This may come off a bit self-promoting, but this applies to all groups and not just ours. I have often posted about the importance of finding the right group that fits what you are looking for.
The main reason people join paid groups if for the list of items. They want someone to do the work for them, find them things to buy and grow their business. The main benefit of this is time. Saving you the time of doing it yourself is a huge benefit.
Another benefit you get from the lists of items is opportunities. These lists provide you with new websites that you didn’t know about, more rabbit trails to follow and give you a place to start looking for yourself even if you don’t like or buy the item that was given. So even if you like to find your own items the paid groups give you many starting points, some of which you may have not thought of before.
Sales, promos, specials, etc. Nobody can keep up with them all. But when you are part of a group the VAs, the admins and the members will find these to share with others. See a sale that looks interesting but ou don't have time to look through it? Post it! See an item you like in the group and want to know if there is a way to get an even better deal on it? Ask! Someone else may have found a promo code that you didn’t see, a rebate site you forgot, or even an alternate site that has the item at the same price but better promos codes and rebates.
That’s something else that is a great benefit of belonging to a small group, you can discuss an item. We’ve all seen the posts in the large open groups where someone will ask for an opinion on an item but they have to be as vague as possible. “I found an item ranked 80k in toys, buy for $5 and sell for $20, how many should I buy? Or is this a good buy?” Most people will guess and tell them yes or no without knowing what the item is, if it’s seasonal, what it weighs, how big it is for storage fees, etc. With the small group everyone there has already seen the item, so asking about specifics becomes much easier and you don’t have to wade through all the replies of 100 different people replying different things because they don’t know. Being able to discuss an actual product is a big benefit.
Owning a listing. We all guard our products we sell because we don’t want the competition. But you know there are going to be other sellers unless it’s a rare find and you bought everything the website had in stock. So if you have to compete, you might as well pick the competition. An item gets shared in a small group and between 3, 4, or 5 different sellers you may be able to buy out the website where that goal might have been out of reach for one seller. I have done this in the past myself where I find an item and can’t buy it out, rather than waiting for one of the big groups to post the item and then have that competition, I share it in the smaller groups and let them buy it all to pick my competition. I have seen many sellers in the groups do this over time. You don't want your item outed to the big groups. But in a small group of like minded sellers? That's generally a much better scenario for you.
Group participation. As with most groups you get more from the groups when you participate more. If you just want to sit back and get an item list and that’s all you want, then the email services are probably better suited for you since they are generally less expensive and give you what you want with no participation. But those groups that do share, that do discuss, and that do participate are by far the better ones to be in. There have been numerous times I have seen some members post a website deal, promo code, special sale, etc and then watch as other members delve into that site and post their finds. One idea created another 5, 10, 15 items for the group. Sure, you could keep it to yourself and go through the website and find items just for yourself and find some, but it also saves a lot of time. Rather than you taking the next few hours to look through the site yourself, 5 or 6 people can do the same thing in about 20 to 30 minutes. The collective time of several people searching the site you get much more with people finding things you missed or finding promo codes to make the deal even better. Sure you are letting more people into the deal but you’re also helping those who in turn help you and you’re picking your competition before someone posts the same thing in a large group. I've had people tell me "My group doesn't participate." I usually start by asking them how many times they posted themselves in the past week. It takes someone to get things started, if you want a better group, then make that you.
Making connections. This relies on participation. You will often come across a similar re-seller to yourself in these groups. Some are smaller, some are bigger, most have a different buying criteria than you do, but sometimes you find one that is pretty much aligned with what you buy and sell. Those are great people to find because you can discuss things with them much easier. When you ask someone with a $40k a month buying budget if they would buy something and you have a $2k a month budget, you don’t always get the answer you need. Asking someone with a similar situation as yourself though and you may get the opinion of “I was going to pass on those because I’d rather buy these to make better use of my money.” And that gives you another perspective that is relevant to your situation. Again, being in a small group allows you to be able to discuss these things since they know the exact items you are talking about.
There are other benefits that I’m sure I am missing here but the post is getting long and it’s time to wrap it up. Just remember, it’s more than just being fed some item lists, its expanded opportunities, its advice you can’t really ask elsewhere, it’s finding like-minded individuals and it’s a better use of resources for those that participate.
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