There’s no getting around the fact that our mutual addiction to all things ‘beautiful’ is an expensive one. In an industry driven by fashion, technology and innovation, there will always be new products vying for space on our wishlists but never enough money to tick them all off.
The concept of group-buying has been growing in popularity over the last couple of years and there are many websites out there that offer deals on the basis that they will be supplying a single offer to a group collective at a lower than RRP price. Many of the beauty-related deals focus on experiences rather than material goods: haircuts, spa treatments and manicures (fishy or otherwise) and I’ve enjoyed many of the above at a lower price thanks to these websites.
BuyaPowa.com is a brand new site that enables shoppers like you and me to engage in ‘collective-buying’ and demand the same bulk-buy discounts that retailers enjoy. On initial inspection, these ‘co-buys’ appear to operate from the same starting-point as the other group-buying websites. But there are some important differences…
1. The final price of any product drops as more people join the ‘co-buys’ and the person who brings the most people into any given co-buy receives their product for free. A genuine opportunity to drive prices down with the help of those social-networking tools we all spend too much time on.
2. Alternative group-buying deals are generally focused on regional areas served by a particular salon or establishment but because BuyaPowa.com is product-centric, they offer deals to a national audience.
3. BuyaPowa.com have integrated a system into the site that encourages users to submit their requests for products they would like to purchase through a BuyaPowa.com ‘co-buy’. This request is visible to other members who can join in and offer support for your submission. If enough people give your request a virtual thumbs up, BuyaPowa will set the wheels in motion towards getting a co-buy together.
It’s this 3rd difference that really has me interested in the BuyaPowa.com concept and is what sets them apart from other group-buying websites. Something that utilises a community’s shared opinion and buying power in a unique and more importantly, useful way strikes a chord with me and is what I want to focus on in the remainder of this post.
Watch this short video for more information on how the BuyaPowa.com concept works
For a current example of a beauty ‘co-buy’, they’ve got a Burts Bees one live right now which is on its way to finishing at a discount of up to 53%.
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Of course, it would be quite easy for them to go ahead and buy up a bunch of discontinued stock at a low price and flog it on like other online beauty discounters. Infact, I’ve quizzed them on how realistic it would be for them to approach high-end beauty brands and their response showed me that this is precisely the kind of feat they’re trying to achieve. Of course, they can’t guarantee that every brand will be interested in our requests but to achieve this kind of shopping revolution, they’re going to need our help to convince the brands that WE would buy from them in this way.
Infact, can you imagine how cool this could be for the beauty community online? Example…
Brand X releases uber new ‘multiple’ at £30 and within hours, some brilliant reader/blogger/you-tuber/twitterer has set up a request on BuyaPowa nagging them to provide a ‘co-buy’. We all pile in (thanks to the power of social media) and within 24 hours the request receives enough support to elevate it to the attention of BuyaPowa who then approach Brand X to request 100 ‘uber multiples’ before passing on their retailer discount to us. Get in!
BuyaPowa.com would like to hear our opinions and would love if you could answer one, two or all three of the below questions.
1). What type of proucts would YOU like to buy this way for less?
2). Are there any specific beauty products you love that are over-priced and particularly ripe for bulk-buy discounting?
3). Do you own any products which you now realise you could have bought for less if only something like this had previously been available?
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* this is a sponsored post
I can’t ask for other people’s opinions without contributing myself… so here are my thoughts and answers from a ‘reader’s’ perspective.
I think it’s a fab idea if it can garner enough social support to get it achieving not only ‘co-buys’ but also ‘custom-buys’ with the help of large online communities.
1. I think products where shade choice is crucial wouldn’t fit well with this concept unless the brand would be able to take specific orders on shade choices etc. Otherwise, I’d love to be able to buy eyeshadow or face palettes in particular, they always take a bit more penny-saving to buy.
2. PERFUME! Over-priced and totally ripe for co-buying. For a more specific example, I’ve just been umm-ing and ahh-ing over a Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP this weekend, so would love to see that come up!
3. Probably loads of things, especially the stuff that gets released with a big BANG and flourish before things go quiet. I have a lash growth enhancer that I spent a small fortune on… I bet the price could have been driven down on that with a collective purchase.
An interesting concept. I hope they get really good brands, not obscure ones which are pricey, yet nobody has heard of.
1.Hmm..I think a lot of skincare is overpriced. I’m obsessed with Murad at the mo, which is really helping with my skin so any discounted Murad products would be much appreciated!
2. Discounts on high end mascara’s too please i.e Lancome Hypnose Drama, Chanel Inimitable and also foundations. I really want to try Armani bases, but the price has put me off so far.
3. Hmm where do I start?!! NARS blushes, Armani mascara, Shu Uemura eyeshadows..the list is endless.
This is a fab idea, if I could work out how to make something my homepage I’d make it this so I could always check out what deals on!
I’d quite like to see obscur(er) brands get involved. Not so obscure that no one wants their products though HA!
1. Those nail polish mini sets that get released with collections. I always lust after the OPI and Essie nail polish sets but something always stops me wanting to pay full price. If the colours are cool though, I wouldn’t care what brands were offered espesh if the price was right.
2. Self Tanners, espesh brand name ones like Xen Tan and St. Tropez. I’m too tight to fork out incase I don’t like them but if they’re as good as I’ve heard, I’d probably remain loyal (but buy whenever I see a small reduction) but I need a BIG incentive to dip my toe in the water.
3. Well, I guess that everything has the potential to be discounted really. Not sure what to put here.
I shall be keeping my beady eye on the site
Charlotte this is why I love your blog – I love the way you look at things from a different perspective and ask the company lots of questions beforehand, to give your readers insightful info rather than trot out a press release.
I’ve not really bothered with Group Buying websites in the past but I checked out this site and actually I was impressed – particularly with how clear they make the pricing structure and also show who is in line to get the product free (genius way to push buyers to recommend more people).
What I would say is, if they are genuinely looking to target the beauty industry, I personally would make the site feel more aspirational – the branding reminds me of Mr Muscle, DIY stores or something of that ilk – distinctly unfeminine and unaspirational. I think more brands would participate in this kind of concept if they didn’t feel it would cheapen their brand – it has the same feel as putting your end-of-line stock into Wilkinson’s. It will be interesting to see. Maybe someone needs to develop a beauty-specific group buying site… now that I would LOVE.
1. Skincare sets like: cleanser, serum, night cream sets – the posher the brand, the better!
2. I’d love to be able to buy inexpensive pick-me-ups… so… single lip colours, nail polishes etc for under a fiver inc. p&p – but I’d want to see or be able to choose the shade.
3. Anything seasonal. Christmas perfume sets that I pay a fortune for before Christmas only to watch them get heavily discounted once the tinsel comes down.
Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone. Keep them coming and we’ll do our very best to get some co-buys going for you. Any questions, don’t hesitate to let us know – either here or via Twitter (@BuyaPowa) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/buyapowa).
Really looking forward to reading the rest of your requests!
Robin
PS: @ Charlotte. I know where you’re coming from re Narciso Rodriguez For Her – I love woody, musky scents, too 🙂
Luxury candles, they’re very overpriced.
I really like the idea but agree that the styling of the website is a bit cheap.
1. I would be interested in buying high end cruelty free skincare, makeup & perfume as well as accessories (wouldn’t a Michael Kors watch be brilliant, what girl could refuse that ?!!!). All the things I normally buy online currently. Clothes or electronics would be more difficult to customise I think.
2. I think perfume is particularly overpriced and would suit bulk buying. I realise the choices may have to be designer rather than niche, but say Stella edp, Narciso Rodrguez edp, the Fresh fragrance line or a classic like Shalimar, Terre d’Hermes, D&G (both do gorgeous 25ml boxed sets!) or the Bond no9 ‘Bon Bon’ sets. Any of those would be wonderful to pick up using this kind of discount scheme.
3.I’ve bought many ‘now’ products that would have been cheaper if linked to a bulk buy scheme. The latest one was Skin79 BBCream. International shipping for those makes them very expensive in europe. Now it’s the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes…but ordering from America. Also the Scandal Queen Fairy Drops mascara…they are from Korea but the mark up is horrible on the Sephora website (25USD). I also paid a very high price for the Lise Watier Concealer Wheel on ebay.
NYX Cosmetics – I’d love to buy bundles like all the jumbo eye pencils but obviously at a discount compared to full price.
The prices on the NYX website in the UK is a joke when you see how cheap it is in the U.S.