicable pickup centers. Pickup centers will be responsible for the security and safety of all goods when received from the carrier as well as for any financial compensation to merchants needing to refund customers regarding theft (or lost items) or damages occurring while the goods are in pickup-center possession. (However, if difficulties regarding unsatisfactory/damaged/lost orders aren't satisfactorily handle by the parties involved, the CCC has the option of filing a claim with the financial-transaction firm--PayPal, etc.--for any such orders received and reported by the pickup center as "fault of the merchant" and/or by the merchant as "fault of the pickup center." Also, whatever the outcome of any such CCC-initiated claim, and whatever the outcome of any claim the merchant may file against the pickup center, the merchant, and the merchant alone, will be responsible for refunding customers for any and all reasons involving the goods the customers ordered. Regarding shipping, any damages seemingly inflicted by the carrier would have to be settled between the merchant and the carrier, with the pickup center serving as a witness. It is therefore suggested that merchants charge customers for shipping insurance for the more fragile goods.)
Customers may leave ratings/comments ("Positive," "Neutral," "Negative") for merchants and pickup centers, and merchants and pickup centers may leave ratings/comments for each other--all to be posted on the CCC site. Merchants may block undesirable customers and pickup centers, and pickup centers may block undesirable customers and merchants--all to be indicated on the CCC site. Merchants may also block undesirable carriers. Customers may also leave ratings/comments regarding orders received directly from merchants after showing the CCC proof of order. The CCC may take action against any member at any time whom it feels is detrimental to its operations and reputation.
All CCC members may terminate membership at any time at no cost to themselves--but still must settle any remaining responsibilities and/or issues.
(*When/If the CCC becomes a formal entity, payments from CCC customers will be stored in a CCC-controlled fund (CCC Payment-Relay Fund) until all necessary payments have been received, whereby CCC will place the orders with the affected merchants and have them shipped directly to applicable pickup center.)
Pre-Order Example
Single: $13.00/ea.
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Regarding example-city Atlanta: adding up all pre-orders, we see 20 total are present. We also see 20 is all that’s needed for everyone to get the cheapest price (20 at $10/ea.).
Thus, those willing to pay higher prices would therefore automatically receive the advantage of being transferred to, in this case, the lowest pricing of $10.00/ea.
The CCC would contact the merchants to set the full price ($200 + taxes, shipping, etc.). The CCC would call for all payments from customers and, when all have paid, relay the combined payment to the applicable merchant when ordering the goods.
[But, if enough pre-orders were available, for Atlanta or any other city, to fill any other cheaper price--5+, 10+--but not the cheapest...
...those involved would be moved to that cheaper price. Above, and indicated below, we see there are enough pre-orders from Atlanta customers for the 5+ price ($11.50/ea.) but not the 20+ price ($10.00/ea.), so all eligible customers would receive the $11.50 price. However, if just one more customer pre-ordered or a same one added another unit, all customers would be moved to the cheapest price of $10.00.]
The CCC would then call for all payments and then relay the combined payment to the applicable merchant when ordering the goods.
CCC members familiar with one another and/or easily/economically accessible to one another and who have similar product tastes may find it financially convenient to form their own Buyers Club and either manage orders on their own directly from merchants and/or accumulate enough pre-orders among their gregarious bunch to bulk-order particular items through CCC-placed ordering.
The Club Founder must already be a CCC member and must REGISTER his/her info, and all members signing on (whether CCC members or not) must settle issues only with the Club and any entities with which it deals, whereas the CCC will only post ratings/comments from CCC members regarding CCC merchants and pickup centers upon adequate proof of orders as well as render action regarding ratings if necessary.
Buyers Clubs may have their orders placed by the CCC (under the rules of the CUSTOMER AGREEMENT) and have them shipped to a CCC pickup center or may manage orders on their own regarding their own individual Club-rules based on the particular policies of individual merchants.
For current Buyers Clubs, click here.
Merchants must be bondable via PayPal or via whatever other financial-transaction firms being used by the CCC to place orders.
Ideal CCC merchants would be those selling new, reasonably marketable, consumables buyers regularly restock and would have a tendency to stock up on--foods/snacks/drinks, beauty/body, vitamins/supplements/OTCs, batteries, laundry/house-hold cleaning, etc. as well as semi-consumables: underwear, socks, light bulbs, etc. However, there are also appealing items regarding books, music, movies, toys, tools/supplies, clothing, and so on. Renowned merchant entities offering gift cards at bulk discount would also be welcome.
Merchants submit acceptable products to the CCC for consideration, including the single-unit retail price, plus their discount pricing for various bulk-quantities. All products submitted must be readily accessible by the merchant for shipping.
For non-CCC orders, merchants may sell/ship directly to customers regarding a singular quantity and/or any bulk-discount quantities--but must settle any resulting issues solely with the customers and/or the carriers.
For CCC orders: When enough pre-orders from customers (see "CUSTOMERS" above) accumulate to make a purchase relative to any bulk quantity, the merchant will be notified and instructed by the CCC to send the total price needed to ship the goods to the applicable pickup center.
The CCC then notifies the customers to send payment, based on the total price received from the merchant. When all payments are received, the CCC then orders the products from the merchant, informs the merchant of the individual customers purchasing the goods, and emails the merchant order-labels for each individual order placed by each customer, including the amount paid by each customer per order. The merchant then packages each individual order, attaches the appropriate order labels to each individual order, ships the goods signature-required (and also insured if appropriate) in a singular package, or in minimal-quantity packages, to the pickup center, and notifies the CCC of shipping details, including tracking info.
When received on a business day, the pickup center will have until the end of the next business day, to *mandatorilly visually inspect all individual orders (in their unopened original merchant-prepared packaging/packing) to ensure accuracy and condition and to report to the merchant and to the CCC any unsatisfactory/missing orders/items (via referencing the CCC Official Order-List emailed to them by the CCC). (*If the pickup center fails to inspect the goods and report any unsatisfactory/missing orders within that time frame, the shipment will be automatically declared "complete and accurate" by the CCC--whereby the pickup center will then become financially liable to the merchant for any and all items listed on the CCC Official Order-List should the center endure theft/lost of items or damage of items--even if the pickup center later finds there were items not shipped by the merchant or were damaged beforehand.) Within the deadline, the Center will report any inaccurate/defective items received to the merchant and to the CCC, whereby the merchant will correct the applicable order(s) before the CCC notifies the customer the order is ready for pickup (*to spare the customers unnecessary expense/effort regarding traveling back and forth).
The Centers will receive a $1 pickup fee from customers per order the customers accept. Customers will present their pickup receipt, whereby they will be allowed to **visually inspect their orders. (**To protect the resale integrity of products in case of refusals/returns, only visual inspections are allowed by customers prior to order-acceptance--whereby all pre-accepted orders/items will be visually inspected in their unopened original merchant-prepared packaging/packing until order-acceptance.) For orders accepted, customers will pay the pickup fee at time of pickup and will also sign the CCC Official Order-List affirming the pickup.
Customers may accept *or refuse individual orders--but must accept/refuse entire individual orders. The merchants will be responsible for refunding customers in full for any orders refused or not received at the pickup center. Merchants may set their own policies regarding any issues customers have after acceptance of orders at the pickup center.
The merchant handles any difficulties regarding customer complaints/messages after goods are accepted. For items found to be out of stock or non-salable, merchants would simply refund the CCC, who would refund the customerrs. Merchants also pay return-shipping for all inadequate orders and/or orders refused by customers if they want the goods returned. (However, the CCC will support any legitimate claims made by any and all parties involved should legal action ensue.)
*Why is Allowing Order-Refusals ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY?
Merchants must allow customers to refuse their orders at CCC pickup centers because if/when the CCC recruits pickup-center operators, those operators would not want to put up with potential arguments (OR VIOLENCE--especially in violence-prone neighborhoods) from customers regarding items those customers may find unsatisfactory and that merchants won't allow returns for. Such conflicts could cause many or all of those pickup centers to drop out--and the CCC could not operate without them. So, when merchants allow customers the option of accepting their orders or of refusing them, it leaves the ultimate choice up to the customer and completely diffuses any situation that could potentially be very uncomfortable (or DANGEROUS) between the pickup center operator and the customer.
Merchants can be rated "Positive," Neutral," or "Negative" by customers and pickup centers, whereby too many low ratings will result in removal from position and maybe also complete expulsion from CCC membership.
(For more details, read "CUSTOMERS" above.)
It's best if pickup centers are insured and are bondable via PayPal or via whatever other financial-transaction firms being used by the CCC and/or merchants to place orders.
Initially, pickup centers will be operated by adequately sized, reasonably secure, easily accessible, well-established and venerable businesses/organizations associated with marketing goods. Centers recruited will be in desirable market locales wherever there are willing businesses/organizations. However, should things develop adequately, the CCC could establish its own centers.
When received on a business day, the pickup center will have until the end of the next business day, to *mandatorilly visually inspect all individual orders (in their unopened original merchant-prepared packaging/packing) to ensure accuracy and condition and to report to the merchant and to the CCC any unsatisfactory/missing orders/items (via referencing the CCC Official Order-List emailed to them by the CCC). (*If the pickup center fails to inspect the goods and report any unsatisfactory/missing orders within that time frame, the shipment will be automatically declared "complete and accurate" by the CCC--whereby the pickup center will then become financially liable to the merchant for any and all items listed on the CCC Official Order-List should the center endure theft/lost of items or damage of items--even if the pickup center later finds there were items not shipped by the merchant or that were damaged beforehand.)
For any inaccurate/defective items reported, the merchant will correct the applicable order(s) before the CCC notifies the customer that the order is ready for pickup.
The Centers will receive a $1 pickup fee from customers per order the customers accept. Customers will present their pickup receipt, whereby they will be allowed to **visually inspect their orders. (*To protect the resale integrity of products in case of refusals/returns, only visual inspections are allowed by customers prior to order-acceptance--whereby all pre-accepted orders/items will be visually inspected in their unopened original merchant-prepared packaging/packing until order-acceptance.) For orders accepted, customers will pay the pickup fee at time of pickup and will also sign the CCC Official Order-List affirming the pickup. For orders refused, the pickup-center staffer will write the reason onto the order's label whereby that order would be returned to the merchant. The staffer would also print and sign his/her name on a Refusal Note that would be given to the customer as proof of refusal.
Customers will have a 7-business-day deadline (beginning on the business day after arrival) to pick up their order or risk a $1 late fee per business day delayed--if imposed by pickup center management. If the order hasn't been picked up after 14 business days (beginning on the business day after arrival), pickup center management may claim the order as their own and may do whatever they wish with it.
Customers having issues with their orders after pickup must consult their merchants for resolution.
Pickup centers will be financially liable to merchants, and therefore also to customers, for orders/items stolen, mishandled, and or damaged (whether damaged by personnel, outsiders, or other forces) while in their custody, whereby the pickup center will compensate the merchant who will compensate the customer (which is why insured facilities are best).
Pickup Centers can be rated "Positive," Neutral," or "Negative" by customers and merchants, whereby too many low ratings will result in removal from position and maybe also complete CCC membership.
(For more details, read "CUSTOMERS" and "MERCHANTS" above.) |
