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Location: A Very Naughtytown In Northwestern Montanifornia U.S.A.
1,088 posts, read 1,947,401 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PrepHappy
Hello all!Have you joined or formed a buying club? I'm thinking of starting one, but thought I'd ask if you guys have had experience doing this.
If you have, was it a good experience? What should I be mindful of?
Thanks in advance.
Yes I have, my advise is to keep very sanitary conditions in the place where the food order is divided and use a certified scale if packages of items such as huge sacks of rice or beans need to be opened and subdivided for each members orders.
Another thing is to do the dividing with several members present.
If you use a federal wholesale tax ID number to facilitate the wholesale purchase of the food, there may be a bit of explaining to do to the IRS, or set up a non profit corporation to operate the food co-op under.
There may be some regulations that I am not aware of depending on where you are and my info could already be outdated by now so perhaps someone will have more data for you.
Good luck and good for you to start a food buying club.
Yes I have, my advise is to keep very sanitary conditions in the place where the food order is divided and use a certified scale if packages of items such as huge sacks of rice or beans need to be opened and subdivided for each members orders.
Another thing is to do the dividing with several members present.
If you use a federal wholesale tax ID number to facilitate the wholesale purchase of the food, there may be a bit of explaining to do to the IRS, or set up a non profit corporation to operate the food co-op under.
There may be some regulations that I am not aware of depending on where you are and my info could already be outdated by now so perhaps someone will have more data for you.
Good luck and good for you to start a food buying club.
Wow! Thank you for all your specific advisement! What a wealth of information, I appreciate your time in responding.
Buying clubs are a great way to get discounts by buying in bulk direct from manufacturers thus cutting out the middle man and getting goods at lower prices. The problem is they usually require a substantial up front investment and everyone in the buying club has to agree on what it is they want to buy. I imagine most of them end up breaking up over disputes about what to buy and what not to buy.
We had a health food buying club when we taught on the remote navajo reservation & also when we were living in Colorado. We would take turns tallying & turning in the original order. We would take turns meeting the food cooperative truck to pick up the food. But we would all get together to divide up the food, check orders, etc. Usually we would each open up some of our snack food to share. Then we would take turns doing the accounting to figure how much each paid. It usually was less than our original order since some things would be out.
Have you joined or formed a buying club? I'm thinking of starting one, but thought I'd ask if you guys have had experience doing this.
If you have, was it a good experience? What should I be mindful of?
Thanks in advance.
You should be mindful of the fact that a buying club for survival supplies is a complete breech of confidentiality and security, OPSEC if you prefer. We need to build up our supplies secretly, trusting as few people as possible. Even family members pose a threat in that they may tell someone what you're doing. Even in normal times, burglaries, robberies, and murders are usually the result of criminals learning of accessible plunder. In the event of social upheaval, a time when many previously law-abiding citizens will become criminals, it's imperative that the knowledge of whatever items of value we've acquired must be a closely guarded secret.
It's not worh it to save pennies. Add a little bit to your grocery purchases; spend a little more at gun shows; but don't make a splash. This is not an activity to share or brag about. If you need that in your life find something that doesn't make you a target.
Discuss survival topics here or on other anonymous fora. You may encounter peple whom you trust and who trust you. But if you misjudge they're not in your area.
Oh my goodness you guys! I totally didn't thank you for your thoughtful replies.
Thank you! Very helpful as I start my journey.
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