Before we can group buy via Internet, tuangou was developed in China a few years ago. Tuangou means the same thing as group buying or collective buying. Tuangou allows people to invite other people and to buy the same merchandise at the same in large amounts. Therefore buyers will benefit from reduced price and sellers will benefit by selling multiple quantities at once. Unlike modern group buy, there is a minimum quantity or dollar amount for a specific item in tuangou. Otherwise there will be no price discount or seller will not sell their products to you. Individuals typically don’t need multiples of one item at one time. So in order to participate in tuangou, people started to invite others who have the same need for the exact item. These people can be your family, friend, or even totally strangers. Groups are often organized informally on BBS site or can be organized via specific tuangou site. Instead buying vouchers online, people who participate in tuangou will actually bargain and negotiate with wholesalers or even manufacturers face-‐to-‐face
Nowadays, most of the group buying in Europe and North America is done
Cited: Oct. 2013.