All alone? Get a group discount

By Karen Aho

A group discount is great -- as long as you're part of the group. Then it's all one big bargain bash: the university rate, the employer plan, the member savings.

Meanwhile, the single gets stuck with the fuzzy side of the lollipop.

But Internet magic makes all things possible.

How else to get 40% off a panther chameleon? (Join a group buy, of course.) How else to find affordable health insurance if you're self-employed? (Join a cooperative. Voilà!)

It has probably never been easier to link up and start leveraging the power available when many people are seeking the same thing. Take a glance at these 10 examples to see how crowd clout can work. Then, to marshal your own group buy, check the advice that follows.

Keep in mind that the concept is applicable almost anywhere (one woman tried to marshal a group discount for plastic surgery) and that the benefits extend well beyond price. Shoppers often get access to unique products, learn from other users and come away a little happier, the unexpected byproduct of engaging with others.

10 strength-in-numbers deals

Your own car, at a group rate: A car may be an infrequent purchase, but plenty of others are due to buy at the same time. You can find them online at car forums or social networking sites.

Max Mediz, the sales manager at John Eagle Honda of Dallas, has had three separate groups -- of two to four people each -- negotiate a group buy, typically snagging an additional 1.5% discount.

"We want to get rid of the cars, so we can sell at that price," Mediz says.

Haircuts: Why make chitchat with the hairstylist when you can talk with your pals and take a little off the top of your bill?

Even beauty schools, which already offer reduced rates for using student labor (see "Haircuts and car repairs on the cheap"), typically give up to 20% discounts to groups, as do most spas. And it doesn't require an entire bridal party. A handful of friends will do.

"Always call and ask," says Mytien Kent, the president of Portland Beauty School in Portland, Ore.

"Whenever the salon knows there's a big party coming, more than likely they'll work with you for some kind of discount."

Men can benefit, too. William Graves, a Washington, D.C., barber whose tagline for his traveling business, BarberG63, is "Keep America well-groomed by starting with a great haircut," trims his $25-a-head price to as low as $10 for groups of five or more.

Dresses and tuxes: Laying out for a wedding or prom costs enough already. So grab half a dozen friends, target a few stores and start negotiating. Shops that know you can guarantee a bulk sale and are scouring for a group rate should slice 10% or more off the price.

Men's Wearhouse, a national chain, makes it a policy to provide a $20-per-person discount for group rentals, an indication that it's become standard practice.

Gasoline: When gas shot up to $4 a gallon last year, retired schoolteacher Vincent Melito found the cheapest station in town and pitched the owner a deal: Give a gasoline cooperative a 5-cent-a-gallon discount, and Melito would ensure that the station got every member's business.

Melito easily rounded up 250 members for his free co-op in North Adams, Mass., and printed ID cards.

"It was relatively simple to do," Melito says. "People didn't care if they saved a penny or 5 cents or 10 cents. They just wanted to save something."

Home heating oil: The Citizen's Oil Co-op, in Connecticut, negotiates a percentage-above-wholesale price for the season's heating oil, saving its 4,000 members -- who pay a $25 annual fee -- about $250 to $350 a year.

The oil company saves on marketing, and the co-op gets leverage in selecting providers with favorable practices and good service.

"That's just the power of numbers," says co-op President Mark Hutson. "We're kind of like the watchdogs."

Snow blower, lawn mower, agricultural combine: Think it'd be too risky to share a $1,000 snow blower with the next-door neighbor? Consider this: David Govert, a Kansas wheat farmer, shares a $300,000 harvesting combine with a corn farmer 230 miles away.

They've been sharing the equipment, too expensive to own alone, since 1992, when Govert placed an ad in the High Plains Journal. The two formed a corporation that legally owns the combine. Each pays the corporation an hourly rental; the corporation pays all the bills. The partners figure it evens out.

Over the years, they've even started helping out with each other's harvests. "It's really been a nice, wonderful, building relationship," Govert says.

Continued: Save on health care

 1 | 2 | next >